The car runs great except when you step on the brakes the entire car vibrates hard. I replaced the breaks but it didn't help. This originally only happened going down steep hills at 40-60 mph. Now it happens whenever I step on the brakes. Someone told me that it must be the shocks after they put in the new breaks, tires (which I needed) and the problem did not go away. I do not trust them at this point, they should have mentioned it to me before they fixed the brakes and it started getting worse. Any suggestions?

 

Welcome to the forum ! did you check the engine belt ?

 

sounds like warped brake rotors. Feel along the flat surface of the brake rotors and especially at the outside edge (when car is COLD). You will need to replace them if that surface is not flat and has any ridges or grooves in it. Its a medium difficulty DIY job.

 

Thank you both for answering me. I do not believe it is the engine belt. Only when I hit the brakes does this problem happen.

More than likely it is warped brake rotors. The weird part is, I had the brakes fixed originally and that was when I occasionally felt the vibration on extremely steep hills about 4 years ago. I had the rotors and the breaks and rotors done again 2 years ago. About 6 months ago, the vibration became daily. Now, these brakes need to be replaced again and the vibration became truly bad. You now can feel it all through the front and when I am driving, I need to grab the steering wheel with both hands, as I now am afraid I will no longer be able to control the steering wheel. Your idea about the rotors makes the most sense. Since both brake jobs were done by to different shops, and I do not know either shop or the men who own them, or work in the shop, this leaves me at a disadvantage. Of course, both places told me they had nothing to do with the problem and one said that he believes it is the shocks for $750.00. The other man said he has no idea what is wrong with the car.

Tomorrow, I am going to bring the car to a place that was recommended to me. I do appreciate your suggestions and I will let you know if this works. I will let you all know the results of these brakes and rotors. I do have one last question, could something be wrong with the car that would cause the rotors to have a flat surface? Perhaps the rotors were good and something caused the rotors to flatten on one side?
Thanks for your help

 

I would suspect that the people who said they replaced your rotors 2y ago did not do the job and just charged you for it, its a common scam. You can take a pic of the rotor thru the hubcaps and post it if you want to show the forum.

There is another possibility and that's an ABS issue - if ABS is kicking in on only one side that could cause the vibration. Usually you would have a code for that tho, and an ABS warning light too. Finally, you might have a stuck brake caliper. It's rare but I saw it once and the car braked horribly.

Does the vibration occur when you are braking HARD?

 

Thank you for getting back to me. You absolutely right!!! I found another mechanic in my neighborhood and I stayed on him and drove him crazy. I asked him to do the brakes and rotors, front and back and told him to save it all for me. I showed up early rather than him picking me up. Well instead of him telling me that it was the struts, calipers, shocks or other things along with the brakes and rotors that need to be replaced, he said give him a chance. He replaced the brakes and rotors in the front and told me it was necessary to replace the two, but not the back brakes or calipers. In about 4 months, bring the car in and he will fix the brakes in the back and if I follow up as he suggests, I will not need rotors. I changed the oil and called it quits. He explained the difference between the synthetic blend and synthetic oil. It seems I was using synthetic blend as I requested synthetic oil and he wanted $80.00 for the oil change. I have been using blend all along and had 5 gallon unopen bottle in the car. He used that and put in a new filter. Then charged me $20.00. Since the oil cost me $18.00 in Walmart I thought that was a fair deal.
I will now recommend him in the area and will continue to use him for repairs. I will however, keep my eyes open and verify any work being done on this car and future cars. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP.
Jean