Question for car experts

[RagingInMiami]

Lately, when I drive my Honda Civic at speeds of more than 60 mph, the car and steering wheel begin to shake violently, as if the car is going to fall apart.
But in the past, when I've driven this car at speeds of 90 mph, it was a very smooth ride.
Can anyone give me an idea of what it might be before I take it to a mechanic and have him exaggerate the cause.

[DelawareValleyDem]

1. Wheels may need to be balanced

[ET Awful]

2. My first instinct would be get the wheels balanced and a front-end

alignment.

[cruadin]

3. Check your tire balance/wheel alignment. It would be the place....

to start anyway.

[ewagner]

4. Alaignment, or

ball joints?

[n2mark]

11. I had the same problem

with a different car, it was the ball joints. If it is a tire balance this will be notice (through my personal experience) before you drive over 60. I don't remember the cost because I had a neighbor who was a mechanic on the side.

[ewagner]

13. I also forgot

about the "wear bar" on some tires....if the tread on the tires gets below the "wear bar" it will cause the car to shake violently at highway speeds....

My old Mazda Protege had this problem...

[Book Lover]

5. What they said

Tires need balancing, I'd bet. Check your tire pressure before you take it in and see how much that affects your ride.

[yewberry]

6. Had an alignment lately?

Make sure that they set the camber AND the toe (sp?).

[huskerlaw]

7. That used to happen to my car

a Nissan Sentra. Turns out, the tires were defective. Had those replaced and all is good.

[Schema Thing]

8. Could be several things

Maybe tire balance (a wheel weight came off), might be a defective tire.

But, it could be bigger things too. I'd take it to a tire store first, and eliminate the tires/wheels as the problem. Most likely, your problem can be solved at a tire store.

[RagingInMiami]

9. Thanks guys

I'll do that tomorrow. I love DU!

[madrchsod]

10. could be alot of things

yes tires are the best to start with. if you take it to get it fixed make sure the place you take it to -shows- you what is wrong and how much it is going to be. then make sure he shows you the old parts. drive it and if you are not satisfied take it back the same day. also check the internet sites for honda owners and clubs for info and prices

[Demit]

12. one time I WAY overinflated the tires, before going on a long trip, and

that happened to me. I pulled off 95 and stopped in at a garage and they told me what I had done. Oy! Coulda been a bad scene for me.

[ngant17]

14. front tires

Sometime those Japanese front-wheel drive cars wear out the front tires very quickly, because there is often more weight on the front with the FWD models. Alway inspect those front tires, a blow-out at high-speeds can be tricky to control if both hands aren't firmly on the steering wheel. Would definitely check front tires first.

[RagingInMiami]

15. Another thing I didn't add

I drove the car across the country a few months ago, a total of 4,600 miles and I haven't changed the tires.

[TryingToWarnYou]

16. You might have a tire trying to separate.

Check your tires closely. Visually inspect them for rips, tears or other signs of extreme wear. Typically when you get a bad shake its because a bubble has formed under the rubber. This usually happens over time or if you hit a pot hole the wrong way. If it feels like the shaking is more to one side than the other, check the opposite tire. In otherwords, if it feels like the left side shakes more than the right, check the right tire.