Steering wheel wobble when braking

X5H · #1 09-07-2010, 12:57 PM

Have noticed that the steering wheel has a slight wobble when applying the brakes. The rest of the car is fine and so is the brake pedal, i.e. no wobble or movement as such.

Could it be warped rotas/discs or the control arms. If control arms would the upper or lower ones most likely to be affected?

Thanks in advance

Sponsored Links

motordavid · #2 09-07-2010, 01:11 PM

Do hunt via Search Tab; you will find literally pages of Threads on topic,
with a half dozen plus "fixes". Imo, no one has done a part by part "fix"
that step by step eliminates, or singles out any one part(s) as the cure.

"Warped rotors" are like hen's teeth, control arms, bushings, wheel balance,
worn tires, residue on brake pads/rotors, et al., all come under the wheel
shimmy umbrella. Do some reading, it is worth the 20 mins, imo.
GL, mD

X5H · #3 09-19-2010, 07:09 PM

Hi,

Still no closer in identifying the problem here.

Ive had the wheels balanced and tracked. The brakes have also been cleaned. I was on the motorway and when braking the steering shake/judder is quite significant. However, if the brske pedal is depressed lightly then there isnt a shake/judder. Is it likey to be the lower arms bushes or the upper arm ones or the discs? The front disc and pads seems faily new with lots of wear left on them

Any help would be appreciated

blktoptrvl · #4 09-19-2010, 07:56 PM

I'm curious, does it feel like it is the left front wheel?

wullaby · #5 09-19-2010, 11:58 PM

I had the same issue just a little vibration during braking more noticeable when braking from 40mph or more than say 20 mph, no brake shudder, just my watch band would shake a little bit, cuz its loose on my wrist. Got new rotors and brake pads and problem solved. They had life still in them, but I figure for 250 in parts that would eliminate that as a culprit. And I wouldnt have to worry about those parts for a few years.

rocky1536 · #6 09-20-2010, 12:34 AM

I have just been dealing with the exact issue. In my case unfelt a slight wobble when not braking and it got much worse under light to medium braking.

Just an FYI- most tire shops that "balance" your wheels do it incorrectly. I had 3 shops rebalance and say the last was off. Trust me on this: find a place with a hunter gsp9700 and have them do a road force balance. I would highly recommend going to a local shop or someone that clearly is going to put in the time your wheels Probably need.

If the doesn't fix the problem completely, which my hunch is it won't, it's very very likely that it is the rotors....

Helmuth · #7 09-20-2010, 06:31 AM

Hello,

had the same when I bought the X. The dealer has then replaced the rotors and the pads. Now it is gone.

Regards, H

X5H · #8 09-20-2010, 02:27 PM

Hi,

Thanks for the responses.

The steering vibrates alot when braking at say high speeds such as 70mph but also vibrates quite significantly at about 20mph when the brake peddle is pressed alot. However, not much of a wobble at 10mph and below.

Ive also noticed that its not just the steering wheel but a wobble though the front of the car. I had the car checked and all the bushes seem fine, i.e no significant play or leakage in the bushes. The car was parked up for about 4 months so not sure this would have caused anything.

I was thinking rotars but after looking on this forum most of the problems of this nature were due to the lower/upper arm bushes.

Is it worth replacing the rotars or the bushes?

ArtMan · #9 09-20-2010, 03:11 PM

I have the slight vibration but if you do a search some have been linked to the bolt that holds the lower control arm. Over time it gets loose and you get that vibration now this can be masked by warped rotors also....I went through 4 sets from the dealer with in 16 months and then i finally had enough and looked and found the loose bolt. However after tightening that bolt and putting new rotors and pads i have vibration when accelerating or just driving nothing to do with braking anymore. So the only thing i have not changed is tires and balance and ive changed control arms and bushings ...so ill have tires soon so we will see. but definitely check that bolt.

rocky1536 · #10 09-20-2010, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by X5H

Hi,

Thanks for the responses.

The steering vibrates alot when braking at say high speeds such as 70mph but also vibrates quite significantly at about 20mph when the brake peddle is pressed alot. However, not much of a wobble at 10mph and below.

Ive also noticed that its not just the steering wheel but a wobble though the front of the car. I had the car checked and all the bushes seem fine, i.e no significant play or leakage in the bushes. The car was parked up for about 4 months so not sure this would have caused anything.

I was thinking rotars but after looking on this forum most of the problems of this nature were due to the lower/upper arm bushes.

Is it worth replacing the rotars or the bushes?

If your break pads are below %50, I would personally just just all the breaks and rotors, as I would bet that is your problem...I highly doubt you would feel anything from the bushings at such slow speeds...

Sponsored Links