Hello everyone

My dad has an 08 sedan, and his steering wheel, and the car really, shakes when he applies his brakes at freeway speeds. The odd thing is that he had his rotors inspected and was told that they are not warped.

So what could it be?

Thanks!

 

Could be wheel balancing issues, but i'd have those rotors checked again...

 

If the rotors aren't warped, then I would have the tires road forced balanced on a Hunter 9700...or similar equipment. Some dealers have the capacity to perform road force balancing....others don't. Just check the Hunter 9700 website for service locations.

 

If the vibrations only arise when you brake, then its definitely not a tire balance issue.

 

If it was a wheel balance issue wouldn't the vibration be there regardless of applying the brakes?

 

Guess I should have typed faster

 

I've had that issue before on a previous car.

It ended up being the dealer not torquing the wheels on properly, after swapping from snows to all-seasons.

Everything while driving/accelerating was great. Just during braking the car would shudder.

Went back, they re-torqued everything, no more problems after that.

 

Could either be the balancing with the tires or its time for you to resurface your rotors. If you are still under warranty take it to the dealership and they can do it for FREE

 

another thing it could be is pad deposits on your rotors, which you can fix yourself by re-bedding the brake pads.

 

^^Clearly several schools of thought!

Unless there's a vibration present with no brakes applied, I don't see how it could be a wheel balance issue.

Apply the brakes gently, does the wheel shake in proportion to how hard the brakes are applied?

How were the rotors inspected? Did they just look at them, or did they measure lateral run out? If they don't know what that means... run from that service shop. If they measured, what were the readings?

 

It's not wheel balance. Wheel balance has nothing to do with braking and would be there when traveling at a certain speed rang when he is NOT braking.

It could be several things. Improperly torqued wheel nuts one one that's loose. Pad deposits on the rotors or dust buildup in the pad grooves are much more likely the cause. Take off the wheels and remove the pads. If the grooves on the pads are completely full of dust buildup, simply cleaning them can help. However if this is the case there is also probably some amount of deposits transferred to the rotor surface. Take off the rotors and take them to almost any auto parts store or automotive machine shop and have them resurfaced. About $17 to $20 each. Then clean the dust out of the grooves (don't breathe it) Put the resurfaced rotors and pads back on and torque the wheels properly (85 ft/lbs for aluminum wheels). While they're off, check to make sure there's no rust or corrosion on the hub or wheel mating surface, brush it off with a wire brush if there is. That will probably fix it. It did for mine.

 

I had that problem on my Q45. Had major hot spots on the rotors. resurfacing or brand new rotors.