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Steering wheel shakes in the mornings

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Old Jul 4, 2011 | 10:03 PM
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Exclamation Steering wheel shakes in the mornings

Hi, I have the problem tha my steering wheel shakes just in the mornings, and I always warmed it up before touch it, then all day is fine.

Thanks
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Old Jul 4, 2011 | 10:50 PM
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Only shakes in the morning hours...strange, never heard of it.
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Old Jul 5, 2011 | 06:47 AM
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Have you checked your tire pressure? Just a thought.
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Old Jul 5, 2011 | 06:52 AM
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My car typically sits all week and is only driven on the weekends.
When the car is first moved I get some front wheel shimmy (for lack of a better term).

Once I've driven about a 1/2 mile, it's gone.

I figure it's the weight of the car on the tires ... flattens a spot.
I've also guessed that it can't be entirely healthy
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Old Jul 7, 2011 | 08:03 AM
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Thanks to everyone, yes it is only in the mornings, and not all mornings. The tires are good as the presure. I was thinking about the steering shaft torque sensor.

Thanks
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Old Jul 7, 2011 | 08:18 AM
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It could be your power steering. Mine has been giving me trouble again and the first few miles of my trip it feels funny. Once im on the interstate it feels fine. One time at a red light it went all crazy and turned the wheel all the way to the left then to the right followed by going out. Restarting the car fixed it. I already fixed it once, probably another bad connection. Hopefully I can dig into the problem more next week.
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Old Jul 7, 2011 | 08:34 AM
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could it be that the tires are just cold? does it stop after you drive a couple of miles? ive noticed this in the past on cold mornings, but after the tires warm up after a mile or two it goes away. steering wheel doesnt really shake tho it just feels a little off
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Old Oct 10, 2011 | 12:51 PM
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yep im having the same exact problem here is a video.

http://youtu.be/8XZsrxWth8s?t=1s
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Old Oct 10, 2011 | 02:26 PM
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I have seen many youtube videos of people posting up what the symptoms of their RX8's were when they had a bad rack...and the vibrating of the steering wheel in this video is the exact same symptom of what they showed before they replaced their rack. Might have that checked. Now, if you are just sitting there and your steering wheel is vibrating bad just sitting, I would check to see if you have a busted motor mount
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 09:10 PM
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BLAKEM2008 got a question. Did u get to fix your steering problem. I saw ur video and the same just started happening to mine. ani solutions ?
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 09:39 PM
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no still have not found anything..will update if i find something..
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Old Nov 23, 2011 | 10:52 AM
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I ma busy reading other, older threads about this, but would like to add my problem here since it seems to match my issue.

In the morning, when I first put it in gear and begin to back out of my parking spot, the steering wheel shakes back and forth rapidly for a second or two. It did it a couple times a few months ago, then stopped. Now it has started doing it a little more regularly...again, only in the mornings.

I DO NOT have a P/S light on.

I mentioned it to my dealer the first time it was happening, and he told me something about it, and that it isnt cheap, but I cant remember what he said now.
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Old Nov 25, 2011 | 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Pinhy
I ma busy reading other, older threads about this, but would like to add my problem here since it seems to match my issue.

In the morning, when I first put it in gear and begin to back out of my parking spot, the steering wheel shakes back and forth rapidly for a second or two. It did it a couple times a few months ago, then stopped. Now it has started doing it a little more regularly...again, only in the mornings.

I DO NOT have a P/S light on.

I mentioned it to my dealer the first time it was happening, and he told me something about it, and that it isnt cheap, but I cant remember what he said now.
+1 This has exactly happened to my 04 twice. I moved the radiator overflow tube towards the front of the car so no more drips directly on steering wires after autocrossing. So far no more dancing steering wheel!! I read some guys put a hose all the way down to the tray to fix this issue.
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Old Nov 29, 2011 | 04:05 PM
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Originally Posted by twistedwankel
+1 This has exactly happened to my 04 twice. I moved the radiator overflow tube towards the front of the car so no more drips directly on steering wires after autocrossing. So far no more dancing steering wheel!! I read some guys put a hose all the way down to the tray to fix this issue.
thanks!

