steer wheel shakes/vibrates violently on freeway

2001 Corolla Type S

This just happened yesterday, when I was driving back to school. I started driving on the freeway, and suddenly at about 70 or 75mph, the steering wheel started shaking, pretty hard compared to a normal slight shake. This occurred for about 15 minutes, then later the shaking disappeared. After about 5 minutes, the shaking happened again.
It doesn't matter if I go straight or take a turn. The shaking still happens anywhere, at random times. It doesn't only occur at 70 or 75, it happens within the range of 55-80mph.
This is not when I brake either, so it cannot be the brakes.

Any possibly relevant information:
Previously, the day before, I went to get my oil changed, and my tires rotated. Currently, the front tires are of good tire treads, whereas the back tires are worn out.

I bought this car used 3 years ago, have not done an alignment ever.

Got into a frontal accident this summer, and got it fixed by my insurance company.

Right after I got my oil change/tire rotation, I exited the parking lot onto the street and took a right, hitting the curb with my rear right tire, made a screeching noise.

This was so scary that I even lost the hiccups I had for the whole day.

This violent shaking never happened until yesterday.

Thanks in advance.

you will have to check the front tires for broke belts ,knots in the tread. check the lug nuts to make sure they are tight.jack up one side in the front and shake the tire side to side and see if it moves then try shaking it from top and bottom to see if it moves . if no slack is found and the tire tread looks ok then it could be just a balancing weight missing .usually if a belt in the tire is broke the tire will cause the car to move side to side at low speeds 10 to 20 mph.did the shop balance the tires as they rotated them or just rotate them?

the shop did tighten the lugs correctly. my friends got the wrench and tried to tighten it and did.
i'm not sure if the shop balanced the tires. all he did was take off all tires then just move the front tires to the back and vice versa.

According to http://www.familycar.com/carcare/AlignmentBalance.htm,
the guy did not do this. in addition, this might sound like another probable answer. if the guy did not do this, can i demand him do this for no extra charge? lol.

yeah their gonna charge you for balancing the tire or tires. could be a tierod end but if it happened shortly after the tires were rotated then most likely an unbalanced tire.

the shop did tighten the lugs correctly. my friends got the wrench and tried to tighten it and did.
i'm not sure if the shop balanced the tires. all he did was take off all tires then just move the front tires to the back and vice versa.

According to http://www.familycar.com/carcare/AlignmentBalance.htm,
the guy did not do this. in addition, this might sound like another probable answer. if the guy did not do this, can i demand him do this for no extra charge? lol.


Everytime that happens with me it turns out the tires need balanced. If they are out of balance, once they get to a certain speed they begin to shake due to being out of balance. That causes the steering wheel to vibrate.

I would suggest calling the place and just ask if when they rotate your tires if they balance them as well. Would be stupid if they say no. If they say yes, tell them your story, that you were there, had them rotated but seem out of balance and that your steering wheel vibrates. If they say no, tell them you could get a better deal from a monkey with a banana.

Balancing weights can fall off from time to time, especially if they are the stick-on type that are used on custom rims to keep the exposed rim looking clean. I'd have them rebalanced...some shops will offer a free alignment check, too. I might suspect a worn ball joint or tie rod end too, especially if it has been doing this for some time and gotten progressively worse. Hope this helps!