Please help me with a problem I am having on my wife's 02 Stratus. The car has 54,000 miles and the tires (Falken) have 20,000 on them. The problem I am having is that between 20 to 50 the steering wheel shimmies back and forth and you can feel a slight vibration up through the wheel. Over 50, on a smooth flat road, the wheel no longer shimmies but you can still feel a vibration up through the wheel. The vibration is not severe or hard but it can be felt. Also, the wheel pulls to the right in or out of gear, all of the time, and at all speeds.

I took it back to the Dodge dealer 2 times and they say that the tire (s) is bad, they say broken belt. The mechanic and QC tech said that everything is fine and all checked out to be no problems. I took it back to the tire dealer, they rotated and rebalanced the tires and said tires are not the problem, a suspension problem exists. When the tire guy rotated the tires (I watched him do it) the problem still existed and did not change. So basically, I am getting bounced back and forth and they keep blaming the other person. I find it hard to beleive that I have 2 bad tires on one side of the car, this is what the Dodge dealer is suggesting. The Dodge dealer said they checked the axle shafts (?), wheel bearings, calipers & brakes. They are not denying it is doing it, the just say bad tire (broken belt), but I do not hear any thumping and the condition exists even after the tire rotation.

Can somebody PLEASE respond back with ANY help on what to do next. I hate to put new tires on the car (which they do not need) and still have the problem exist.

Thank you in advance.

A broken belt will put a lump on the tire that is hard to see, and may or may not show up in a balance, but you definately will "feel" it. Swap the tires from the left side to the right side and see if the vibration switches sides. Easiest way to verify if it's the tires or not if you can tell which side it is on from inside the car.

By safety design, a vehicle should pull slightly to the right. If driver falls asleep, the car pulls to the right, onto the shoulder and wake-up the driver.

However, if the car does a complete lane change in 7 seconds, then it is a serious pull. Have the car thrust angled aligned at a reputable shop.

Do you feel the vibration in the steering wheel? Front axle problem, could be the front struts worn out. If vibe felt in the butt, then rear axle problem, could be the rear shocks worn.

I always thought a vibration was wheel balance problem, bent wheel, or bent axle, but changed front struts and vibration went away.

Thanks guys for this info.,

Christopher, I cannot hear any thumping at all. When they rotated the tires the vibration was still there. The tire guy told me that he personally checked the tires and said there were no broken belts ( I don't know how he cheked them). That is a good idea to switch sides on the tires to see what happens, I wil do that if the dealer has checked the struts and the alignment is correct.

Everett, I am feeling the vibration in the front up through the steering wheel. The car is definetely changing lanes faster than 7 seconds probably 3-4 seconds and it will be off the road. I have to keep pressure on the wheel to the left to keep the car straight. My other front wheel car does not pull at all compared to this. Are there any other ways to tell if the strut(s) bad? The more I am thinking of this, and both of your guy's inputs, the more I am thinking bad alignment, although I am not noticing and wear differences, so far, but this just started less than 2 weeks ago (according to my wife, but who knows really).

The dealer still has the car, I am going to call him on these ideas you guys have since given me.

Thank you!!!!!

By safety design, a vehicle should pull slightly to the right. If driver falls asleep, the car pulls to the right, onto the shoulder and wake-up the driver.

WHAT?!
Everytime I pass out, I plow into the car in front of me?!

WHAT?! Everytime I pass out, I plow into the car in front of me?!
Then you need to mount Rear Radar Back-Up System onto the front of the vehicle.

I had the same problem with my caravan after replacing my front half shaft, due to bad cv boot. for me it was easier to replace the half shaft. got a rebuilt one from kragans auto parts. after that the steering would shake only at a cirtain speed it did not pull hard to the right though. replaced it again and tested okay.

another time same van, I had a broken motor mount with the same symtom.

Thanks guys for your help and input!!!!!!!!!!

Got everything sqaured away today with my car. The problem was it needed an alignment. Had a thrust angle done and it took care of all of the pull and most of the vibration. The remainder of the vibration was taken out by setting the correct prerssure in the tires and correctly balancing the tires, again. It seems that the first clown was supposed to do it but it was not done right.

Thanks again, I owe you one.

Thanks for the comeback. Glad to read all is well.