Snow & Ice Caused Car Shaking While Driving

[johnny_domino]

So last night into this morning put about 4-5 inches of snow on the ground here in St. Louis. Not a whole lot, but enough to make it a bit dangerous and challenging for others without quattro.

Anyway driving home from work tonight on the highway, my B6 S4 was shaking like crazy! It felt like I blew a tire or, f'd up one of my axels or something. I didn't know what it was, so I slowed down off the highway and took slower back roads the rest of the way home. I thought something might have really been messed up, and it didn't help the night before when i went out for a bit of "snow driving."

It get home and pull into the garage and was inspecting the car for any blown tires or mechanical damage. Nothing... Then knocked the snow, slush and ice out of the wheel wells with my long ice scraper. Then took the car back out again. PROBLEM SOLVED!!! The ice was really packed in around the front driver side wheel pretty bad, bad enough to make the whole car wobble and shake on the highway at around 70mph.

I though I would post this on here incase anyone else in the world decides to Google/Search this forum for it.

I have personally never owned a car that did this due to ice build up.

[amoujaffar]

yeah that happens on a lot of cars, although i've never seen snow pack quite as much on any other vehicle than on my S4, but its simple, just a hard object pushing against a wheel to throw off the balance and ruin stability. even happens to my dads WJ Cherokee, with all the room in the wheel well...just has to pile up in the right places

[Greedo]

I take it this is your first time driving in snow?

[johnny_domino]

Not my first time... Last winter was my first winter with the S4 and I didn't experience this. Just thought it was weird.

[halik]

Lol @ southeners and snow :D

[B6JoeS4]

Lol @ southeners and snow :D

X2!!! I think it was last year that it snowed somewhere it never snows and TONS of people on audizine were making threads about the ESP light blinking, and my favorite one....."when I hit the brakes, the car makes an awful sound and the pedal bounces" (ABS kicking in)

[altavant]

I did that too ..a couple of donuts caked snow and ice inside the wheel and the balance was throw off so much I had to stop and chip it out..eventually had to go to a carwash to spray it out

[mbgt72]

Lol @ southeners and snow :D

X2!!! I think it was last year that it snowed somewhere it never snows and TONS of people on audizine were making threads about the ESP light blinking, and my favorite one....."when I hit the brakes, the car makes an awful sound and the pedal bounces" (ABS kicking in)

HEY NOW!!!



Yea it's pretty pathetic how much people freak out down here haha. I literally go drive around during bad snow storms and such just to see where people get stuck and then go play around on the ice since no one is out. It's the little things in life that keep ya happy.

[B6JoeS4]

Yea it's pretty pathetic how much people freak out down here haha. I literally go drive around during bad snow storms and such just to see where people get stuck and then go play around on the ice since no one is out. It's the little things in life that keep ya happy.

I would be nervous as hell driving around people that dont drive in snow on a regular basis during the winter months. Even the first snow of the year here in Chicago, people seem to forget what it is like to drive on snow. effin' idiots. It is truly sickening who can have a license these days. we need it to be like Germany here. Here a drivers license is a right; In Germany, it's a privilege

[simplesedan99]

i would be nervous as hell driving around people that dont drive in snow on a regular basis during the winter months. Even the first snow of the year here in chicago, people seem to forget what it is like to drive on snow. Effin' idiots. It is truly sickening who can have a license these days. We need it to be like germany here. Here a drivers license is a right; in germany, it's a privilege

can i get an amen!

[mrdonbonjovi]

I will admit it made me a bit nervous last year when I first felt the snow caked vibrations. Just take your car to a do it yourself ("do you like to do it yourself?") car wash and spray it off.

[charlatan]

I never experienced this in any of my cars til the S4. No idea why it happened in it versus the others, but yeah, it happened to me after doing donuts the previous day and letting the car sit in the cold garage. Next morning shaky. Freaked out for a minute, then thought about it...and figured it out.

[P0234]

LOL @ this thread. I figured the southerners have played in mud enough to know getting it in your wheels can cause vibrations, same happens with snow....

[GameBreaker]

LOL @ this thread. I figured the southerners have played in mud enough to know getting it in your wheels can cause vibrations, same happens with snow....

This thread did make me chuckle. I have had it happen on every car I own, but I tend to play out in the snow more than others. Like others have said it's a buildup of snow, which causes an inbalance in the wheel weight. Knock the snow off and you are good to go.