Car Shake When I Drive Over 70 – 80 Mph? (Answered)

The functionality of a car is complicated. You might face different types of difficulties when driving at higher speeds. The problem could be from anywhere. In this article, we will discuss why a car vibrates when driven over 70-80 mph.

Can car shake when I drive over 70 – 80 mph? 

The reason why your car might shake when driving over 70 – 80 mph is that you have a wheel misalignment, or maybe your tire is out of balance. It is usually occurred by cord separation and results in a tire blowout. Diagnosing the problem and fixing quickly is better to avoid unwanted accidents.

When driving on highways, you might feel your car vibrating unexpectedly when you speed up your car over 70 – 80 mph. This happens because of wheel alignment issues. A slight amount of misalignment can cause your steering wheel to vibrate.

In addition to that, it can even cause accelerated wear on your tires. So, due to improper wheel and tire balance, your car will start to shake excessively when you speed it up.

The vibration can be also caused by separated tire thread, out of round tires, damaged wheels, or even loose lug nuts. You must not ignore the issue. Ignoring it could end up causing serious damage to your car and accidents might occur.

Tires are generally balanced using heavy metal weights. Due to long-term use, the weight distribution might come off and cause the car to shake.

When you notice this issue, execute a visual inspection of your wheels and look for any missing wheel weights or bent rims. Tires need to be rotated after every 7000 miles, or at least every two years.

This might be a reason why your car shakes. If you keep ignoring these issues and drive frequently, it will cause your car a poor fuel economy, difficulty to control at higher speeds, and finally result in a tire blowout.

So, once you’ve figured out the problem, take your car to the mechanic and get it repaired as soon as possible.

What causes my car to shake over 70-80 mph? 

Your car starts to act abnormally if its faces malfunction. So, it is very easy to figure out whether your car having issues or not. If you are driving on a highway and you feel your car is shaking excessively, that’s an alarming issue for your car.

You immediately need to take it to an automobile repair shop and get it repaired by the supervision of a professionally expert mechanic. Usually, the problem is found in tires. In most cases, the shaking is caused by the misalignment of your car wheels.

Then again, it can also be caused by improper weight distribution on the wheels. When you drive your car, metal weights are added to the car. After a long term of driving, the weight distribution might become imbalanced and need to reset.

This might cause the car to shake at higher speeds. Sometimes the shaking might be caused by low CV joints, worn-out parts, low tire pressure, and many more.

When you drive at higher speeds, hitting potholes or driving over bridge expansion joints causes the tire to become out of balance.

But it is better to avoid balancing the tire at home, rather fixing it with a mechanic will solve the issue. Some of the issues why your car shakes when driving over 70 – 80 mph is described below: 

Misaligned wheels:

One of the common problems that cause your car to shake is misaligned wheels. Even the slightest amount of misalignment can cause big trouble on the car.

Wheel alignment, which indicates the angle at which the wheel hits the road needs to be fixed. Or else, the car will cause poor fuel economy, difficulty to control at higher speeds and severe transmission issues.

You’ll notice your steering wheels tilt when you drive straight. Your steering will be noisier and your tire will screech. Having a proper inspection to resolve the problem is the key to avoiding misalignment to occur any damage.

Wheel runouts:

Wheel runout occurs in case any component of a wheel or tire has been assembled but not perfectly rounded.

This type of problem can cause slowing down the car when shifting gear to fasten it up. A tired assembly that is flawed might end up breaking the belts. 

Faulty brake system:

Sometimes your brake pads and calipers may not be fitted properly, this increases the brake system to become faulty. Brake calipers start to create malfunction and this can be noticed from the steering wheel.

The shaking starts when you cross 50 – 60 mph and gets worse when you cross 70 mph.

Another noticeable thing is, Wheel shaking will be experienced when braking. When you notice that the rear brakes are malfunctioning, you will feel the vibration in the brake pedal. Replacing them immediately is the best solution to fix the issue.

Low tire pressure:

One of the most significant problems that cause the car to shake when accelerating to a higher speed is low tire pressure. Generally, the air pressure inside the tire depends on the environment.

For example, during winter, the air pressure will be lower than average, causing a low tire pressure to shake your car when driving at higher speeds than usual.

So, it is better to maintain the tire pressure by increasing it 3 psi above manufacturer recommendation during winter to avoid unwanted low tire pressure and use a tire pressure gauge and inflator in the car.

Low tire pressure can cause damage to the rims and tires as you might put extra weight when carrying passengers in your car.

So, in case the tire gets too much pressure of weight, it might blow up in the middle of the road when accelerating over 80 mph and cause serious accidents.

Besides, low tire pressure takes more time for the car to accelerate, and that results in poor fuel economy.

Will an alignment fix vibration?

Fixing the wheel alignment will certainly fix vibration if misalignment is causing the vibration.

Wheel alignment indicates the angle that the car will approach when the wheel is steered. Wheel misalignment can cause serious damage to the car as well as vibration.

You will face the issue when braking and accelerating to higher speeds such as 70 to 80 mph. For example, your car might lose control and start to drift when driving at higher speeds.

You will see approaching at an angle but steering straight. This is mainly caused by misalignment. It will cause vibration, as well as wheels, will pull each other against them.

A misaligned wheel will cause a bad connection with the wheels and steering. As a result, after a certain period, the connection between the suspension and steering system will be damaged or broken.

Driving with this issue for a long time will cause serious damage to the car components and occur accidents. So, it is better not to drive with this issue and get this problem fixed immediately.

How to fix car shaking at 70-80 mph?

The wheel alignment affects the car’s driving system very seriously. If the issue is not taken into serious consideration, this will cause damage to the connection between the steering and transmission, suspension.

Besides, this will cause poor fuel economy. After a certain time, your car needs to be maintained properly. The tires need to be rotated at least once in two years or within every 7000 miles of driving.

In addition to that, you need to check the weight distribution of your tires and check the tire pressure to make sure your car is in good condition and avoid shaky behavior. Some more ways to fix your car shaking is described below:

Camber corner:

Camber means the angle of inclination of the wheels. The part of the wheel which is tilted outward is known as the positive camber and the part which is tilted inside is the negative camber.

Maintain proper camber and adjust the wheel alignment properly to avoid uncertain problems such as car shaking when speed reaches 70 to 80 mph.

Manage the tire rotation: 

Rotating the tire is a part of daily maintenance. After a certain period of driving, your tires need to be rotated. Rotating means changing their position in the car. You need to rotate tires within every 7000 miles or at least once in two years.

Besides, check your tire pressure and in case it is winter, increase your tire pressure 3 psi more than the recommendation of the manufacturer to avoid shaky behavior of your car.

Maintaining the proper guideline and regular inspection will help you prevent the shaking problems of the car.

Final thoughts

The car can usually shake due to misalignment of wheels or low tire pressure. Sometimes, improper weight distribution on the wheels can also cause the car to shake when driving. As a result, this might cause the tire to blow up. So, it needs to be fixed as soon as possible when noticed.