Why Does Your Car Vibrate When Going Around a Corner?

While most vehicle owners are not mechanically minded, they can nevertheless tell the difference between a car that is working correctly (or acting as it normally does) and one that is playing up. After all, when you spend a certain amount of time behind the wheel on a regular basis you're going to get used to its idiosyncrasies. So imagine how disconcerting it can be when you start to turn a corner and experience a very strange level of vibration. What could this be and how should you react?

Wheel bearings are sophisticated and very important components that form an interface between a static or stationary object (like a wheel hub) and a moving device, such as the wheel and tyre. The bearing itself is composed of a large number of tiny metal balls which sit in a swamp of grease, housed in an outer casing. They're designed to interact with each other and to stop a buildup of heat when the wheel is turning in relation to the hub.

When all is said and done, even the most sophisticated of cars is simply made up of a number of mechanical devices working together in tandem and there are only so many things that can go wrong, even though it may seem to be all 'Greek' to you. Consequently, when you experience a bad level of vibration when only driving in a certain direction, mechanics can typically narrow this down to a problem with the wheel bearings. In this case, it's likely that they are beginning to wear out or have reached the end of their lives.

When this happens, scratches are caused on the interior surface which can begin to cause the vibration. As the wheel begins to turn at high speed the friction increases and the vibration gets even worse.

Usually, this happens only when you're turning in one direction because the bearing (which in this case is on the opposite side) is coming under increasing pressure. Remember, that the wheel on the other side of the vehicle is going through a slightly wider radius as you turn a corner and this is why the issue is exacerbated on only one side.

Now that you know what the problem is, you need to get in touch with an mechanic to get car repairs. It's not that difficult to actually replace wheel bearings, but it does require the use of specialist tools that the average owner does not have access to.

Share