I saw that was one of the possible fixes. I will have to give that a try. Have to remove some stuff to get to it though, right?
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Old Nov 29, 2011 | 04:42 PM
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I've been trouble free since my last post. I spliced in new plugs, and cleaned all the grounds.
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Old Dec 2, 2011 | 08:48 PM
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is da light that looks like a lil castle the power steering light? mine was doing the rattling thing for bout 3 weeks and now the little castle looking thing is turning on when i turn the car on.
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Old Dec 4, 2011 | 07:24 PM
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i got same same problem dudes no lights on
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Old Dec 4, 2011 | 07:31 PM
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the lil castle i guess its the water levels from the radiator
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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 11:56 AM
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well, mine was in the dealer for the shaking steering wheel this morning, and they told me it is the steering MOTOR. I asked him if he was SURE that is what it was, and not the wiring harness or other computer related items. He said no, the motor and gears are going bad.

About $2k for parts and labor.

Hyundai Genesis 3.8 here i come :-(
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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 05:17 PM
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i have this same issue. its exactly the same

blakem2008 i have the same issue and been trying to figure out wut is causing it but still no luck

Originally Posted by blakem2008
no still have not found anything..will update if i find something..
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Old Jan 3, 2013 | 11:17 PM
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I also have the same problems.... only when the engine is cold...
i did all the cleaning and greasing...
also did the reset rps clockwise then counter clockwise...
but still doesnt help...
the problem still there...
i did already change the radiator hose with longer one and put it in front of the radiator...
please someone if had found any solutions do post and maybe could pm me...
mine is 2006 AT and its only 17K on Kilometers
i got 20"wheel in it...
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Old Apr 15, 2013 | 11:08 AM
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2004 RX8 steering shake on startup

Same deal here, Steering wheel shimmys when I first start backing out of the driveway then it goes away for the rest of the day. Sometimes it happens again when I start the car later on in the day. Then it goes away, never happens when driving thankfully.

I went to the Mazda dealer for the 1st time in about 6 years to have them check for any TSBs and any CPU firmware updates.

I showed them the RX8club.com thread about cleaning the contacts and moving the discharge hose. They said that I should replace the steering wiring harness as Mazda issued a new design.

I got the call later in the day that the new harness did not fix the issue and that I needed a new rack and motor (over $2K). The desk clerk made it sound like the car was no longer driveable. I asked if they saw any error codes as I did not once see an idiot light come on, ever. I got the service amanger involved as I was not inclined to spend the money and I was suspicious. Once the manager clarified that the car was no worse off, no error codes and it drove the same way as it did when I brought it in for service. I asked them to put back the orignal wiring.

Bottom line is that I got the new harness for no charge and the car is fine, still seems to shimmy however when I first start it.

Not sure what to look for next and I mayjust live with it, as is.

Any suggestions?

Claude H.

Last edited by claude4; Apr 15, 2013 at 11:34 AM.
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Old Nov 13, 2014 | 10:12 AM
  #23  
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My car is doing this exact same thing. Anyone find any solid solutions? Today it was really cold out, and the car must hated it i guess. I pulled over after backing up, the wheel started violently shaking badly even.
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Old Nov 13, 2014 | 11:08 AM
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If the shimmy goes away after 5 miles or so, then it is likely to be your tires flat spotting over-night. This shimmy problem will be more likely in cold climates and if you have harder compound tires (summer tires).

I also experienced this issue when my car sat outside over night recently (still had my extreme performance summer tires on and overnight lows were in the 30s). After getting my winter tires on the shimmy is less apparent and it does away sooner.
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Old Nov 21, 2014 | 08:55 PM
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Is that a bike rack?
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^You've obviously not watched any of the videos, such as the above posting.
I recently decided to deal with mine which is has the same super-shake issue. I have replaced the wiring from the PS ECU to the torque sensor connector, swapped the PS ECU with a known working one and the filter as well. The only thing that seems to have failed is the rubber boot where the steering column intermediate shaft connects to the steering rack. This leads me to believe that the steering input sensor has degraded from whatever has seeped in through that torn boot.
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