Subaru - Brakes - Imprezawrxsti :: Wobble When Braking
May 6, 2014
Caller had a problem with his car wobbling or vibrating while he was braking. The conclusion was that the rotors were warped. A quick google search would confirm that this is the most probable source of the wobble, but I'm not sure if it is correct for my problem:
I drive a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX. For quite a while not the steering and what feels like the whole car wobbles or vibrates when I brake. This is imperceptible at speeds under around 45 mph, but at high speeds it is VERY noticeable. It seems especially bad if I am going around 70 mph and lightly applying the brakes. The wobble does not happen unless the breaks are applied. So, warped rotors right? So I decided to check them and see if they are warped. I took both wheels, calipers, and rotors off my car and inspected the rotors.
My initial impression is that they looked as good as when I bought them. Of course an eye-ball diagnosis would not sufficiently answer my question so what I did was compare one rotor to the other. I put them together rotor on rotor to see if I could find any variation in shape. I figured that if one rotor was flat, while the other was warped, it would be noticeable. If both were warped, than the difference should be exaggerated. I did this multiple times to make sure I wasn't missing any warp or distortion. So as far as I can tell, they aren't warped. Another thing that I noticed, however was the brake pads. They were in good shape for the most part, but the corners/ends seems to be worn of at an angle about a quarter inch from the edge. I reassembled everything and when I drove the car, the wobble was gone. Now after about 15 minutes, the wobble returned.
Here are my Questions: Is my method of figuring out whether the rotor is warped reasonable? am i missing something?Why would the edges of the brake pads be worn down that drastically?Could the wobble come from something else? Struts? wheel bearings? bent wheel? If so, how can I diagnose/test which one it is?
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I have been working on all my wheels new pads and new ball joints in the front top and bottom. So when I am braking now I can hear a distinct whining sound kind of like a crapped out automatic tranny. I drive a manual so not my problem. I would assume a standard brake bleed will fix? The pedal is a bit spongy but it still stops like it should. I also have a grinding when I drive pretty sure it is unrelated just the backing plate touching the rotor I think.....
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My daughter drives an 04 WRX. We purchased the car new, taught her to drive in it and have kept up with the maintenance. Including changing the timing belt and water pump about 13 months ago. The odometer was at about 96K then and is now at about 102K.A week ago my daughter came inside and told me that her car would not start. I went out turned the key. She was right, the engine cranked but would not fire. The cranking of the engine was unusually fast and the sound it made during cranking was off. I immediately thought that the starter was bust.I replaced the starter and while at it replaced the plugs the belts and the front pulley (the pulley because our Forester's pulley's rubber ring had recently de-bonded it self). I put it all back together and turned the key. To my horror the car would not start. The starter sound and crank speeds were the same as before I did my mini tune up.To bring the pain to an end I had the car towed to my local Subaru dealer. I momentarily blacked out when he called and told me that the timing belt had probably jumped and that the engine heads and valves were now ruined. My engine will need to be replaced. Final punch in the gut, it will cost $8000.Is this for real given that the engine did not start and that the damage would have had to be done by just cranking with the starter?
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I have an 04 WRX, I've upgraded the suspension (1.5" - 1.75" drop front and back respectfully) and have a full set up of strut tower braces. Recently when accelerating from a stop, I get a clicking noise from the passenger front wheel area, I hear it all the way through first, second, and most of third...the sound is probably present after that but my exhaust drowns it out. My first choice of problem is that the CVs have gone, the car has 140k on it...
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The past two times I've driven to work I've hit significant traffic. While in the middle of stop and go traffic, the engine started to idle at high RPM (3000-4000). Today the temperature gauge really started climbing and hit the red, at which point I shut the car off and waited a few minutes. No smoke, no noise and no check engine lights. As soon as the road started to clear and we were moving again, the car was fine. The engine cooled, stayed cool, and the idle returned to it's normal 1000 RPM.
The dealer was unfortunately unable to reproduce these findings, though they thought it could be a stuck thermostat.
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On the expressway, I was driving my 2013 Subaru Impreza about 50 mph and had occasion to make a sudden stop. There were no crashes, and traffic started up again immediately - except for me! There I was, in the left lane, and when I depressed the gas pedal the car stayed put. I could hear the engine rev, but the wheels didn't turn. I had to turn the car off and start it again before I could move forward. What could be going on?
