2000 Grand Am SE vibe/shaking at high speed

[kmh914]

I few weeks ago I bought a 2000 Grand Am SE (V-6, auto) with 47,000 miles. The test drive went fine, top speed at 65 mph. Yesterday, however, I drove to Albuquerque, and when I hit 65 on the freeway the car started shaking and vibrating, not violently but noticably, but the steering wheel started vibrating so much that by the time I got home my arms were tingling a little! There's no shaking/vibe at speeds lower than 55. Bought her at a Santa Fe GM dealer and she has a 60-day, 1,000 mile warranty which I now intend to use when I bring her to the dealer next week. Any idea what could be causing the shaking at high speeds? The vibrating steering wheel is driving me nuts!

[GTP Dad]

There are several things that could cause this but I would believe that the CV joints are going bad and will need to be replaced especially since there is little or no vibration below that speed. You may want to have the tires checked to see if they are in balance along with the front bearings. All of which can cause this problem but for my money the CV Joints are suspect.

[kmh914]

Thanks! Been searching on this site and now have a long list of items for my dealer to check out &:-)
Glad I have the 60 day warranty and also I bought 1 one year extended 'gold' warranty.

Originally Posted by kmh914

I few weeks ago I bought a 2000 Grand Am SE (V-6, auto) with 47,000 miles. The test drive went fine, top speed at 65 mph. Yesterday, however, I drove to Albuquerque, and when I hit 65 on the freeway the car started shaking and vibrating, not violently but noticably, but the steering wheel started vibrating so much that by the time I got home my arms were tingling a little! There's no shaking/vibe at speeds lower than 55. Bought her at a Santa Fe GM dealer and she has a 60-day, 1,000 mile warranty which I now intend to use when I bring her to the dealer next week. Any idea what could be causing the shaking at high speeds? The vibrating steering wheel is driving me nuts!

[kmh914]

By the way, what are CV joints??

Originally Posted by kmh914

I few weeks ago I bought a 2000 Grand Am SE (V-6, auto) with 47,000 miles. The test drive went fine, top speed at 65 mph. Yesterday, however, I drove to Albuquerque, and when I hit 65 on the freeway the car started shaking and vibrating, not violently but noticably, but the steering wheel started vibrating so much that by the time I got home my arms were tingling a little! There's no shaking/vibe at speeds lower than 55. Bought her at a Santa Fe GM dealer and she has a 60-day, 1,000 mile warranty which I now intend to use when I bring her to the dealer next week. Any idea what could be causing the shaking at high speeds? The vibrating steering wheel is driving me nuts!

[gebster76]

Happened to me too. 2001 GA SE 59,000 miles. Turned out my wheels needed balancing and also my rear shocks needed to be replaced.

[GTP Dad]

The CV or constant velocity joints are part of the front axle shafts. They are what allow the power to be transferred to the wheels without fear of the shafts binding. Since the wheel moves up and down they allow free movement. It is not common for properly lubricated CV joints to go bad at only 47K miles but it can happen. If the boot is torn water and crud can get into the joints and cause premature wear causing them to fail. When you take this car for service, have them start with a wheel and tire balancing, if that does not stop it have the rims checked to make sure they aren't bent, if that does not work then have the tires checked to make sure there isn't a flat spot. You may also want to have the ball joints and tie rods checked as they can cause a similar problem. If all else fails then the axle shafts and CV joints need to be looked at. In my previous post I said the CV joints were probably bad. My reasoning is based on the fact that the problem only happens at speeds over 60 mph. This is usually when CV joint problems show up. Let me know what the final problem actually was.

[kmh914]

When I called the local garage and described the problem, the tech also thought it sounded like a wheel/tire balance problem. I'm bringing it to the garage on Friday morning and will let you know the outcome.

[xs29l]

We just bought a 2001 and had the same problem. It started shaking at anithing over 68 MPH. It was pretty bad, just like you said, I couldn't stand it. We took it to have the tires ballanced and we had two bent rims (steel rims). I bought a nice set of aluminum wheels and put new tires on them. Absolutely perfect ride now at any speed.

[homeskillit37]

I have a 2000 grand am V6. My car was shaking and getting stearing wheel vibration at 45 mph when slowing down. The tie rod ends were bad. I changed those it took care of most of the vibration. so i got an alignment and front wheels balanced and that took care of the rest. that happed at about 50,000 miles. but i like to take my grand am off road. one day i hope to raise it up some just for fun. hope that helps some

[kmh914]

Took my car in and had the tires balanced. This has helped greatly, but there is still some shaking (but no steering wheel vibration) at 70mph+ but now the shaking comes and goes instead of being constant. I'll drive it for awhile and see if I can determine exactly when the shaking starts, then try some of the other fixes that have been suggested.

Thanks, everyone!