Wheel Shake 4th Gen Ram
 

Hey folks,

Well, it's my first post here and I wish I would have found this forum earlier. I had an 06 QC with 20's that was almost payed off. My intent was to run the truck for 100k and have a payment free life. It's not a work truck, it was my primary vehicle and used as a commuter. At about 30 k I started to get a nasty wheel shake when the truck went over 60 mph and the wheel shake also was there during some of the braking cycle. I took it to the dealer, they suggested new tires, new front brakes and rotors. I'm kind of a do it your selfer on the brakes and rotor's because it's so easy and I usually go for tire rack for wheels, but I said what the heck the trucks almost done. So $1500 dollars later, I have the same problem. The dealer then sent me for the road force test, blah, blah, blah. Thanks to this forum, I see there was a recall on my front hubs (most likely..didn't do a VIN search), but this was never mentioned.

So I'm kind of agonizing over this thinking my kids are in the truck and it just doesn't feel safe, etc. I look hard at the 09's and the deals are pretty good. So I decided to buy a new 09 Crew, 4x4 with the 20's. It now has 300 miles on it. Twice I have felt the wheel shake at highway speeds, the first time I changed lanes and it went away so I assumed it was the road. Last night on the way home from work it happened again but on a different stretch of road.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm starting to feel like there is a design flaw or supplier issue that's causing this problem. BTW, both the 06 and the 09 are 100% stock. Anyone else experience this issue? Any suggestions. At first I assumed it's poor tire manufacturing on the 20's, but I've now experienced this three sets of the stock goodyear's (two on the 06's and the ones on the brand new truck). On the 09, I have no shake during braking which is different than what I experienced on the 06 at about 30k, but the shake at highway speeds seems 100% identical to the 2006.

Thanks for any help or advice you can offer.

John

Take it in to the dealer and have them check it out. Could be bad alignment or a tire that is out of balance.

There was a recall on the front hubs in 2006, make sure this was performed, will need to have your local dealer run the VIN.

My 09 runs and rides VERY smooth.

Thanks guys, I'm betting on the tires. The 06 is was traded for the 09, but since it's on their used lot, I'm going to bring the missed recall to their attention.

i bet a wheel weight fell off

I was thinking that too. Some don't stick real well.

Wheel shake.
 

I got my '09 in February, ran smooth as can be. I got new wheels after about 700 miles. Still smooth. I began noticing a little shake about a month ago. I took the truck to the dealer week or 2 later for my right rear window going up real slow and sticking every oncwe in a while. Also did the 3000 mile service. Noticed the shake got worse. Took it to get tires rotated and balanced. Helped a little but still notice it, just not as bad. It's going back to the dealer to put new trim on the back window. I might mention it then. Doesn't fell unsafe, just annoying. Sorry I couldn't give you a fix, but I have noticed it too. By the way I have the 17's with the Goodyear SR-A's.

You are going to have a tough fight on your hands with the aftermarket stuff. I would recommend putting on your stockers if you have them before you take it in. This way if the shake is still there they will not point at the aftermarket stuff. It will save you time.

Question, did you remove the "lock washer" that is on the lugs? Some aftermarket wheels will not allow for these and will throw the whole thing a little out of wack. Another thought is re-check the torque of the lugs, sometimes they can work loose.

If it's a balancing issue, I recommend ditching the wheel weights and use dynabeads. 8oz per tire are enough to balance the 35" mud tires on my jeep, which jus amazed me.

Good point
 

That's a good point. I'm not going to switch tires again. I'm going to wait 'til I get new tires and see if it gets better.

Well, it's going to the dealer tomorrow for side step install and they are going to check out the wheel shake. Just to confirm my sanity I had someone else drive it today. It's really odd in that we headed one way on a highway and his remarks were the truck rode nicer than his Acura (car). We looped around heading back the other way and right at about 66-67 mph the shaking started. Good news is it's wheel shake, the truck isn't shaking.

All four tires have the wheel weights intact on the inside of the rim, so I don't think it's the weights.

Definitely just shook me up a bit because it's identical to the shake I had on the 06, which didn't seem to be balancing or the tires.

It could simply be a wheel balancing issue. If that's the case, try to find a place that does the road force balancing. It's the most accurate balancing you can have done and if that doesn't solve the issue, then it's definitely not a balance issue. The dealer would probably even agree to pay for you to have it road force balanced if they are a good dealer and they don't do that themselves. Just something to consider. Good luck with the truck!

By the way, I kind of chuckled when you mentioned your friend said it rode nicer than his Acura. I had a friend of mine drive my truck and he commented it rode as nice as his Audi.

I bought my 09 ram about 5000 miles ago. I've had 2 specific wheel shake issues.

