Does your car vibrate when braking? Causes and solutions

If you notice that your car vibrates when braking It is a symptom that it has a fault that can be located in many parts of the car. In this article we are going to give you the possible causes of the problem, taking into account the probabilities that each one of them will occur. Whether you are catching up to go to the workshop with clear things, or if you are looking to solve it on your own, we give you some useful tips to detect the mishap and solve it.

The first thing you have to be clear is that the vibrations or tremors only occur when you step on the brake. If your car shakes in other circumstances, such as when reaching a certain speed, it is most likely that you are facing other possible damage. Once you're sure it's braking, here are the possible causes, ordered from most common to least common:

Vibrations due to brake discs

Sometimes when subjected to the breaks to intensive use, the change in temperature causes the brake discs to warp. As the brake disc is an element that rotates, the curved part rubs more intensely against the pad in each of the turns, thus causing a vibration that can be reflected in the steering wheel, the brake pedal or the car in general. In addition, if the deformation of the disc is large, it causes a loss of braking efficiency that can be dangerous.

The first thing to do to detect this fault is remove the wheel to see if the brake disc is warped. If it's a serious case, you may be able to see it naked eye looking at it from the side. Things get complicated if the curvature is slight, because you may need a dial gauge.

This tool is a meter that is fixed on a surface and if when sliding it over it there is any variation in the force with which it rubs, the watch tells you. If you are a handyman who is fond of mechanics, you can get one for about 30 euros. Even so, we recommend that you check if it is another cause than those indicated below before spending money.

If you do find that your car vibrates when braking because the brake discs are deformed, the possible solutions are change them together with the pads or repair them. This second option will not be offered to you in most workshops and we do not recommend it either. If you have a budget, it is better to replace them with new ones.

Related article:

When to change brake discs

Vibrations due to damaged bushing

The hub or hub is the circular piece to which the brake disc is attached. Both the rust accumulated in an old car, as well as a strong blow to the wheel or a bad assembly can cause this part to have too many imperfections for it to turn properly and, therefore, that the brake disc does too. For this reason, if you have used a dial gauge on the disc, you will have to disassemble the brake and use it in the same way on the hub to see if it is the one that rotates incorrectly.

If the fault is in the hub, we can find the added mishap that the brake disc has also deteriorated. This happens because if the disc is placed on a misaligned element, it itself turns badly, having more friction in some parts than in others. If this situation is allowed to last long enough, the disk will eventually fail as well. However, if you see that the hub is covered in rust, you can try cleaning it to see if the problem goes away.

Vibrations when braking by the bearings

This cause is unlikely and if it occurs it is difficult to detect. A defective bearing can cause vibrations, but not in a clear and constant way. Being made up of small, constantly moving parts that can change orientation, vibrations can appear and disappear seemingly arbitrarily. Even, -and this is where the complication is for your case- sometimes they can appear when braking and can make us believe that the origin of the problem is the brake discs. To differentiate it, this fault is usually accompanied by a noise that occurs in certain conditions such as in a curve, when braking, etc.

If your car vibrates when braking due to a damaged bearing, you will have to replace it with a new one. The price varies a lot from one brand to another, but it can cost you around 100 euros per wheel. This element is not easy to replace, so we recommend that you go to a workshop to have it done correctly, unless you have good mechanical knowledge and tools to do so.

Other unlikely causes why it vibrates when braking

• unbalanced tires: This case manifests itself as a constant vibration when reaching certain speeds, so you should not consider this option if your car only vibrates when braking. If this is the mishap, what may have happened to you is that the vibrations are there without you braking, but when you do, they intensify enough for you to notice them. So sharpen your senses just in case.
• Another possible cause of vibrations is wear ball joints and suspension mounts, defects that are easy to detect in any ITV review or yourself if you listen certain noises.
• Worn shock absorbers: This problem does not cause vibrations by itself, the only thing that can happen is that they amplify them when they are caused by other malfunctions.

Related article:

It is important to check the shock absorbers

Ultimately

All the vibrations when braking are a symptom of fault which is not always located in the brakes. If you car vibrates when braking it may be that:

• be unbalanced tires and rims. This is the least likely case, since then the car (especially the steering wheel) would always vibrate, without the need to brake. Simply braking "amplifies" the vibration who arrives at the car.
• Shock absorbers are worn. As before, it is unlikely, since some very worn shock absorbers it is difficult for them to produce oscillations, they simply…amplify them.
• be damaged brake discs. Due to a specific heat or several sessions of intense use, the discs have become deformed or "warped", causing the entire car to vibrate with more or less intensity when braking.

• El bushing is damaged. Due to the passing of the kilometers, the lack of grease, excessive efforts (for example a strong blow to a wheel) or simply a bad assembly (both when building the car and in a possible repair) cause the bushing is out of tolerance and rotates eccentrically or misaligned.

How to Live Aligned with the brake disc is attached to the hub, if the hub turns badly, the disk does too, so it is often difficult to know which of the elements causes the problems beforehand. vibes.
It also sometimes happens that a damaged hub ends up damaging the discs and vice versa, so the repair is often done like this:

• Visual inspection of the brake disc. If at first glance it is damaged, it is replaced together with the pads and the problem should be solved.
• When the disc does not appear damaged to the naked eye, it is disassembled and checked with a dial gauge for warpage. If the warping is scarce, it can be rectified with the appropriate tool, if not, it is replaced.

• If disco is not warped when measured with the dial gauge, the vibrations are almost certainly caused by the hub. It will be necessary to replace the bearings, assemble and check with a dial gauge. Sometimes the disc will also have been damaged by the bushing damage and we will have to change them, with the consequent outlay.
• Another possible cause of vibrations is the wear of ball joints and suspension mounts, damage that should be detected at any ITV inspection.

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