A '94 Accord DX is experiencing steering wheel "vibrations" at low speeds - slight yet violent steering wheel movement from left to right which causes the car to move left and right while pulling to the right. This is an issue that started about 700 miles ago.

At speeds 5-40mph, it's the worst... the quick left-to-right causes the whole car to "shake". Passengers in the back seat feel it. High speeds above 60 mph, the symptom(s) is (are) reduced.

Other thing I noticed, though, is that after a 4 hour drive on the highway, the front starts squeaking. That is, when I park the car and push on the front end I hear the squeaking - not while driving. Although, there is squeaking when I turn the wheel while driving. Again, that's after a few hours on the road. Someone suggested I was short on grease on the front springs.

CV joints and both axles were replaced about 3 years ago. The rubber boots opened up and pebbles and dirt got in so I had the CV joints and axles replaced including new boots and grease.

The DX has about 130,000 miles on her - last 6 years she's only done around 20,000. I've been driving on some awful NJ streets lately... with potholes every inch... thinking that might be the cause. I checked the tires and they look good. Checked the lugs - ok there too (it was suggested to me that they might be loose and causing the problem).

Any help with troubleshooting would be greatly appreciated. I've been told alignment on all fours and rotation should solve the issue.

Any suggestions?

Thank you very much.

 

Violent shaking indicates a problem with the suspension. It may just need an alignment, but a ball joint or tie-rod end may be worn out too.

If you jack up the front of your car and put it on jack stands (safety fires) Turn the steering wheel until it locks. Try to push and pull the tire at 3 and 9 o'clock. Also try 12 and 6 o'clock. There should be very little play when you do this. If the 3/9 gives you play, then the tie-rod (inner or outer) may be worn out. The 12/6 would indicate the upper or lower ball joint.

While the front is up, the tires should spin with very little resistance. If there is a lot of resistance, maybe a brake caliper is frozen.

 

An update to what happened. I took the car to the mechanic and it turned out to be bent wheels that had made the tires uneven. The only thing I can think of how this happened is the awful potholes on NJ streets.