-At about 60 mph and faster the steering wheel would begin to shake/vibrate, which sounds very similar to what you are experiencing. The dealer told me that dodge released a bulletin stating the tires on the 09 vehicles have been prone to form flat spots caused from sitting in one spot for a period of time prior to the truck being sold. I thought this sounded like a load of crap but I must admit that a few thousand miles later the problem appears to have lessened.

-My second problem I am very concerned about. I've had problems from day 1 with the wheel shaking violently after hitting a bump in the road. At slower speeds it is not very noticable but at about 70 mph and faster it gets considerably worse. On a bumpy stretch of highway road it can be very distracting and feels unsafe. I'd be very interested to here if anyone else has experienced this specific problem.

Mine sat since October in fact I called the dealer asked him how long he had the truck he said he had it for 4 months, I asked why he had not sold it, he said he didnt sell any till the sales started then he was getting them from other dealers that were overstocked.By the way rides like a Cadillac or better and my over 6 foot son has more room in the back then he ever has. Funny we recommend this dealer to a friend who makes a dealer now this guy is an hour ride from use and our friend, so he doesnt have what he wants but gets with other dealers and finds one . The one he found was actually 40 miles the opposite way we live. So the truck takes a 100 mile drive to get delivered. What a laugh. He at first was getting static from the other dealership but then he called who ever is head of sales and says he has a buyer and this guy wont sell so they force him. Most dealers do not own the stock if they do then they can do that but if another dealership pushes the issue they can get the truck, We got a charger with what we wanted 400 miles away. You think the guy who drove it stayed under 50mph for the first few hundred miles? Ya right he tested everything in the vehicle including ashtray which pissed me off. I did not want one and the salesperson argued its in all and not charge. funny window sticker was unavailable till i pulled it up on my phone from their website LOL 75 bucks smokers package....off the price plus all kinds of freebies and the complete desmelling of smoke...leather seats man. Almost didn't take care but needed it and they were just giving us money off to take it since they didn't even want it...I really played the smoked in card. Got a 2 year lease no money down and can't even say the price I paid cuz the new dealer took it and leased it for almost twice as much and the person still thought they got a deal.

No wheel shake issues here, but I did ditch the stock tires pretty fast.

Also, a bunch of my coworkers love my truck and they always make me drive at lunch. It's more spacious in the back than any car or SUV in our lot.

I'll keep you posted. My dealer is sending the truck out to be road force tested. They did let me know that the tech had it on the highway and said it was really shaking at 75mph. I've noticed mostly at speeds a little less than that more like 60-65mph. Otherwise rides like a dream.

I did check out the tires and I will say they are the sloppiest I've ever seen. I wonder if Goodyear outsourced it's manufacturing....there was some stuff from the mold that really needed a trim.

wheel shake
 

I also experience the violent shaking after hitting a bump at speeds 55 and faster. It feels very unsafe especially after driving on the same stretch of road for years and never experiencing anything remotely like this. It really caught me off guard the first time when I only had one hand on the wheel. Im not sure if its a tire issue or in the steering linkage or independent suspension. I also notice if you go over a hump at slower speeds the steering wheel seems like it binds up.

Is this like the 'death wobble' phenomenon experienced in the old Jeep Cherokees?

So any update??? Mine's got a shimmy on the ride home everyday and it worsens with different speeds. Wheels were just put on so I'm guessing the balancing is not to blame.

It could be an unbalanced driveshaft. Had that on a 2001 dakota quad cab and it took them two months to find it. I ended up getting my truck bought back under lemon law because of it and several other problems that were never resolved. Good luck!

I noticed a bit of shimmy in mine the day I got it, but figured it was just the two lane road that has a lot of truck traffic use. Today I got on a newly paved straight road and felt a vibration through the seat at 40-45 mph. then again at 60+. The steering wheel has no obvious shimmy, and when braking it is very smooth. All the wheel weights seem to be in place, and tire pressures are even. I have to get a piece of trim replaced this weekend, and will have the dealer check it out. I will update after the weekend what the service dept. finds if it fixes the shake.

My "Bad" Experience - 2009 Wheel shake
 

Hey guys - I'm a first time poster and I thought I would share my experience.

I apologize for the long note but I have a story to tell.

Where am I from - Edson, Alberta, Canada
Previous Vehicle - 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT (quad cab 4.7L) - everything was stock (17"wheels - went though 3-sets of tires - Last set was Goodyear Silent Amors). 135,000 km (83,125 miles) ------> VEHICLE RIDE WAS PERFECT NO WHEEL SHAKE. 99% of my miles were highway so my travel speeds 110-120 KMPH (68-75 mph). Same highway for the last 5-years.

