I just took a road trip and both my wife and I noticed a vibration when braking but only when going over 70ish MPH. Anyone else have this problem?

I have a service appointment on Thursday to have it looked at.

 

If you notice it as you begin to brake; but it smooths out as you increase pressure, sounds like a warped rotor to me. Try braking at 50 or so, hands off the wheel, and check for vibration or steering wheel movement.

 

I will give it a try on the way home. Thanks!

 

My 04 TL brakes vibrate too. After driving a few miles at 70+ MPH I apply the brakes I feel the vibration in the steering wheel and a slight pulse in braking. For example, when I exit the freeway and apply the brakes to slow down on the exit ramp. For the rest of the ride home in rural traffic at 45 to 55 MPH there is no noticeable vibration. I recently replaced the rotors and pads all the way around for the same reason. The vibration went away for a few thousand miles but its back just like before. The shop said there was nothing wrong with the rotors that I replaced. My TL is a 6 speed with Brembo brakes. Has anyone else experienced the same symptoms?

 

I've not had an issue with the RDX, but on previous cars this was an issue. The shop guy who was doing the brake work wasn't tightening the lugs with a torque wrench and causing the issue. This caused me to do a few bring backs to the shop where they would machine the rotors and re-install. I finally did the work myself and fixed it for good. After a few months I sent them a bill for my time wasted on going to their shop explaining that I as a hobbyist could do better quality work than their grease monkey. The bill was just to make a statement. I was surprised when three weeks later I received an apology letter from the owner of the shop and a refund on all work I had preformed there.

 

WOW...That is quite impressive!! It is not often you read about a positive outcome like this.

 

If you lived in VA, I'd hire you!

 

Distorting the rotors from over tightening when the grease monkey uses an air wrench to tighten the lug nuts. Just from normal driving the rotors get hot from braking and if you run through a puddle of water it can also cause the rotors to distort. While I use a torque wrench to tighten lug nuts, when was the last time you saw a grease monkey rotating your tires use one?

 

That was kinda the point of the story, no? Inexperienced and careless techs don't use the right tools for the job and cause problems. Bring backs kill shop owners because cars getting free follow ups eats time that could be better spent doing paid jobs. Sure, a puddle can warp a rotor, but it's a hell of a lot less likely if the rotor was properly and evenly tightened.

 

I had something similar on my S4 and it was annoying as hell. Turns out the shop installed the new brake pads with 2 backing plates instead of one. I took one off and did a re-bed of the brakes and it was all gone.

Make sure everything is tightened right and try it out to see if it works.

http://zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm

 

Actually, it really doesn't make an difference. Even if the wheel is perfectly torqued, running through a puddle of water (especially in the hot summer) can warp the rotors. However, like I said, some rotors seem to be less susceptible than others. It appears to be the metal composition. It appears to be mostly on front rotors. I believe it's because they usually have a slight drag that causes them to heat up more than the rear ones.