There is a shake and vibration in my car around the front wheels

Reader Question Hello Austin, I have taken my 99 Cilo to the garage on a few occasions, and the mechanic checked the wheels but found nothing wrong. The problem happens when I am driving along and lift my foot off the accelerator.

There is a rattle in the front driver-side wheel, and once I put my foot down on the accelerator again, it stops. It does not do it all the time, but it is occurring more often. The mechanic says it is in the drive of the car. He thinks there is nothing to worry about until it gets worse, but I am concerned about the car being safe to drive. I will be taking a 100 mile round trip soon.
Thanks
Gerry

My Reply

The car is probably safe to travel with, but if I were you I would have the “front end” of the vehicle checked out before you go. A normal front end alignment should uncover any potential problems. This is a fairly inexpensive operation, and should be performed periodically as part of your general maintenance anyway.

I am not familiar with the model of your vehicle, but if it is front wheel drive, make sure they inspect the cv shaft (the drive shaft), and see if there is any “play” or excessive movement in it. If this is rear wheel drive, I would inspect the upper and lower control arms and balls joints and make sure there is no excessive movement there.

Make sure you tell them the complaint you are having, and if at all possible, get them to ride with you and actually feel the problem first hand.

Let me know what you find out.
Blessings,
Austin

Reader reply

Austin, I just got the cv drive shaft replaced, and it seems to have cured the problem. Since I got the drive shaft fitted, The ABS brake light on the instrument panel and also the service light have come on. Any idea what would be causing this?. Thanks for your advice to start with.
Thanks, Gerry

My Follow up

My first thought is, they installed the wrong drive shaft…probably installed one not made for ABS. My second thought is the ABS sensor on the wheel is unplugged. Either way, it is probably the fault of the mechanic.

Blessings,
Austin Davis