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I recently had my wheel hub and bearing replaced. The mechanic said I might hear a little noise with the brakes but they'd work. Turns out that noise is the Anti-lock braking system engaging every time I use the brakes. It happens when the car speed gets low, maybe 5-15 mph. Also, if I'm driving slow in a parking lot or something, and let off the gas, that change in speed sets the ABS system on too, without my foot being on the brake pedal.
I've also noticed sometimes when the weather is very cold, the ABS light will go on and the ABS brakes won't work; just regular brakes. Is this something that I'd be able to solve at home? Could I possibly bleed the brake lines to check for any air ( although braking seems fine ) , busted fuse for the system, anything else to check before asking the mechanic?
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I have been getting a little wobble at high speeds(80MPH) when i brake the car. I am guessing those are the front disk brakes (had similar experience with my old 2002 Galant which i fixed with the brakes). My Sonata has 67,000 miles. Is it ok if i replace just the pads ?
2011 2.4L Hyundai Sonata SE
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I got a 2006 Solara SLE. while braking from highway speeds, the steering wheel shakes VIOLENTLY. city driving its not noticable. cruising the car is silky smooth. The one front caliper was sticking and i replaced pads, pins, rotor. Still shakes. i tried swapping pins as one pin has a sleeve at the tip and i didnt remember which one went where. i did notice the pin with no sleeve fits loosely. the rotor is AZ Duralast brand. the car has 200k trouble free with no suspension work ever done.
I am lost what to do and need to make a long trip coming up. I was going to try in order- replace other rotor, spin the one rotor and replace guide pin with a sleeved one, then do lateral run out test/lathe, alignment, then if that dosnt work a stick of dynamite. Iheard a bad tie rod or ball joint can cause this, i find it unlikely as it would probably shake all the time. Other small issue is a loud thunk in the rear when it hits bumps. Rear swaybar mounts?
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My car has almost 80k on it. It is a 2005 VW Jetta 1.8T GLI. Been a great reliable car but I've been having a lot of trouble with the front end suspension. I get a horrible wobble in the front end. Translates into the steering wheel and feels like the wheels are wobbling very quickly only under braking. It is much heavier under heavy braking, but still exists even under light braking. I've replace my tie rods after finding a little play in them, checked my CV joints and axles and they looked good. Balljoints seem ok. Struts and strut mounts were replaced and the car has brand new tires that were balanced and aligned and rotated. When I replaced the tie rod, it went away temporarily but is back worse than ever. I'm getting really frustrated with this and the car feels dangerous to drive.
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Took my 06 Outback (106K miles) in to have the right front inner & outer CV boots/axle assembly replaced (one of the boots had torn open and was slinging grease everywhere, so no surprise there). When I was driving home after picking the car up, I noticed what felt like a wobble or shudder that seemed to come from the center or right side of the car (I couldn't tell which). It would only happen while accelerating, kicking in at about 20mph and then seeming to go away at about 30mph. It didn't happen at all while coasting, braking, or decelerating. The more of a load there was on the engine, the worse the wobble/shudder was, and if I accelerated very very slowly it wouldn't happen at all or would be just barely perceptable. I didn't feel it in the steering wheel; it was more like something felt through the seat and the car itself, if that makes sense.
So I took the car back to the shop the next day, and although the owner of the shop said he drove the car and didn't notice anything, he decided to go ahead and do the job over under warranty just in case they had installed a bad axle or had otherwise "botched" (my word, not his) the job. He also rotated and rebalanced the tires on the off chance that's where the issue was. Within about 15-20 minutes of picking up the car the 2nd time, I started noticing the wobble/shudder again, always under the same conditions as I've already noted--only while accelerating, always kicking in at about 20mph and going away at about 30mph, and always worse the more of a load there was on the engine/the faster the acceleration. The only additional info I've been able to glean is that it doesn't ever seem to happen when I drive the car first thing in the morning, but starts to happen as the car warms up.
At a complete loss, I crawled under the car and starting looking and poking around for something that might be loose or knocking around. I was particularly interested in determining if there was any play in the U-joints or some kind of damage to the drive shaft. I didn't notice anything except for this--at different points on the drive shaft there are what I assume are balancing weights welded to the shaft. Well, I found a bare spot toward the rear end of the shaft that seems as if a weight used to be there (although I can't say with 100% certainty). The drive shaft is painted entirely black, as are the weights, except for this one shiny, bare-metal, square-shaped spot. "AHA" I thought to myself...balancing weight broke off (although how that would happen beats the heck out of me since it's fairly well-shielded from road debris...maybe it was just a cr@ppy weld), now the shaft is out of balance, hence the wobble/shudder. However, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered...if the shaft was out of balance, why would it only wobble while accelerating? I understand why it might only do it at certain speeds, but if a shaft is out of balance, shouldn't it wobble/shudder at those particular speeds regardless of whether I'm accelerating, decelerating, or coasting? And why would it not seem to happen until after the car had been driven for 15 minutes or so and had warmed up? Again, it seems like an out-of-balance drive shaft is going to be apparent regardless of the operating temperature of the car.
