If you’ve noticed your vehicle shaking or your truck vibrating while driving, it can be unsettling. Vibrations might feel minor at first, but they can point to bigger issues if ignored, especially if you notice them shaking at high speeds or vibrating at highway speeds.
A shake or vibration in your vehicle can only come from a moving part, typically a fast-moving one. While it’s possible to have a defect in your transmission or differential, it’s more likely that a vehicle shaking problem comes from the wheels and tires. Vibrations can also be felt from the driveline after modifying your vehicle.
Common Signs Your Vehicle Is About to Start Shaking
Before the vibration while driving becomes obvious, you might notice:
- Uneven tire wear.
- Steering that feels “loose” at highway speeds.
- A humming or droning sound that changes with speed.
- Mirrors or dashboard starting to rattle.
- A slight pull in one direction when accelerating.
Spotting these signs early can help prevent a full-blown vibration issue.
Wheels & Tires: A Common Cause of Vehicle Shaking
Identifying where you feel the shake is crucial to figuring out the cause of vehicle vibration at highway speeds. Ask yourself:
- Do you feel it in the steering wheel?
- Do you feel it in the seat or on the floor?
- Is the whole truck shaking while driving?
- Are your mirrors getting blurry?
- Is it felt at high speeds or during takeoff?
Clue: Driveline vibration is almost always felt in either the seat or at your feet because it resonates through the floorboard. All the other symptoms listed above are typically due to wheel and tire balance. (Yes! Even if you have balanced them three times or performed a road force balance!)
How to Safely Test and Diagnose Vehicle Vibration
If you’re wondering why your vehicle is shaking, here are a few ways to narrow it down:
- Drive at highway speeds and see if the vibration changes when you accelerate or coast.
- Lightly hold the steering wheel and check for pulsing or shaking.
- Pay attention to whether the vibration happens on smooth roads or only rough ones.
- See if it’s consistent in all gears or only during acceleration.
Why do the Tires Shake When Driving?
Newer vehicles are designed with modern, lighter materials to improve fuel efficiency, and their suspensions are softer to maintain a comfortable ride. While lighter and softer sounds nice, it also makes a vehicle more susceptible to the truck vibrating at high speeds after modifications.
Always choose quality, name-brand wheels and tires, and aim for a true balance. Static balancing (often done to avoid putting weights on the outside of wide wheels) usually means you’ll still experience shakes and vibrations.
How Wheel and Tire Shakes Behave
Wheel and tire shakes can only happen at speed. These vibrations tend to occur due to an imbalance in a fast-spinning wheel/tire combo.
A vibration at takeoff is never due to an out-of-balance tire because the wheels are not spinning fast enough to feel it. Typically, a wheel/tire-caused vibration gets worse the faster you drive but is not amplified by acceleration or deceleration.
Driveline Vibration: Another Reason for Vehicle Shaking
If you’ve identified that the vibration you’re feeling is in the seat, at your feet, or coming from the rear of the vehicle, you most likely have a driveline vibration.
There are two likely causes of driveline vibration:
- An imbalance in the driveline.
- U-joint angles that are outside the typical comfort zone.
Understanding U-Joint Angles
Whether your truck comes equipped with a 1-piece or 2-piece driveshaft, it is still connected with universal joints. There are some standard rules of thumb that apply here:
Rule #1: U-joints are typically happy with 3-5 degrees of angle.
- To check angles, a digital angle finder is needed.
- This requires subtracting the angle of the driveshaft from the angle of the differential.
- Example: The driveshaft reads +2 degrees, and the differential reads +5 degrees. This means you have a 3-degree difference.
Rule #2 (for 1-piece drivelines only): Ideally, you want equal yet opposite angles between the transmission and differential.
So…why does your truck actually shake when accelerating?
Sometimes a vibration or a shake only happens during acceleration. This can be linked to driveline angles, worn U-joints, or imbalanced driveshafts. Adjusting angles and checking for wear can help resolve it.
When to See a Mechanic for Vehicle Shaking
While some vibration is normal for vehicles with aggressive tires or aftermarket parts, you should see a professional if:
- The shaking is getting worse over time.
- You feel instability in your steering.
- The vibration happens only when braking or accelerating.
- You hear new noises from the drivetrain.
How to Prevent Vehicle Vibration After Modifications
If you’ve added a lift kit, bigger tires, or custom wheels, here’s how to avoid truck vibrations at high speeds:
- Get a professional wheel alignment after any suspension change.
- Choose wheels and tires that are balanced for both weight and size.
- Recheck U-joint angles after a lift kit installation.
- Use dynamic balancing instead of static balancing.
Can All Vibrations Be Fixed?
Following these two rules will usually make a U-joint “happy” and reduce vibration. However, it may not always be a 100% fix. Not all vehicle shaking can be completely eliminated after modifying your vehicle.
Following the guidelines in this post is a good start when trying to solve the issues. Your results may not always make perfect theoretical sense, but if each change helps reduce vibration, then you’re headed in the right direction.
Oh, here’s a note: A U-joint likes to have some angle but doesn’t know (or care) which direction that angle is.
FAQs
1. Is it safe to drive a vehicle with a vibrating or shaking engine?
Not a good idea. In most cases, that kind of shake means something’s off: misfires, worn mounts, or a drivetrain problem. You might get away with a short drive to a shop, but the longer it runs like that, the more damage it can do.
2. What would cause a slight vibration when accelerating?
Quite often it’s the drivetrain. Things like worn U-joints, a slightly bent or unbalanced driveshaft, or even misaligned tires. Sometimes the engine is missing under load. Where it’s felt (the steering wheel, seat, or floor) can tell a lot about what’s wrong.
3. Why does my vehicle shake and vibrate when at idle?
When the vehicle isn’t moving, the wheels aren’t to blame. It usually comes back to the engine. Bad mounts, a misfiring cylinder, or problems with fuel or air flow are common. Spark plugs can be a quick fix, but it depends on the cause.
4. Why is my truck shaking and jerking?
That’s usually the powertrain not delivering smoothly. A clogged fuel filter, ignition problems, transmission trouble, or a bad U-joint could all be behind it. If it happens more when accelerating or towing, it’s worth checking before a small fault turns into a big one.
5. Why is my engine shaking?
Engines shake for all sorts of reasons:
- Misfires
- Vacuum leaks
- Fuel delivery problems
- Broken mounts
Even something simple like a bad spark plug can make it run rough. The sooner it’s checked, the less chance there is of causing extra wear or damage.
6. What are 5 possible causes of a shaking vehicle?
It could be unbalanced tires, bent wheels, warped brake rotors, worn suspension parts suspension parts, or bad U-joints. The timing matters. You need to figure out whether it happens at idle, while braking, or at high speeds, because that’s the first step in figuring out what’s going on.
7. Can bad tires cause my vehicle to shake?
Yes, and they often do. Low pressure, uneven wear, or internal damage in the tire can cause shaking, especially on the highway. Balancing might solve it, but if the tire’s damaged, replacing it is the only safe choice.
8. Should I worry if my car only shakes at high speeds?
Yes. That’s often a sign of a wheel or tire balance problem, sometimes alignment. Left alone, it can make handling worse and wear parts faster. Having the wheels, tires, and suspension checked early can stop it from getting more serious.
