I have had an 02 SSEI for about 4 months now and am beginning to notice a shaking of the steering wheel as well as a lil tremor in the front seats. This occurs ONLY between the speeds of 63-69mph. There are no bad noises when this happens either. Smooth as can be before and after these speeds. To date I have had an alignment, tires balanced, tires rotated, then purchased new tires (at dealers recommendation) again aligned and of course that has not solved the issue. The say they have looked my car up and down and can find nothing to go on. They are asking me to be patient as they are waiting for another car with the same bolt pattern to come in and they will swap tires to see if it is indeed the tires/rims or in the front end itself. Does anyone have any ideas... I just wanna have a smooth ride 24/7!

Thanks!
~Jo Anne ~

You want to refer them to this Technical Service Bulletin. Some members have had some luck with the vibration going away after having the Hunter Road Force Balance completed.

When I saw your topic I was thinking... well you just need your tires balanced, i had to balance my rear tires shortly after i bought my car. Apparently, in your case you need some help from someone who has had a more advanced problem than just me... but welcome to the club.. everyone here is so nice, they can answer all of your questions.

welcome to the club. The article would be a good place to start.

I actually just moved from Rochester to Binghamton, but know there is still large number of club members in the area. Just had a meet there actually. Hope to see you around and we are here to answer any and all questions.

Do you notice the shimmy/shake at any other speeds at all? A typical wheel balance problem will show up in 15mph increments. Say 45ish or 75ish?

Welcome New Englander.. ! (You didn't happen to see a convoy of Bonne'* driving around did you?)

The rear alignment also need to be checked. I'm pretty sure there'* a TSB for it. Something about 1/16" out can cause a shimmy too. Good luck with it. I put new tires and one wheel on mine to improve my shimmy. It helped a lot but it'* still faintly noticeable, at lest to me, maybe because I know it'* there.

Thanks everyone for your welcome comments as well as your suggestions.

To follow-up - the shimmy is only between 63-69mph. I have also had the rear aligned and the toe checked as well. I am going to be taking it in for the Road Force Balance and pray that this will be the end-all. Please keep sending your ideas shoud you have more suggestions. Thanks !!!

There is always jacking up the front and checking wheel bearings and steering components by wiggling with your hands at 12 and 6 and then 3 and 9.

Longshot, but it could be warped brake rotors. I had a shimmy at about 68-70 mph (albeit in the '98 ) that went away after I replaced the front rotors.

Do you get any shimmy/shake when you brake (especially at highway speeds)?

Yes, now that I think about it, there is a slight shake when I brake at high speed, but then it diminishes as the speed goes down. Maybe I expect too much, but wouldn't a dealership look for these potential issues?