So, could I be on the right track? And if so, is the fix as simple as welding a new weight on there? Can this be done with the shaft still on the car? I think Subaru considers the shaft a non-serviceable part, but I don't want to trash and replace an otherwise perfectly good shaft for what seems like a pretty easy fix (albeit one that is probably beyond my own abilities).
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I have a 1993 f150. Problem is that the steering wheel can wobble back and forth about a half inch or so. I took the wheel off and it looks like there is a lock ring holding everything in place. I just wondered if there was a solution to this to fix it
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OK, a couple of days ago I hit a good size bump and got the dreaded death wobble. I stopped to check the lug nuts and none were loose... jacked up one side at a time, tried shaking the tires to see if anything was loose and to my surprise on the drivers side I could move the tire back and forth (like turning the steering wheel, not around) so I figured something had broken right as I stopped. Is it supposed to do that?? I know it`s not on older vehicles.
Anyway I figured I was stranded so I thought what the heck, I`m gonna see if it will turn with the steering wheel. Well when I did... with drivers side still off the ground it gets the death wobble, oh it was running when I did it. I jacked it back down and it stopped so then I tried turning the steering wheel to see if it would turn and both tires turned as they should. I was scared to try it but I drove on home about 4 miles slowly.
My brother has an older Saturn and his wife was driving it and from the way he described it, it got the death wobble. Someone told him it was the serpentine belt. He changed it and it didn't happen anymore. Does it sound possible that the belt could be my problem. BTW, the truck is a 99 ranger 4x4 with no lift or anything.
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What would cause the rear drum brakes to lock up upon hard braking? I have replaced the wheel cylinders, installed new spring kit, and adjusters.
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Brake issues on 2005 F250. About 3 years ago during vehicle inspection the garage stated I need all for rotors on my F250. I had @40,000 miles at the time. Garage said rotors are a onetime use, no recutting them. So I got all new rotors. Prior to then I never even felt a wobble indicating they were warped. Anyhow now with 15,000 miles on them I have a huge wobble when I get on the brakes and it's 5x pronounced when pulling a trailer. I assume more warped rotors. If so, why? I pull a camper or car trailer maybe 7-10 times a year.
Now currently I am assuming its warped rotors because I have not had it "professionally" checked. I did have one occasion last August pulling the camper where I smelled the brakes being hot. The pedal got soft. After cooling it seemed ok and I flushed the old fluid and put in new. I have about 4100 miles since then and the warped feel just started about a month ago. I hate the thought of new rotors as I paid for new Ford rotors 3 years ago. Didn't want the Chinese crap from the box stores. I can't imagine how these would warp this bad after less than 15,000 miles, they are massive. Why they would so quickly?
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My car smells a little like something's burning and sounds like I'm engine braking when I take my foot off the gas (on the flat). My brother stated definitively that it was the rear differential - something about burning oil. I took it to the dealer who said it couldn't possibly be from the donut tire I had to use to drive to the airport, but lo and behold - the rear dif was having issues. I read the manual for my 2005 Subaru Impreza very carefully when I changed the tire, in the dark, in my driveway - with a flashlight, and no-where in it did it list how far I could go on the spare.
I ended up going about 50 miles at below the recommended speed because it was 3 AM and I had no other way to get to the airport. It did not mention anything about turning off AWD by removing or adding a fuse (as has been mentioned elsewhere in this forum) or any other way of turning off the AWD for that matter. It said NOTHING anywhere - I checked before, after, and again just now. Even when I called the dealer, AAA, and four different tire shops no-one could tell me how far you can drive on a spare or whether or how it might damage my car.
Anyhow I bought 4 new tires before driving home from the airport, but seem to be stuck with burned oil in the rear differential. The dealer acted like there was nothing they could do except replace it when it got bad (it's barely noticeable now). I asked if they couldn't just change the oil - to at least delay any additional damage but the guy shrugged as if it didn't matter. Is that really true? Is there nothing to do but pay $2,100 to replace the rear differential. Seems crazy.
It's a manual transmission and it did start snowing badly on my way to the airport if it matters (but I was driving very slowly - with hazards on and everything).
