When driving, a car owner can identify problems and issues with the vehicle just by listening and feeling how it acts on the road.
One of the most common problems that drivers face is tire wobbles caused by different factors. If your tires are wobbling, what could be the issue? Here’s all you need to know.
Why Is My Tire Wobbling?
Tire wobbling is caused by flat spots, suspension problems, misaligned tires, or unbalanced wheels. If you notice a tire wobble, you need to inspect the tires immediately for inflation and wear issues. To avoid further damage, have the tires checked at the tire center to identify the primary cause.
Read on to learn more about why your tire is wobbling, what causes it, how to fix it, and what to do when it happens!
Why Does Your Tire Wobble When You Drive?
Just like other tire problems, tire wobbling can be a dangerous and scary experience for any driver because it leads to reduced control.
Wobbling is a bad sign and an indicator that you have problems with your tires; therefore, drivers question why it’s happening.
If you don’t know why your tires are behaving this way, here are some possible causes.
Unbalanced Wheels
As a car owner, you need to prioritize wheel alignment if you want your tires to function correctly.
The tire shop should simultaneously perform wheel balancing and alignment when you change your tires to ensure that the tires roll smoothly on the road without wobbling.
However, if this step is not done, you’ll notice your tires wobble at high speeds.
Balanced wheels have weights attached to them to even out the weight on all sides.
Therefore, if you don’t have any other damage and haven’t hit a pothole, the unbalanced wheels could be causing the wobble.
Pothole Or Kerb Strikes
If you drive on rough roads with lots of potholes and curbs, this could cause damage to your suspension and wheels, leading to a tire wobble.
At high speeds, the damage to your rim will be more extensive, and the vibrations will travel to the steering wheel, making it harder to drive.
Misaligned Or Damaged Suspension
Your vehicle’s suspension system has shock-absorbing components such as springs and connects the cars to the wheels.
When your car’s alignment is off, it affects the steering wheel and suspension; therefore, you can’t keep the car straight when driving.
If suspension components are damaged, it becomes harder to address the problem. Your car will need a thorough inspection at the tire shop to check the state of the wheels and suspension.
Therefore, if your tires are wobbling, this might be the problem.
Improper Wheel Alignment
Pay special attention to a sudden alignment change. An alignment wobble presents itself gradually and will cause irregular tire wear, increasing the wobbles.
Apart from balancing, your tires need to be aligned as soon as you buy new tires. Every tire manufacturer and retailer provides wheel alignment services as part of the auto care package.
Therefore, if you don’t get your tires and wheels aligned, you’ll start experiencing a lot of instability on the road.
Flat Areas
When the tire loses air pressure, it develops flat areas, leading to a puncture or a tire blowout.
NHTSA reports that tire failures that tire failure causes approximately 11,000 crashes every year, and these flat tires are some of the leading causes.
If your car has a flat area, the car’s weight flattens the contact patch when driving, causing a vibration or wobble.
Once your car develops mild, permanent flat spots, it leads to irregular wear, poor alignment, and balance problems which continuously increase the wobbling until you replace the tires.
Improper Wear
Almost all the above factors can cause improper tire wear, causing the tire to become asymmetrical and increasing the occurrence of wobbles.
If you don’t address this problem as soon as it develops, it could escalate and lead to tire failure.
Can You Drive On A Wobbly Tire?
If you suddenly feel the wobbly tires when driving, you might be wondering what to do and whether it’s safe to continue operating.
While you might still manage to drive for a few miles, the noisy and vibrating is irritating and could lead to further damage to your tires, wheels, suspension, and steering wheel.
Wobbling is a bad sign; therefore, it’s advisable to have it fixed as soon as you can. Have the tire professionals take a look to determine the specific cause.
How Do You Fix A Wobbly Tire?
If you want to fix a wobble tire, you have to first identify when it began and share this information with your mechanic or tire expert.
A professional is better suited to advise on how to fix the issue causing the wobbling. Therefore, you should have it checked as soon as you feel it to prevent further damage.
To prevent the recurrence of tire wobbles, you should also avoid hitting potholes and curbs, especially when driving at high speed. This affects the wheel performance, leading to misalignment.
Tire wobbling also happens when driving at lower speeds; therefore, you need to pay attention to any slight changes.
Additionally, also take your tires for alignment and balancing as recommended by the manufacturer or when you notice any problems.
If you want to know more, you can also check our posts on how long will tires last with bad alignment, how common are flat tires, and why do tires have treads.
Conclusion
Tire wobbling is a problem for most car owners and can be a scary experience when it happens when driving.
Wobbling can result from suspension problems, misaligned tires, unbalanced tires, and flat spot areas. Once it appears on your car, it could worsen and affect other components like the steering wheel.
Therefore, as soon as you feel your tires wobbling, check for any wear and inflation issues and take it to the tire center to a professional for a better diagnosis.
Driving on wobbly tires is an uncomfortable experience because the car is unstable. To make things easier for yourself, have the problem fixed first before proceeding with your journey. Avoid self-diagnosis, especially if you are not sure of the specific cause.