Why would a car rattle and shake above 60 mph?

Reasons for the shaking could be:

If the temperature has been below freezing, there could be TIRE STOP LEAK , that has gone unnoticed, and now caused a major imbalance of a tire .

Bent rim, tie rod loose, sticking brake calipers. My first guess is always tire balance, but if not that -- those would be my next guesses.

Get your wheel struts checked and replaced if necessary...my car did that and both my front struts were warn out

The wheel bearings may also be going bad in the front end. Bad wheel bearings will cause vibration in the engine compartment, leading to a rougher ride, and usually a loud rubbing noise. Unrepaired, bad bearings will eventually cause your wheel to separate from the axle. If this should happen at high speed... the axle will dig down into the concrete and send the car airborne.

There are few issues related to such a problem. A very common problem is faulty tires or incorrect wheel balance of the front tires. Check for a bulge or a wear on the tires. If all is ok..get a mechanic to check your wheel bearings. Check for a broken strut assembly or shock absorber. Check for tire rod bushings and the balance rod. Check complete front suspension.

IF SHAKING IS SEMI-VIOLENT OR ENOUGH TO CAUSE YOU TO SLOW DOWN TO LOWER SPEEDS TO REGAIN STABILITY--> MAYBE DROP PIT ARM, STEERING STABILIZER OR TRACK BAR.

The rotors on larger vehicles that are composite become out of balance and need replacing or cutting.

rattle and shake at speed is 99% of the time attributed to needing all wheels balanced. other problems listed above will happen at all speeds

I was expereincing shakes and rattle at 80-100 km/h speed, however, problem brewed and it mild vibration starts even at around 40km/h. Problem traced was bad inner axel. After changing the axel it feels like car is new born.

If it snowed recently, and the problem did not exist before the snowstorm, there may be frozen snow/ice stuck to one or more wheels, causing imbalance. Take the care to a self-serve car wash and spray the wheels from underneath the car and in the wheel wells.

I am having the same problem and I came to the conclusion that the U Joints are going bad.

It is possible that something is simply loose and the speed combined with air downforce is making it rattle against the metal. For example, in my 1988 z24 the locks used to rattle against the metal of the door at presicely 57mph.

FOR THOSE WITH 2007-2009 Pontiac G6 vehicles.

I came to Wiki because my car was shaking between 55-60MPH. I came here to look for potential problems...but my car is a 2007 and fairly new and I had no idea why in the world it would be doing that. Checked air pressure - good to go. Just had new high performance tires put on in June (so they were mounted, balanced, etc). However, with the high performance lower tires...if you live in a state where it snows (I live in MN), the rims and wheel wells for those cars and those tires--pack snow really hard. We spent $7.00 at a car wash doing a high pressure hot water car wash to clean out the wheel wells -guess what? NO ISSUES AT ALL-went to 75MPH no problem-not even a HINT of a shake. So, I had cancelled my appt at the dealership. IF you have this type of car, or ones with high performance tires---do what I did and it may alleviate the problem. Might work for other vehicles-but I can only speak for mine.

I have 01 Civic,. I am changing Shocks & Struts,. mechanic said that cause the problem.

I have a 97 Chrysler Sebring and the recommendation to take the car to the car wash worked out great for me. After a heavy snowfall in Chicago I shoveled out my car out of snow and it was vibrating horribly between 50-65mph. I followed the advise and to it to a car-wash with hot water and asked them to specifically ensure that my wheel wells are properly de-iced. The car was a blaze after that. So if you live in a cold place, try this before you try anything else.

Looks like you have a leaky spark tube camshaft flywheel that's gunna ruin your piston lugnut better buy a new head gasket driveshaft

Your tires could be bad.