New Vehicle - 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT (Crew Cab 5.7L) with 20" Aluminum wheels. purchased end of Feb 2009. Steering Wheel shake problems since Day 1. I thought I was the only one or that I was too picky (I feel better knowing i'm not alone!!)

All my problems occur at highway speeds (60-75 mph). My steering wheel shakes and the truck feels like it's vibrating.

Here's the story
Visit # 1: U-joints and front end inspected. Dealer found no issues. Gave me the truck back. Problem not solved.

Visit # 2: Wheel balance. Took one of the mechanics for a ride and he's certain the problem is just a wheel balance. Problem not solved

Visit # 3: 6100 km on vehicle. Oil change and TIRE rotation. Problem not solved. See the trend starting to develop.

Visit # 4: Dealer sends truck to a 3rd Party shop (Kaltire) for another balance. Sticky weights are changed. moved ect. Problem not Solved.

Visit # 5: Dealer find's bulletin about tire flat spots and i get a brand new set of tires @ 7900 km. New tires are mounted and balanced. Problem not solved.

Visit # 6: At this point I'm fed up so I bypass the dealer and take it back to Kaltire. They put the truck up on the hoist and spin the tires in the air. 2 of the 4 tires are vibrating side to side, indication of some bent rims? Maybe. Not bad but still not straight. Move 2 "BAD" tires to the back. Problem not solved

Visit #7: Take it back to Kaltire. Their mechanic takes it for a drive. informes me that the alignmen is all wrong. "Toe" is off and that the truck is drifting off the highway. Steering wheel is off center as well. So I leave it there for alignment. They try to perform an alignment but CAN'T!! They don't have the 2009 specifications!! They call 3-dealers from neighbouring towns to find the specifications with no success.

Visit #8: I drive into Edmonton (The nearest city - 2 hours away). Speake to another dealership and obtain the specifications for the 2009.

Visit #9 (June 3, 2009): Take it back to Kaltire for alignment with 2009 Specs. Alignment done. Problem still not solved.

Visit # 10: Next week I'm going down to Calgary for work and I'll try it one more time at a different dealership. At this point I'm totally fed up!!


I love everything else about the truck but this Wheel Shake Issue is starting to make me regret my decision.

Sorry for the long note again but if anyone has found a solution or can offer up some advice I'll take anything at this point.

Jason.


ps. A coworker has the same truck (Laramie 20" rims with chrome cover) and had some of his weights fall off - resulting in a very bad vibration/wheel shake. He got his tires rebalance at KALTIRE yesterday as well. He's on a road trip today but it sounds like he might have the same issues.

pps. I just remembered - I test drove the same truck way back in September 2008 when they first came out. I noticed a small wheel shake on my brief test drive. I didn't think much of it at the time. I guess I should have paid more attention.

Same issue.

Second Problem -- Mine does the same.

Mud in the rims
 

One more thing:

Everytime that I've been at the dealership they ask if there is any "MUD" in the rims. I do drive on some gravel roads for work but I would say 95% on my miles are on a dual lane highway.

I'm anal when it comes to how clean my vehicles are and since this ordeal started I've tripled my efforts to ensure that the tires are "MUD FREE". So for guys out there with the same problem don't let the dealer play the "MUD" card.

I had the vibration described on my 06 and according to Dodge factory rep "..aware of problem, but no fix yet" . Traded in my 06 in April on an 09 Sport Crew 4x4 with 20's. So far with 3k miles no vibes yet. Build date on vehicle is 3/9. :knocking on wood:

sounds just like the bad driveshaft I had on my dakota. They didn't find it until they had to buy it back.

So is this a continuous shaking? Or is it for a few minutes and then it goes away?

This has just developed for me in the last few weeks (currently at 6,600 miles). I get really bad vibrations at 75 when cruising to/from work on a brand new super smooth highway (so I know it's not the road) and it happens at different points in the road (not always the same place), but it only lasts for a few minutes and then magically goes away. It's bad enough to where the steering wheel shakes a good inch in each direction and the passenger seat is vibrating at least 2" in each direction.

I don't know if I want to take it in to get it looked at since I can't always replicate it. It happens for about 3 - 4 minutes of a 30 minute commute. Any ideas?

Comes and Goes
 

Mine comes and goes. Sometimes it's smooth and sometimes it shakes alot. I would think if it was tires it would be consistent. I'm leary of mentioning it to my dealer since I'm sure I'
d get the aftermarket wheel BS but I've had the rims for 3600 miles and it didn't start 'til after I had it in for it's first oil change at the dealer. That was at 2998 miles on the ODO. Hope we find something out, cause it's rather annoying. I wouldn't say I feel unsafe as it's not that bad but I just don't like it. About 70 it's not bad at all, but it gets worse as speed increases.

