Extreme vibration only when braking downhill
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 163
Likes: 8
From: Chattanooga, TN
Extreme vibration only when braking downhill
I never noticed this issue before since I bought my car 5 months ago. I took a trip out to the mountains to go to a friend's cabin. Trip involves going up and down a few mountains. Typical curving steel roads with some straight aways and a speed limit of 60. This is when I noticed my problem.
When braking hard going downhill at 50-60 mph I have an extreme vibration felt through the car. Not really much felt through the pedal. Steering wheel just moves with the road. The vibration is felt through the whole car, like a vibranting bed feeling to be exact. Same trip I noticed at 80 plus mph the same vibration can felt. So now I'm not sure what's going on.
My first instincts when it happened on downhill hard braking was warped rotors but the problem can't be duplicated on a level highway. When the vibration happens at high speeds I think out of round or out of balance tire or tires but than I'm thinking why would the problem only happen braking downhill also.
75mph or less the car is smooth as butter, no vibration, quiet smooth ride. Braking hard around turns, or fast deaccelerate on the level roads all is smooth and feels great. Inner city and my daily commute doesn't allow many speeds past 55-65 mph around here so that's why I never noticed it before.
Let me know your opinions. Please don't just respond with rotors or tires. Explain your reasoning or thoughts on what's going on.
When braking hard going downhill at 50-60 mph I have an extreme vibration felt through the car. Not really much felt through the pedal. Steering wheel just moves with the road. The vibration is felt through the whole car, like a vibranting bed feeling to be exact. Same trip I noticed at 80 plus mph the same vibration can felt. So now I'm not sure what's going on.
My first instincts when it happened on downhill hard braking was warped rotors but the problem can't be duplicated on a level highway. When the vibration happens at high speeds I think out of round or out of balance tire or tires but than I'm thinking why would the problem only happen braking downhill also.
75mph or less the car is smooth as butter, no vibration, quiet smooth ride. Braking hard around turns, or fast deaccelerate on the level roads all is smooth and feels great. Inner city and my daily commute doesn't allow many speeds past 55-65 mph around here so that's why I never noticed it before.
Let me know your opinions. Please don't just respond with rotors or tires. Explain your reasoning or thoughts on what's going on.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 163
Likes: 8
From: Chattanooga, TN
Front uca's are good. As far as bushings the only bad ones I have are the ball joints on the transverse link, they've been bad. Putting them off waiting to get other parts and do it all at once. I just want to make sure it isn't something else while I have the car jacked up.
New Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,337
Likes: 204
From: Edina, Minnesota
You notice the problem when braking on an incline vs. braking on the flats because you instinctively push the brake pedal harder when braking on an incline.
The solution is seating/aligning the brake pads. If the brake pads are mounted incorrectly, you will need to repair this problem before “seating” your brake pads.
The solution is seating/aligning the brake pads. If the brake pads are mounted incorrectly, you will need to repair this problem before “seating” your brake pads.