2004 Volkswagen Golf Steering Wheel Vibration

DSUAR

MEMBER
2004 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

Shakes or Wobbles problem
2004 Volkswagen Golf 4 cyl Manual 61000 miles

I plus-sized Golf's tires/wheels almost 2.5 yrs ago. Immediately after change, vibration in steering wheel came & went @ high speeds. After a couple of alignments, tire rotations, vibration softer. At 60K service, I rotated tires, vibration returned more than normal @ 72+mph. Went to a pro Align/Balance Techs who had special alignment machines. Still nothing. Mechanic noticed, rear right tire missing centering ring, but he was not sure if this is cause of prob. After four alignments/balances excluding center ring replacement noticing slight shudder from dash. Spent possibly $600-700 on trying to repair prob. Need assistance.

1 Reply

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

Hi dsuar,

Thank you for the donation.

If the rims are not specifically for the wheel hubs, the centering ring plays an important part to get the rims centered when installed. Any off centering would cause imbalance and vibrations.

Shuddering from dash if related to vibration at speed are usually caused by imbalance from the rear wheels. Were the balancing done on or off vehicle?

Does vibration occur no matter if the accelerator is depressed for cruising, minor acceleration or released while decelerating?