Vibration in Steering Wheel When Braking

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Dan Higgins

Dan Higgins

Joined
Jul 24, 2016
Threads
59
Messages
1,341
Location
Denver, CO
When I brake I notice a bit of vibration in the steering wheel. I don't have vibration when driving so this is not a wheel balance issue. I recently had the alignment checked and it is OK (though it has the 4 degree camber that Slee set when installing my lift (which included OME springs, Nitrocharger Sport shocks and longer UCAs.) According to my dealer, the brakes are in good condition. I also have 285/65R18 KO2s on stock wheels. The vibration is more noticeable when I am easing into the brakes to slow the truck. When I hit the brakes more firmly I don't notice it as much if at all.

Thoughts?
 
^^^^^^^^^ This!!
 
if you replace them I would go Drilled slotted as they wont get as hot, less likely to warp and better stopping power. DBA or the ones Cruiser Brothers (Ward Harris) sells. You can get DBAs from Advanced Auto parts and Slee.
 
Thanks, Romer. I think I'll let them resurfaced this time and see how it goes. But I'll keep your advice in mind for when its time to replace them. Thanks for the input, Everyone. I have an appointment Monday AM to have them resurfaced. Maybe I'll switch to DBAs next time. (Easy for me to get here in Denver.)
 
Dan Higgins said:
Thanks, Romer. I think I'll let them resurfaced this time and see how it goes. But I'll keep your advice in mind for when its time to replace them. Thanks for the input, Everyone. I have an appointment Monday AM to have them resurfaced. Maybe I'll switch to DBAs next time. (Easy for me to get here in Denver.)
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What others have said... warped rotors.

Btw... If you haven’t already...you really need to get in the habit of using engine braking on that long descent into Denver on the 70...and other descents. Shift into “manual”, which defaults to 4th gear...then adjust from there so that you aren’t having to ride the brakes. Otherwise, warping will become a frequent affair... ;)
 
Markuson said:
What others have said... warped rotors.

Btw... If you haven’t already...you really need to get in the habit of using engine braking on that long descent into Denver on the 70...and other descents. Shift into “manual”, which defaults to 4th gear...then adjust from there so that you aren’t having to ride the brakes. Otherwise, warping will become a frequent affair... ;)
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Thanks, Mark. I do this a LOT. All the time. It was standard practice for me on my previous vehicle and that carried over. Even more important when towing but I do it on all significant events. (Which is a LOT of our driving here in CO as you know.) I taught my wife how to do it as well. I just prefer controlling speed that way. I like to see how much of a decent I can do without ever touching the brakes.

I have 46K on the rotors. The vibration is minimal if noticeable at all when going flat. But I do notice it more when descending.
 
I had this issue with both Sequoia's I had previously, got maybe 30k before the dealer swapped them out. Mostly highway driving but where I used to live I had a very steep downhill on both sides of my route to and from home/work so that tended to be an issue. Although my '17 Highlander Platinum also had the rear rotors warp at 13k, dealer replaced and my fronts are warping as well, but since I am planning on trading in (about a month to go) thy opted to no do them unless they get worse, they will just do it when I trade. Seems these days they just swap them instead of turning them.

I am considering getting drilled rotors when they start to go (unless under warranty) to prevent these types of issues on my next ride.
 
Agreed, it's the rotors.

I would highly recommend not to resurface them, and just replace. Note that many auto parts stores use to offer resurfacing, but no longer. They are cheap enough anyhow. I personally recommend OEM.

Resurfacing rotors is just asking for the issue to repeat itself shortly after, as worn/resurfaced rotors result in less mass, therefore less heat sinking capacity, and reach higher peaks temps in any particular braking event.

Contrary to popular belief, brake related vibration is rarely due to geometrical warping of the disk rotor. It's much more likely due to uneven brake pad deposits resulting in inconsistent coefficient of friction across the brake surface. And causing cyclical pulling when the brakes are applied.

More info: -Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths

Anyhow, it's a relatively cheap and easy fix. New front OEM rotors, and it'll be back to being smooth as butter.
 
Six months ago we had our rotors re-surfaced and had new pads installed at the same time. No more vibration and the truck stops fine.
 
Just drove my ‘16 from West Virginia to Yellowstone and back. I had noticed the vibration before but it was nearly unbearable on some descents so I too switched to engine breaking. What does one pay for new rotors? My LC has 35K miles btw.
 
TeCKis300 said:
Agreed, it's the rotors.

I would highly recommend not to resurface them, and just replace. Note that many auto parts stores use to offer resurfacing, but no longer. They are cheap enough anyhow. I personally recommend OEM.

Resurfacing rotors is just asking for the issue to repeat itself shortly after, as worn/resurfaced rotors result in less mass, therefore less heat sinking capacity, and reach higher peaks temps in any particular braking event.

Contrary to popular belief, brake related vibration is rarely due to geometrical warping of the disk rotor. It's much more likely due to uneven brake pad deposits resulting in inconsistent coefficient of friction across the brake surface. And causing cyclical pulling when the brakes are applied.

More info: -Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths

Anyhow, it's a relatively cheap and easy fix. New front OEM rotors, and it'll be back to being smooth as butter.
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Couldn’t agree more.

It’s also amazing what removing the pads, can give a little sanding job with some 1000 grit paper will do. Also getting all the junk out of the slot that’s cut into the center of the pad.

