I just bought an 05 Camry from a used Toyota dealership a few months ago. Whenever I drive it, especially on the freeway, the steering wheel shakes much more than usual. It starts and stops while driving. I also noticed that the rest of the car tends to vibrate some whenever the steering wheel starts shaking, and it makes a little bit of a funny sputtering noise. Any suggestions as to what this could be? My boyfriend (who knows a lot more about cars than I do) suggested we change the air filter. We did that, and it helped some, but the steering wheel still shakes. This is the first problem I have had with this car since purchasing it. We also tried changing the air in the tires - that didn't help, either. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! This is my first Camry.

 

At what MPH does the shaking start and stop (if it ever does)? Does the shaking get worse when you brake?

As to the sputtering noise, can you better describe this? Does the engine miss or run rough?

 

It usually starts shaking around 65 mph, and no, it does not get worse when I brake. When it stops, it does so gradually. It will shake a little less over the course of a few minutes until it stops shaking all together. It usually doesn't shake when I'm just driving on the streets, going 30 - 40 mph.

The noise I heard... it sounded like my dad's diesel. Nothing particularly violent sounding, just a change I noticed when the steering wheel started shaking. The engine seems to be running fine, too - especially with the new air filter.

Thank you for your response! I'd love to hear any opinion you have.

 

How many miles on the car?

Wonder if the noise is connected to the vibration. Does this noise only happen with the steering wheel is shaking? Could it be the noise is produced by the shaking steering system (or car body) and not the engine?

Do mean the car makes a clanking noise like a diesel noise in a pickup truck having this type of engine? That kind of popping, marbles in the engine sound.

If the shaking does not get worse when braking the rotors and brake system should be OK.

If the car does not have a great deal of miles on it the suspension parts should not be worn out.

Typically tire balance issues result in the vibration stating and stopping within a pretty constant range of MPH. The tires may need to be rebalanced.

Try swapping the front tires for the rear and detemine if this makes a differance or if you have a decent spare tire rotate the tire onto the car. In doing this if the vibration goes away you will know which tire it was. Start with the front tires.

If swapping tires make sure you keep track of which axle the tire come off of and where its new location is.

When doing this carefully inspect each tire for damage, both the tread and sidewalls. Check the complete tire for anything strange such as blisters, unusual tread wear, bulges, anything strange. If you don't know what to look for compare what you see to a tire you know is in good condition.

Check the rim of the tire for damage. It could be bent.

Rotate the tire when still on the car and determine if anything looks strange such as a tire or rim is wobbling, out of round, etc.

The tire/rim could need to be rebalanced. This is done by putting weights on the rim. Make sure the weights are still there and have not come off. If you can't find the weights look at another tire to note where they are typically attached.

When each tire is off the ground but still attached to the car grab the tire at the 3 and 9 o'clock location and shake it. You are checking for play in the suspension parts. Compare one side with the other to get an idea of side has more play then the other. Compare front left to front right, do the same for the rear tires.

One question is does the vibration become worse when you press on the gas. If so, this might be a bad CV joint but again given the age of the car this would not be typical.

 

The car only has ~36,000 miles. I'm pretty sure the noise and the shaking are connected, because one doesn't happen without the other. You're right, it might be that the noise is a result of the shaking. Yep, it's that marbles in the engine sound, but not quite as loud as a diesel pick up would be.

I paid close attention today to the situation while driving, and it always started while I was going 65 mph, and then it would continue until I slowed down to below 65. That has been it's routine for the past couple of days. About a week ago (before I changed the air filter and the engine oil) it would shake randomly, including when I was driving ~30 mph and even a couple times when the car was stopped (foot on the brake). Currently, the shaking seems to be triggered by acceleration, although in the past it seemed to be completely random.

My boyfriend had the car one day and told me that he played with the tire pressure some (decreased it in the front left). I'm hoping that maybe the tires are still uneven, and that is all that needs to be fixed. He suggests it might be an alignment problem (the car does pull to the left a little bit, but it seems that a lot of Camry's do that).

I'll have him help me look at the tires when we get a chance! Thanks!

 

Was the car stopped or were you braking and slowing down when the vibration occured?

If the car shakes more when braking would look at the brake rotors.

 

First thing I'd do is take it back to where you bought it. If it a safety related problem then I would ask the dealership to repair no charge. Usual suspects are; imbalanced wheels/tires, bad tire, warped brake rotors, tie-rods (safety concern). Your state may also have some consumer rules that protect you. I'm not sure if you have a balance shaft in this engine or not, but with only 36k I'd not suspecta problem there - but you never know.If it is a balance shaft that would beVERY expensive to repair.

 

Sounds like tires are out of balance, at least the above 60 mph impact.
So, just take it back to your last (front) tire purchase store and - politely - ask them what's wrong / could they fix it.

 

so you state that it doesn't start untile 65mph and then calms down when below 65mph...

I had similar thing... on hills I noticed or when real power needed...but it was more like a miss or jerking, rear wheel slip when climbing hills and in highest gear at top speed...usually happened around 65-70 and okay if steady power at 60mph... and yes.. I had the same sound...loose marbles sound.. I thought it was bad clutch and searched... But I never had bad steering vibrations..
It was on my 90 toyota truck, 22re, 4cy, 5speed manual.. 160k miles and still running great..

But in the end, it turned out to be a loose spark plug on #2 cylinder... I don't know how it was coming out since it was threaded in...But It was half way loose with the plug wires still attached.. and other plugs condition was not good either..
I just replaced all the spark plug and applied some anti seize on it...tighten and drove... problem solved..

But the biggest mystery was how did the spark plug get loose like that...never heard of spark plug backing out loose...???

So check your spark plug and make sure its tight on....or just pull it out and see if its good and replace if not... Make sure plug/coil wire is good and tight connection all the way...

 

check the tie rod ends on your camry, if they go, or a ball bearing, your wheel will shake like crazy