Learning About Auto Service Procedures

Does your car seem to shake whenever you drive? Is it at a specific speed, or any time you start moving? From tires to motor mounts, there are a lot of potential problems that can be solved for under a hundred dollars if you catch them early, but they can become much more expensive if the problem gets worse. Here are a few issues that could cause shaking during your drive, along with ways that an auto repair shop can help.

Tire Problems And Smooth Driving

The first place to look during a mystery shake or vibration is the tire. Your tire could be going flat, or you could have something stuck that acts as a small, high-speed, mobile speed bump.

Inspect the surface of each tire by using a flashlight to check the entire surface. After looking at the current tire positions, get in the car and drive forward just a few inches; enough to see the part of the tire that was touching the ground. Look for any nails, studs, or stuck objects that protrude beyond the tire treads. Even if it's a rock in the treads, it could cause some shaking and loud noises.

Do not pull anything out. Especially when dealing with nails, the air in your tire is being held in by the object piercing the tire's surface. If the tire pressure is still high enough to not feel flat, drive to an auto repair shop immediately. If you've already pulled the object out and discovered how quickly a tire can flattened, call a towing service.

If you try to drive on a flat tire, you may run into the next most common wobble problem.

Rim Damage And Tire Failure

The rim of your car isn't just a decoration to mount your tires. Instead of using an inner tube, the tire sits on the rim to create a seal. When the rim is damaged, this seal can be compromised.

Rim damage can be caused by any number of collisions, but if you haven't been in an accident, have you ever hit a curb? Have you ever driven on a flat tire? Keep in mind that vehicles are very heavy--even the small, cute ones--and the tires act as a malleable cushion for driving. Rims are metal and can be flattened, dented, or even cracked as soon as they touch the ground.

If your driving experience gets better after filling the tires with air, but you have to fill the air every few weeks, consider the rim. If there's nothing in the tire, dents in the rim are either creating an air gap or piercing into the tire material. Even changing your tires can't fix this problem.

Contact an auto repair mechanics to have your rim examined. Rims can be expensive to replace, but if you get to the issue early, some shops can repair the dents for a wait and see approach before a new rim becomes necessary.