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I have a 2000 Subaru Legacy with just over 215,000 on it. The car runs nice and I just replaced the plugs and wires as well as the transmission fluid. There is just one other clunk and I don't really know what it is. When I brake there is a clunk that sounds like it's coming from the back somewhere near the center of the car. It is a single clunk. It doesn't seem to affect how the car brakes or handles but I want to know what it is.
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I have a 1999 Subaru Legacy sedan (2.2 liter) with about 178K miles on it. Recently the speedometer has stopped working intermittently. I can't find a pattern to it, though it does sometimes seem to start or stop working after braking. And the odometer doesn't work when the speedometer isn't working, which is a problem for keeping to a maintenance schedule.
The problem seems to have begun after having my brakes done and tires rotated-- is that even possible? What could be the problem and how expensive is a repair?
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About a month back my wife and I were on our way home from dinner and when we exited the interstate I heard an awful rubbing sound coming from the engine compartment. I wasn't quite sure what it was or how to describe it. I was concerned it was the timing belt right away. I limped it home sputtering and misfiring and listened for a moment before shutting it down.
The next day I checked all the accessories. Nothing wrong there, so I realized it must have been the timing belt. I began striping the rest down and confronted carnage. One of the bearings had gone on an idler pulley and the gear was riding the bolt. the belt had moved out of position and began to cut into the backside of the plastic cover. By some miracle it hadn't completely snapped or jumped timing.
I replaced all pulleys, the tensioner, the water pump, and the belt. After my buddy and I got it back together it seemed fine aside from a slightly rough-ish idle for a day or two, but then the misfire got quite bad. I chugged it up to my wife's parent's place. We borrowed a car from them, and then I went into repair mode again. I reasoned that perhaps the plugs had fouled when the belt was messed up initially, so I replaced the plugs. Didn't have wires on hand. Fired it back up. No bueno. Same misfire and chugging. Still borderline driveable.
So, I tore down the belt again to find that the intake cam on the passenger side was about 5 teeth off. Seemed further out than my friend and I would have left it, but I got it lined back up within a tooth and put it back together. Still no good. Still misfiring. So we tried it a couple more times. One of us started to doubt the cause, but I talked him to try with one more reset. This time I wanted to get everything absolutely perfectly lined up. We did. I fired it up. Silky smooth, ran like a sewing machine. Put it back together and everything seemed fine. For a day or two.
The misfiring began again. It bothered me that I hadn't managed to take care of the plug wires. I had the codes pulled and I had a steady misfire on ... I think it was 4. I replaced the wires on that side and everything was back to normal. Silky smooth operation. For a couple days.
I was on my way to work and had to brake very hard to avoid an accident. Like from 70 to 0 wheel-lockingly hard. Immediately a misfire at idle returned. Doesn't seem to be an issue when not at idle, but it's hard to say. I guessed that it was the plug wires from the other side. I replaced those today, gave it an oil change. Still misfiring. I dropped by autozone. Codes read - misfire everywhere but 3, and I'm guessing that maybe a sensor for 3 is just messed up. The coil pack looked suspect, and I thought I'd do the PCV valve while I was at it. After replacing both the misfires continue.
I've yanked the battery to encourage the computer to reset. I'm at a loss at the moment. The only think I can guess is that perhaps my new tensioner is poop and I've jumped a tooth or two somewhere? I'm looking for guesses and wild theories here. Anything to try. I'm going to reconnect the battery shortly and if it's still misfiring, which I'm assuming it will be, I'm going to have codes pulled again.
Just to head this one off at the pass - I believe I got extremely lucky and did not damage the valves with the timing belt nonsense. Compression seems good, and I doubt it would have ran as well as it did as long as it did with valve damage.
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I change my own pads as a good lifetime warranty with free replacement from Autozone is great!
But with the Tribeca... I changed the front rotors just like all my other cars over the years.. and now there is pretty severe pulsation when trying to brake... I've checked the rotors and pad replacement twice now and all looks perfect.
I searched this pulsation issue and saw on a Jaquar site that you can ruin the ABS on some cars when you don't drain excess fluid as you push the piston back to install then new thicker pads..
Is this an issue for B9? I don't see it anywhere... I'm ready to bring it in the shop.. the pulsation ONLY happens when braking and gets more severe when stopping from progressively higher speeds...
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my '97 subaru impreza outback sport has a rhythmic wosh wosh sound from the right rear wheel when the brakes are applied. It has rear drum brakes. I put on new drums, shoes and springs and the sound is still there. When braking hard, there is a metal knocking sound as well. What this could be?
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