A misaligned vehicle is a reason for the tires to wear unevenly which eventually leads to steering wheel shakes at high speeds the brake caliper could be responsible too but only in older vehicles if the steering wheel shakes at 50mph or so and it is followed by a burning smell you should immediately take the car to a repair shop. The steering wheel can vibrate when you accelerate or when you put the vehicle at low speed or it can happen at both speeds if the fault lies in the braking system it can be the cause of a shaking steering wheel when applying the brake. Brakes any speed a warped or damaged disc brake rotor or out of round brake drum can cause a steering wheel to shake a warped disc means the thickness run out across the face of the rotor differs as the brake pads move over a thinner area of the rotor when stopping the brake pedal will move up and down. Here are five of the most common reasons for a steering wheel shaking while driving at low or high speed 1 unbalanced tires this is the most common cause of steering wheel shakiness and the first cause that you should consider checking out