How to Fix a Wobbly Tire on a Car? Reasons and Best Solutions

Wobbly tires are not something you will want to experience in your vehicle. When your wheels are not working as they should, the car becomes extremely uncomfortable to drive, especially when you increase the speed. But, in most cases, it's very difficult to find the actual reason for the problem.

In short, a wobbly tire may be because of tire damage, the wrong balancing of the wheel, bad wheel alignment, poor wheel mounting, or suspension issues. There are other reasons, too, but you should focus on these ones.

Driving your car with a wobbly tire may not be safe, but this depends on the scale of the damage. I recommend you read this article and make the proper decision about what you should do when you notice the tire wobble issue in your car.

Let's get started!

Tire wobbling - why can it happen?

A bad tire wobble means that something is wrong with one of the wheels in your car. You may not find the reason after just visually inspecting the tire that is causing the problems. You may not even understand which wheel is in charge of the situation.

So, let's start with the list of issues that may cause tire wobble. Surprisingly many things can be the reasons for this issue.

Here are the examples:

• Worn-out tire. If your tire is deadly worn and it even shows some pieces of its core, it's not a surprise that it's wobbling. There is only one possible solution - to change the bad tire.
• Damaged tire. Another reason is a damaged tire. In this case, you will see a lump on the tire or something like that. And exactly because of this lump it's wobbling. In most cases, no type of repair will help the tire to run smoothly again.
• Wheel alignment problem. If this issue only shows up at higher speeds, the tire wobble may be the consequence of the wrong wheel alignment. The alignment may change after driving over a pothole or just after some time.
• Wheel balancing issue. Another important thing to check is wheel balancing. When you have your tires serviced or changed, mechanics use special types of small weights to balance the wheel. But after some time, these weights may get lost and the wheel becomes unbalanced.
• Suspension issues. If one of the parts in your suspension or steering system goes bad, the tire wobble may be one of the natural consequences of this.
• Wheel mounting. If one of the wheel bolts or nuts goes loose, you may get this bad tire wobble when driving. Going this way may be extremely unsafe, so this is probably the first thing you need to check.
• Air pressure in the tire. Although the wheel may look completely OK, it may still have an issue with the pressure. This is the easiest-to-solve problem that can cause tire wobble.

So, these are the reasons why your tire may go wobbling and disturb your driving. I know that this may now seem like a very complicated issue to solve but, in some cases, you may not even need the help of a mechanic.

Firstly, check the tire pressure and the wheel nuts or bolts. After that, inspect the tire from both sides and look at its wear. Maybe, at this point, you will be able to locate the problem and understand what to do with it. If not, you will probably need professional help.

How to fix the tire wobble on your own?

I've already told you where you should begin. Check the pressure, the bolts, and also inspect the tire. These inspection procedures can be easily conducted without any professional help.

If you find out that one of the wheels has low tire pressure, fix this. You can use a compressor or you can slowly drive to the nearest tire service and ask these guys for a little favor. They will fix the issue in one minute and you may drive further without wobbling wheels.

If you find out that one of the bolts is loose, the best thing to do is to take the wheel wrench from the trunk of your car and fix this issue right away. After you tighten the bolt, you better go to one of the tire services and ask them to check if all bolts are OK. They will do it with a torque wrench to make sure that the bolts are tightened properly.

Whenever you find tire damage or see that your tires are extremely worn-out, the only good thing you can do is to change the tires. In most cases, you will need to buy at least two tires to change them simultaneously on the entire axle. Otherwise, the inadequate difference in tire wear will still lead to problems.

Some kinds of tire damage can be repaired. But only in those cases when the tire is still in good shape, not torn apart, and without any lumps on it. Small tire damages can be repaired in a tire service.

Whenever you locate other problems with your car, you will have to ask for professional help.

Clear signs that your tire needs replacement

Very often, we keep driving our vehicles when the tires are already dead. It means that you will not be able to get the needed traction and the quality of your driving will gradually deteriorate. But the worst thing is that the safety is questionable.

So, here are the signs that you should immediately buy a new set of tires for your car:

• the visible damage of one or several tires - sometimes, only a pair of tires may be bought or even the single one if the set is still like new;
• the tread is lower than 2 mm for summer tires and 4-5 mm for winter tires;
• the tread is worn out differently on the right and left shoulders of the tire;
• there are visible issues with the integrity of the tire - small cracks, misshaping, etc.;
• the tire is older than 8 years;
• the tire leaves black tracks on your drive or in the garage.

Also, you may notice that old or worn-out tires are bad at keeping traction, braking, and providing you with comfortable driving. It means that you need to consider a tire change as soon as possible. Whenever you see these signs in your car, just open the tire store online and order the needed size.

Fixing tire wobble because of suspension issues

The most common suspension problem that can cause tire wobble is wheel alignment. It's checked on the special equipment and you can't check it properly on your own. The wheel alignment is one of the regular maintenance procedures that are very often forgotten. It doesn't cost a lot to align your wheels, so better have this done at least once every 2-3 years.

Basically, the misaligned wheel will not touch the surface of the road with the entire working surface of the tire. It means that one shoulder of it will wear much more intensively than the other one.

Fixing wheel alignment problems is not that hard. Just call a repair shop that has the needed equipment and have your vehicle checked and fixed.

Here's how to deal with other suspension problems:

• you may need good diagnostics before you can say for sure what exactly needs repair;
• anything in your suspension and steering system may cause the tire to wobble in the end;
• you better let professionals locate and fix the problem;
• always use OEM parts in your suspension when possible;
• after repair, you may also want to check wheel alignment, just in case.

I won't describe suspension diagnosing and repair because this will take too much time and the majority of our readers will not get their hands dirty without proper knowledge and experience. So, if you've already checked everything and couldn't find the problem, the best thing you can do is to let professionals inspect your vehicle.

What are the consequences of tire wobble?

Many readers ask us if they can drive their cars when they experience tire wobbling. There is no clear answer because the reasons are very different. In most cases, you will be able to drive your car, but very slowly.

Get to the right side of the road, turn on the emergency light to let other drivers know your cat has a problem, and slowly drive to the nearest repair shop or tire center. Calling a tow truck and paying hundreds of dollars is only worth it when the situation is completely out of control and even at 5 MPH speed you feel the wobble.

If you keep driving fast, you can get the following consequences:

• the situation will quickly get worse;
• you will not be able to rely on the traction;
• the braking may cause even worse wobbling, so brake carefully;
• your wheel may lose proper mounting, bolts may go loose;
• the vibration at high speed may ruin the suspension;
• you may lose steering;
• your vehicle may get into an accident;
• the tire may blow and this will cause immediate loss of handling.

Driving with your average speed when you have the wheel wobble is not the best idea. You will need to reduce your speed to the minimum and safely drive to the place where professionals may help you.