To comment on some recommendations of slotted and drill rotors. Slotted and drilled don’t neccessarily mean they will run cooler. I’ve tested plenty of “performance” rotors and found they heat up more than OEM rotors when used on the street.
 
As I understand it, most 'warping' isn't warping at all but uneven pad material transfer. Hence the effectiveness of Taco's suggestion above to remove the high spots. And I also agree with his assessment of there being little benefit to their heat transfer ability. Perhaps if you had ducted rotors the airflow through the slots would provide benefit.

I have had very little problems with brake rotor pulsations over the years. Most every brake job I do is a simple pad exchange. Perhaps calipers if they're sticking or leaking. I believe the vast majority of problems are caused by braking technique. One thing I try very hard to avoid is to hold firm after a hard stop. This will 'coke' the pad material to the rotor and then you'll have a high spot. Rather, after a hard stop I'll let the truck continue to roll slowly forward. If over the course of a light you can get a 1/2 rotation you'll prevent the superheated pad from transferring to a single spot.
 
kwatty said:
Just drove my ‘16 from West Virginia to Yellowstone and back. I had noticed the vibration before but it was nearly unbearable on some descents so I too switched to engine breaking. What does one pay for new rotors? My LC has 35K miles btw.
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If you are still under factory warranty, I would have the dealer replace them under warranty. My dealer has done this in the past without issue. The rotors are not that expensive, its the labor that always gets you.
 
TeCKis300 said:
Agreed, it's the rotors.

I would highly recommend not to resurface them, and just replace. Note that many auto parts stores use to offer resurfacing, but no longer. They are cheap enough anyhow. I personally recommend OEM.

Resurfacing rotors is just asking for the issue to repeat itself shortly after, as worn/resurfaced rotors result in less mass, therefore less heat sinking capacity, and reach higher peaks temps in any particular braking event.

Contrary to popular belief, brake related vibration is rarely due to geometrical warping of the disk rotor. It's much more likely due to uneven brake pad deposits resulting in inconsistent coefficient of friction across the brake surface. And causing cyclical pulling when the brakes are applied.

More info: -Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths

Anyhow, it's a relatively cheap and easy fix. New front OEM rotors, and it'll be back to being smooth as butter.
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I didn't realize it wasn't actually metal issues, but deposits of the pads on the rotors. That was useful information, thank you.
 
OregonLC said:
(snip...) I believe the vast majority of problems are caused by braking technique. One thing I try very hard to avoid is to hold firm after a hard stop. This will 'coke' the pad material to the rotor and then you'll have a high spot. Rather, after a hard stop I'll let the truck continue to roll slowly forward. If over the course of a light you can get a 1/2 rotation you'll prevent the superheated pad from transferring to a single spot.
Click to expand...

Your last point is very salient. It's something I instinctively do. Partially as my other car is a manual and its good practice for track days. I look at managing brakes in one of the two ways:

1) Manage peak brake rotor temps. Usually this means that if I'm coming in hot, or on the downside of a hill, I almost always downshift. This keeps the rotors cooler at the end of the stop. It's easy to slap the transmission lever over to sport, and even pull down once to grab a more aggressive engine braking gear.

2) If I'm coming in really hot or with a heavy load, and I know I've heated up the brakes significantly, I will do as OregonLC posts and inch forward incrementally. One could even use park if needing to sit in place long. Ideally, moving forward is ideal to keep air moving through the vanes of the brake disks.
 
Yep. I definitely do #1. Have for years. Its almost second nature. I use this to manage speed on long downhills. When towing with a trailer I'll often even do this on the flats. I try to anticipate braking and begin slow well ahead of needing to stop. This helps train the mind for when I tow our trailer.

As for warranty, that's over. But given that this is the first time I have done anything to the rotors (almost 2 years and over 45K miles) the $150 charge for resurfacing. I think I'll start with that and if the next time it happens a lot sooner I'll replace.

Very informative thread. Thanks, Everyone!
 
So I’m sitting at the dealer right now and I’m being told that at 25k miles on a 2017 the neither the rotors or the pads are being covered under warranty. I have the aforementioned shake.

How on earth do pads wear out and rotors warp in 25k miles??? Also the back pads are 9MM, the fronts are 2MM (!!!).

And in case someone says “driving style,” my 2015 was at 65k miles without the slightest of issues on the original set of brakes.
 
I have 16 and my went out within 10K miles. Warranty is one year or 12k miles whichever comes first per dealer (it was more than a year for me). Initially they have resurfaced rotors and change pads (paid for pads but no labor charge). Within 3-4k problem appeared again so this time they have changed under warranty rotors and pads.
 
mooneywa said:
So I’m sitting at the dealer right now and I’m being told that at 25k miles on a 2017 the neither the rotors or the pads are being covered under warranty. I have the aforementioned shake.

How on earth do pads wear out and rotors warp in 25k miles??? Also the back pads are 9MM, the fronts are 2MM (!!!).

And in case someone says “driving style,” my 2015 was at 65k miles without the slightest of issues on the original set of brakes.
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The front brakes are where the majority of braking force comes from, so the front is going to wear a lot faster (all else equal). Can't tell you why your others lasted so long, but 65k on front brake pads would be really long, especially for such a heavy vehicle.
 
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