On my 03 and on my 08 the drive shafts had balancing weights on them. Is it possible that the weights could have come off your DS? My 09 has 8500 miles on it and no vibration at all.

Sobomaster, If I stay at a constant 40-45 mph or 60+ mph the shimmy I feel is constant as long as the speed stays constant. I have no shake or movement at the steering wheel, that's why I thought maybe a rear wheel balance issue or likely the wheels have not been torqued to 100 ft. lbs. I don't have a torque wrench handy or I would have checked that already.
Hope this helps.

Most of these sound like a steering rack needs adjusted or replaced. The first model year 04 f150s (which I had one) had a very simlar rack and pinion setup, and similar problems early on until they got the rack figured out.

Hey guys...first-time poster...long-time lurker for great information. I had to jump-in on this one because I've been through alot trying to correct this front-end shaking as well.

I have a 2006 Ram 4x4 QC NightRunner Sport with 20's that has suffered from this shake since about 15K-20K miles. What my dealer found was failing end links on both occasions as I also had a rattle in the front end when going over larger bumps in the road. This is an apparent wide-spread problem with the Ram half-tons. The problem went away for awhile, but now is back after a long road-trip. As a side note, I just put new tires on the truck (20" Cooper Zeon LTZ's) fantastic tires so far, but the point is, tires & alignment were taken out of the equation. I was certain that the factory "Good-4-A-Year's" were a major part of the problem, but its not the case anymore.

I'm looking into replacing the end links with aftermarket HD units as the OE replacements just keep failing. What I'm investigating is if the 2500/3500 end links will work on the half-ton. The shaking DID go away each time they were replaced, so I'm banking on this fix for now.

Just wanted to share my experiences. Don't let any mechanics taking shots in the dark tell you its tires, etc (unless you have a separate issue going on)... there needs to be proof before shelling-out hundreds or thousands in what-if's.

Hey guys, check out this info on the 3rd gen rams. I wonder if it's the same issue??

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...-rumbling.html

Well, I have the roadforce balance scheduled for next Monday. Sounds like it's not going to solve the problem, but I'll follow the process. The good news is the service tech duplicated the issue on the last visit so it's officially recognized. I will say since this shake is the reason I traded the 06 and upgraded to the 09, if it turns out to be bad driveshafts or suspension components I will be extremely disappointed. However, I will be persistent until it's fixed or my money is refunded. This is my fourth Dodge and I've had two Chrysler's, so I'm counting on them supporting me back on this one:)

Me too... "I've got the Shakes"
As with most everyone's description, I have two speeds where this is worst - ~45-50 and ~65-70 - which are unfortunately speeds which it spends most of it's life.
At it's peak harmonic - 67mph - it's like sitting in a big Vibra-Lounger. But, I really notice it more through the seat and body (mine and truck's) than the steering wheel. Watching the radar detector bounce on it's windshield mount shows it's not my imagination. Since the steering wheel is relatively stable, I figure the issue (if tires) is in the back.
I did upgrade to aftermarket tires, which happened before my 2nd road trip, and it is definitely more noticable now. But I've taken the truck back to the tire dealer for a re-balance with no improvement. Next week, I'll have then rotate just one side, to see whether it is tires and moves to the front.
I also have the Mopar Side Rails (Full Length), which the dealer installed for a pretty penny, after I'd made my first (blissful) road trip. They seem to be mounted quite solidly, but they do have a little bit of flex in the mounting brackets. I'm pretty sure that isn't the problem.

I've had a third thought... Could it be that those massive iron vibration dampers mounted to the frame under the cab have a problem after some break-in period ?? Maybe the rubber mounts stifffen-up or become too-loose...

Well, my dealer was great as they sent the truck out to be road force balanced. They said it needed it due to flat spots from sitting, Feb 09 build. Unfortunately though, the shake, though minimized, is still there. If I take my hands off the wheel it will shake at those same MPH ranges mentioned by everyone else. I'm pretty discouraged to have this on a brand new truck. Does anyone know if this is 'lemon law' or buyback type stuff? I hate to think a truck that list for $46k should have this issue out of the gate. Also if it is a dampening/resonance/vibration issue, any comments on whether or not it's a hazard at all?

I'll tell the poor dealer the bad news tommorw as I'm in for another RRT.

I too had the road force balance 1 week ago. They also rotated the tires for the first time. Unfortunately it has not fixed the wheel shake problem on my Ram either.
I had it noted on the receipt that I felt this was a safety issue thinking that this may be covered under lemon law. The dealer has been trying to make this a tire issue not a truck problem.
I guess the next step would be new tires?

AND they should be buying those new tires!

This problem is definitely not a tire problem...

When one of the dealers figures this out I would love to hear what it was so I can take mine in.