Vibration when breaking

T

TheJokingExplorer

New member
Hey everyone,

I am getting some vibration in the steering wheel when I hit the breaks. This usually happens at highway speeds. When I'm just cruising it's smooth as can be. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm running stock suspension with BFG Ko2's in 265/70/17. 2017 SR5P with 13,700miles
 
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I put new fronts on mine. Granted they were aftermarket but they were very nice centric premium rotors. Warped in 15k and I am as easy on brakes as one can possibly be. Front lugs all torqued correctly, mostly highway driving, creep up after coming to a hard stop, I coast rather than brake, etc.

I may try OE again next time but I kind of doubt I will see much difference.

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riding the brakes, a sticking caliper, not properly and evenly torquing the wheel, etc... can all cause "warping" and it doesn't take that many miles, you can definitely have "warped" rotors at 13k miles.

It could be as simple as them unevenly cranking down the lug nuts when you got new tires or you dragging brakes on really long hills

I would inspect the pads and rotors, i bet they look glazed
 
Been through this. Check your tire wear. Do you have sawtooth or feathered wear on the outside of the tires? If so, you'er due for new shocks. Easy to test by pushing down the truck on each side and observing whether it bounces.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bfg-alternate-lug-wear-help.317361/


If your rotors were warped, you'd feel it in the pedal and down to lower speed of like 45 to 50 mph. If the rotors are warped, you can try turning them, but the warp will typically come back within a couple thousand miles.

Best rotors for me have been the Raybestos Advanced Technology.
 
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Shaking while braking is typically rotors. Get a shop to check the run out on the rotors and show you measurements (variation).

Is the truck stock? If the front end has been taken apart (i.e lift etc) check torque on LCA bolts and suspension components.
 
Just a reminder again that brakes don't actually warp.

You get uneven pad transfer onto the rotor, usually because if the rotors are cast cheaply, the pig iron they're cast with has non-homogenous (non-uniform) amounts of various minerals/metals in the iron mix. This leads to them expanding a little differently in different spots, and getting hotter or cooler there.

The pad material then sticks to the rotor differently, causing the slightly irregular surface that ends up causing the vibration.

If it is brakes, you could have them lathed, or search for really nice rotors. I always had awesome experiences with cold-treated rotors... Seems the heating and cooling process at the factory makes the pig iron mix a bit more evenly.

That said, vibration can increase over time if you have old brake fluid, b/c it boils more easily as it sucks in water over the years.

How old is your fluid, OP?
 
1996_Valencia_Owen said:
Just a reminder again that brakes don't actually warp.

You get uneven pad transfer onto the rotor, usually because if the rotors are cast cheaply, the pig iron they're cast with has non-homogenous (non-uniform) amounts of various minerals/metals in the iron mix. This leads to them expanding a little differently in different spots, and getting hotter or cooler there.

The pad material then sticks to the rotor differently, causing the slightly irregular surface that ends up causing the vibration.

If it is brakes, you could have them lathed, or search for really nice rotors. I always had awesome experiences with cold-treated rotors... Seems the heating and cooling process at the factory makes the pig iron mix a bit more evenly.

That said, vibration can increase over time if you have old brake fluid, b/c it boils more easily as it sucks in water over the years.

How old is your fluid, OP?
Click to expand...

I've only owned the vehicle for five months and I bought it new.
 
CutthroatSlam said:
Been through this. Check your tire wear. Do you have sawtooth or feathered wear on the outside of the tires? If so, you'er due for new shocks. Easy to test by pushing down the truck on each side and observing whether it bounces.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bfg-alternate-lug-wear-help.317361/


If your rotors were warped, you'd feel it in the pedal and down to lower speed of like 45 to 50 mph. If the rotors are warped, you can try turning them, but the warp will typically come back within a couple thousand miles.

Best rotors for me have been the Raybestos Advanced Technology.
Click to expand...

I can't imagine the vehicle needing new shocks already as its only 5 months old with 14k miles on it.
 
4Runner Sensitive to Front Rotor Wear Pattern?

I did not have a vibration issue when front pads needed to be replaced. Rotor run out at any particular diameter and thickness was within spec (I have machinist tools), so I bought genuine Toyota pads, installed them and was a bit surprised to observe a vibration issue while braking.

Inspected rotor again, run out still within spec, except for a very small "ridge" at the inner most edge of the braking surface. Perhaps the new pads touched that ridge, or perhaps it was something else. The last time I had a set of rotors machined was about 1983. Never had a vibration or braking problem replacing only the pads as long as rotor run out and thickness was within spec, no abnormal wear other than typical grooving, mating surfaces clean of rust, and a torque wrench used on the lug nuts.

Installed a set of genuine Toyota rotors and vibration went away. I'll have the old rotors machined and ready to install when new front pads are needed. Now I'll always have an extra set of freshly machined rotors on hand to use on the 4Runner so that I don't have to redo the brake job or stop halfway and leave to have the rotors machined.:nod:
 
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TheJokingExplorer said:
I can't imagine the vehicle needing new shocks already as its only 5 months old with 14k miles on it.
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I suggested he check the tire wear. If feathered, then likely shocks.

Warped rotors would be felt in the pedal and would be felt down to about 45 mph. When I had this issue, it was 75 to 65 and it ended up being the shocks, but yes I was at over 100K. The stock shocks are pretty crap.
 
Must be broke

Do you ride your brakes down the hill? Use sport mode to downshift for compression braking.

Don't come to a complete stop and hold your brakes when they are hot, it will transfer pad material to the rotors, causing your symptoms.

When you replace those rotors, use Toyota OEM or the most expensive ultra super duper premium aftermarket rotors available. Cheap rotors have much less material to dissipate heat and will quickly become even worse.
 
Yup, warped rotors!

My 2010 Trail has 92K miles on the odometer, and I've had to have the OEM front rotors turned 3 times (w/pads replaced obviously) for warping, and they are warping again at present. In the next month I'll have to replace the rotors (& pads) before my wife and I head to NE Oregon and northern Idaho for some mountain time.

In fairness disclosure, I do live on a steep street in an area of steep hills and roads. And my commute to anywhere is up or down, not flat. But our other vehicles do not suffer this problem near as bad. What I'm trying to figure out is if I should stick with the OEM rotors and pads, or try something else. I'm not too far into my research yet, so if anyone has any ideas, let me know...
 
TheJokingExplorer said:
Hey everyone,

I am getting some vibration in the steering wheel when I hit the breaks. This usually happens at highway speeds. When I'm just cruising it's smooth as can be. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm running stock suspension with BFG Ko2's in 265/70/17. 2017 SR5P with 13,700miles
Click to expand...

I don't know about cars, but airplanes always vibrate when breaking, especially mid-air disintegration. Sounds really serious.

But you should check the brake rotors just in case.
 
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