My 2000 BMW 323ci shakes vigorously on the highway. My wheels are fine, they’re balanced, and I just can’t seem to diagnose this issue myself. Does anyone else have the answer for this? It’s very annoying and the only other thing that I can think of is a drive shaft issue.
Please help.
Welcome to the forum.
There are very many things which can cause your car to "shake vigorously on the highway". There are certainly some things which you could look for, to help narrow the list.
What part of the car is shaking? Is it the steering wheel? Or, is it more noticeable in the seat of your pants? Does the shaking get worse under braking? Or at a certain speed? Or accelerating?
When going very slowly (like 2 mph), if you suddenly hit the brakes, do you hear a clunk from the front end?
When the car's parked, if you kick the front of the front tires, like you're trying to kick them backwards, does the wheel move backwards at all?
Really, it takes some experience to know what to look for, and how to positively identify the culprit. I have to recommend that you take the car to a BMW specialist shop and ask them to diagnose it.
Chris Powell
Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
BMWCCA 274412
German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471
It shakes at around 50+. The shaking gets worse when i let off the throttle and it’s really noticeable at around 75-80 mph. Tomorrow i’m gonna check to see if any of my brake calipers are stuck because i’ve read that it can cause similar signs.
Your control arm bushings are likely torn badly. Try the tire kick and the 2 mph hard braking detailed above. If you find out this is the problem, I'll tell you how to do it yourself and save a ton of money.
Chris Powell
Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
BMWCCA 274412
German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471
I’ve actually replaced both of my control arms. That was about 6 months ago.
So I just diagnosed my brakes and found out the front drivers side brakes are rubbing fairly good. I’m not entirely sure how to fix this issue
walk us through - how did you diagnose it?
'95 325iS - auto to manual swap done!
+1; please share your method and results.
Also, just to make sure, you've said you just replaced the control arms. The parts I referred to were control arm bushings. Are these what you replaced? And, I have to ask, was the person who replaced them a BMW guy?
Chris Powell
Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
BMWCCA 274412
German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471
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