Re: Slight vibration in steering wheel....normal?? (archive)

: : I just purchased a CPO 1997 528iA a few weeks ago. When cruzing on smooth pavement at around 70-75 mph, my steering wheel vibrates. Is this normal? What I find weird is I notice it not on somewhat rough pavement, but only VERY smooth pavement. It's not very pronounced, but I am still noticable. Should I have the wheels balanced and/or aligned? The dealer says that all of this was done when the new tires were put on less than 500 miles ago.

: The problem generally is that the rims are out of round. Alloys subjected to rough roads and pot holes develop flat spots and wobbles which oscillate at a certain frequency or speed within a very narrow range. My car would start vibrating at 58 mph until I had the wheels restraightened. Jack up the car and spin the wheel and look for any visual flat spots.

I also had brand new wheels (purchased from the BMW dealer) put on my 528i at the time new tires were put on my car. No change in the vibration. Normally, a good balancing shop can tell you if your wheels are causing the vibrations. All of the technicians who did the balancing said there was no problems with the wheels.

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