So I drove my car 650 miles one weekend. Great no problems.

I get to my destination and park it, and drive around base at about 25 mph for 2 days also with no issue. Next day I take it out on the highway and at 42mph and up it starts violently shaking, like I have a baseball strapped to the bottom of a tire almost.

I am not anywhere near my garage but took it to the auto skills center and confirmed that wheels were on tight, no play I could feel in the bearings, and had the wheels and tires rotated and aligned. They didn't have any good ideas.

Still have this violent shake. I can't start ripping it apart since I have to take it to a shop to work on it. Any thoughts? Not RPM related, and doesn't seem to match with wheel speed always. It will fade in an out of severity.

There were no clicks, rubs or squeaks before hand either. Just fine on day, this the next.

 

Possible you lost a wheel balance weight?
Does the frequency of vibration increase with wheel speed?

 

They checked the wheel weights when they checked the tires for roundness and rotated. We even removed the tires to make sure nothing had separated inside.

It does increase with vehicle speed.

 

So more info:
I drove it on some super smooth asphalt road and you can hear it below 42mph, it just doesn't shake. It is almost like a brake dragging for a portion of the rotor. Once it starts shaking if I immediately slow down it will keep grabbing. It is like a warped rotor that is hitting brakes half the rotation is the most accurately I can describe it. But if I idle around the parking lot a few times everything seems to "line back up" and drive smooth until I get back up to speed. I am really at a loss.

 

Does it appear to come from any specific direction? Does it make any difference if you make al left or right turn?

You could have a blown shock I suppose, can you do a suspension test by pressing down on each corner of the car and watchig for bouncy, or have someone drive alongside you and check the wheels?

 

No changes with turns. It isn't a shock because it has nothing to do with suspension and been tested on flat roads without bumps. No leaks on the shocks and all 4 corners sit the same height. Can't pinpoint it.

 

Sounds like it could be a warped rotor, loose caliper or broken pad. With the wheel off visually inspect the rotor and caliper. Does the rotor have any grooves in it? When spinning it ,does it bind at a certain spot on the rotor or make a metallic noise?

 

I am in the middle of traveling for work so I don't even have access to a jack. I took it to a shop, but based on the smell and sound yesterday I am pretty sure a brake dragging is definitely part of the problem.

 

Is the vibration in the wheel, the seat or both?

 

Was thinking wheel bearing, the front wheel bearings can go out, but that's more of a roaring/groaning noise without much vibration. That's how mine went out.

It's going to be something either wheel/tire related, brakes, or wheel bearing.

Dale