I have a 2003 Jaguar X Type with 60000 miles and have a steering wheel vibration that gets worse above 40 mph. It is under acceleration and coasting. I'm not sure if it's related but I hit a large pothole and everything looks fine. It was intermittent before but now it is constant. I can feel and see the steering wheel shake. I have read it could be the driveshaft. How does the driveshaft cause the steering wheel to vibrate? Do I need a new driveshaft? Is there any way to know if this is the problem?

 

Guernz: First, confirm the wheels are true and the tires balanced. Have a tire shop balance all four tires, and ask the technician to closely watch the inside and outside edge of each rim for any warping or dents, which are easy to spot when the rim is spinning on the balancing machine.

My X-Type came with two warped rims, thanks to the former owner. One was so warped that it was welded over a crack. The tire shop said they see more warped rims on performance cars like Jags, BMW's and Mercedes, saying the aluminum rims are relatively thin on our cars.


Also, after the tires are balances, have the tire shop rotate the front tires to the back. If the vibration is due to tread separation on a front tire, then moving that bad tire front to back will cause you the vibration to stop coming thru the seating wheel, and instead you'll feel it thru your seat cushion.


Ask the tire technician to watch for tread separation when he balances the tires. If it's bad enough, it will be visible when the spinning tire is being balanced.

If the rims and tires are true, then let's look at the half shafts.

 

The wheels have been checked for trueness, rotated, and road force balanced. The steering wheel vibration started intermittently and is always there but it changes from okay to bad at different times. I thought that it would not be wheels or axles because it was intermittent and it is not the same all the time.

 

Guenz: Don't know if you've seen this thread, which has a lot of suggestions to trouble shoot vibrations, and a few things to try to rule out what is not causing the vibration: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...bration-51601/

 

My issue is not only under acceleration but also under coasting.

 

Read the whole 2 page thread. Many people posted different vibration symptoms, with suggestions how to diagnose and fix.

 

Did the vibration change appreciably right after you hit the pothole?

Did you have the alignment checked?

How old are your tires?

 

I did not notice the vibration before hitting the pothole and noticed it a few weeks later on the highway. I can't tell if the pothole was coincidence. The wheel I hit the pothole with is -1.5 degrees for camber. The tires are not that old.

 

If it is the axle, wouldn't the vibration be the same and not intermittent?

 

Guernz: The point, hopefully helpful point I was trying to make with the 2 page thread on vibrations is there are many possible reasons, which need to be eliminated until you find the culprit. You already eliminated the #1 & #2: bad tires and bent rims. Keep ruling out possibilities until you find and fix the real culprit. The thread discussed ways to eliminate possibilities. Search other threads or ask and folks here will help you understand and eliminate the other possibilities.

12 possible causes of vibration discussed in the thread (I may have missed a couple):

1) bad / unbalanced tires
2) bent rim
3) stuck caliper
4) warped rotor
5) dry / bad carrier bearing (bearing in middle of driveshaft)
6) unbalanced drive shaft
7) unbalanced half shaft
8) bad CV joint
9) loose tie rods
10) bad wheel bearing
11) low oil / dry transfer case
12) bad motor mount

People will likely add a few more, and tell us how they eliminated some possibilities when their X-Type vibrated like yours.