Quick Navigation
Every vehicle running on the road needs periodic maintenance to keep running smoothly and safely on the road.
Car shaking is a problem that creates annoyance both for the driver and the passenger. It can be felt easily and needs to be fixed as early as possible to avoid any unfortunate situation.
Several complex mechanisms keep your car running smoothly on the road.
And if your car shakes when you hit the gas to gain the speed of 30, 40, 50, 60, or 70 MPH, it indicates some mechanical or electrical issues.
Those issues must be addressed early to avoid future expensive maintenance. Here are some possible reasons for car shaking while accelerating:
Tires
One of the primary reasons for car shaking is the tires. Car shaking can occur in both new and old tires. If you have replaced your old tires with new ones and still notice the car shaking when you accelerate, it might only be due to unbalanced tires.
When the new tires are mounted on wheels, they don’t have the same weight all around the wheel. As the tire rotates, the weight imbalance creates vibrations that cause the car to shake. More speed means more car shaking.
To fix this imbalance, the wheel specialist mounts the wheel on wheel balancing machines and sticks small weights at specific points to balance the wheel correctly. A perfectly balanced wheel does not create any vibrations – that means no car shaking at any speed.
Another reason for car shaking can be old tires.
When tires get old, their surface becomes uneven, which creates vibrations that lead to car shaking during acceleration.
Replacing old tires with new ones can fix this issue.
Sometimes with rough and tough use of your vehicle on uneven roads, the adhesives to wheel weight fall off, producing vibrations and car shaking at higher speeds. To fix it, simply take your car to the wheel workshop and add the missing weights.
Bad Inner CV Joints
Constant velocity or CV joints connect your vehicle’s transmissions to your wheels. These are primarily used in front-wheel drive vehicles and are a part of the drive shaft. These are located at the end of each front axle, both on the inner and outer sides.
The malfunctioning of the inner CV joint leads to car shaking during high accelerations. If this damage worsens, the CV joints vibrations turn into aggressive car shaking when you hit the gas at 50, 60, 70 MPH.
The tear in the joint boot causes this damage and allows the water and dirt to get inside to contaminate the grease. This contaminated grease creates friction between joints and leads them to the worst.
If you notice this issue at the beginning of boot tearing, replacing the boot can prevent more damage and eventually stop the car from shaking. If the joints are badly damaged, then joints’ replacement tends to be the only solution left.
Broken Engine Mounts
Another reason for car shaking while accelerating is the bad engine mounts. The engine mounts are intended to attach the car engine to the vehicle’s frame.
Another aspect of these mounts is to absorb the engine vibrations; that is why you do not feel any jolts while the engine is running.
A car may shake due to broken engine mounts. These mounts are built using hard rubber stuff that is meant to absorb engine vibrations. If rubbers break down, then you directly feel the engine vibration while sitting inside the vehicle.
It not only creates vibrations and sounds but also leads to misaligning the other parts that cause more complications.
You can feel the vibrations caused by broken engine mounts at an idle position, but these vibrations worsen while accelerating at higher speeds. Usually, one of the mounts break down, and the other mounts have to bear the extra burden.
If you do not take immediate action, it may cause other mounts’ breakdown and lead to the engine falling on the vehicle frame. Replacing the new mounts can fix this problem easily without any extensive repairs.
Loose Lug Nuts
Loose lug nuts are another cause of car shaking during acceleration. It is simple negligence, but it can become catastrophic. If the lug nuts are not properly torqued down on the wheel hub, the wheel gets small wobbles to it.
These loose lug nuts become looser over time and more wobbling while driving. This wobbling at higher speeds seems car shaking and may lead to dangerous outcomes.
First, you should make sure that you are using the correct sized lug nuts to fix this issue. Again, use a torque wrench to make sure that lug nuts are tightened according to company specifications.
Clogged Vacuum Hose
In addition to loose lug nuts, a car may shake due to the disconnected vacuum hose. The blocked or disconnected vacuum hose leads to air leak, and this air pressure lacking leads to misfire, losing power, backfire, and other engine problems.
These problems affect the smooth engine running and invite car shaking during accelerations.
Fixing this issue is straightforward. Inspect all hoses to make sure no tear or cracks and attach the loose hoses with clamps for tight fittings. Replace the tear or crack hoses with a silicone hose for a permanent solution.
Summing Up
Car shaking is always a scary and uncomfortable experience. It can be avoided by proper care and maintenance of your vehicle periodically by authorized workshops.
There are several reasons for car shaking when you accelerate your vehicle up to 50, 60 MPH. New unbalanced tires and old uneven tires are among the main reasons for car shaking at higher speeds.
Another reason may be the bad CV inner joints that attach the engine with the transmissions.
And broken engine mounts can also lead to severe car shakings during accelerations. You should not forget the loose lug nuts while considering car shakings. And lastly, the clogged vacuum hoses may invite car shakings if these are not appropriately addressed at the right time.
Above all, you should maintain your car every once in a while for addressing small issues in the beginning so that those do not result in extensive repair.
With comprehensive experience in writing exceptional quality articles and blogs about cars and related stuff, Daniel is one of the finest bloggers and a hardcore car lover we have. He is an ASE certified technician with an across-the-board experience of 10 years in the industry. He could not help tinkering with anything he got his hands on from a young age, which led to his remarkable career in the automotive repair industry.
When he is not under any hood, you can find him on the water or in the woods to pursue his passion for hunting and fishing. He has been writing for multiple sectors and is a regular contributor to several publications.
He currently owns a Nissan 300ZX TT and a Pearl Yellow but plans to upgrade it to 550 HP. His favorites include the Koenigsegg CCX and Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 VT, but for him, the Ferrari 360 Spider is one of the sexiest cars that exists to date.
Being an avid world traveler, he has spent most of his time analyzing the automotive markets, latest technology, and local favorites to enhance his knowledge base. He is currently living in North Caroline, where it’s all about food and coffee and, of course, cars.
