runninlow3

Ok guys, this has been bothering me for the last few weeks and would hate to spend countless hours and money at the dealership having them figure this out. Here's my problem...

I've noticed that my brake pedal vibrates/pulsates upon braking when I'm at higher speeds such as 70mph and above...especially if I'm hard braking. Upon braking, I feel it slightly in the steering wheel but mostly in the brake pedal.

I already had my front rotors resurfaced/recut last week, but that didn't seem to help. I also rotated the tires front to back to see if it was a bad rim, but that didn't change anything either.

Also, within the last 2k miles...I've had:
left & right axles replaced
3 rims replaced
wheel alignment
front lower control arm bushings replaced
Additional info: I'm currently running Bridgestone Potenza 960AS Pole Position with 22k miles on them.

Hope someone can help shed some light on this problem...Thanks in advance!

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

my first thought...warped rotors since its through the brake pedal. yes i know you've had them re-surfaced, but its the one thing you haven't replaced. i would have started there and then moved on to the other parts you have replaced. honda/acura rotors are known to warp be it a TL or an accord.

it seems like you've already spent hours and money trying to figure this out (just based on what you've told us).

any reason you haven't tried to replace the rotors?

others might have better ideas...but i'd start with replacing the rotors and possibly pads (depending how much life is left on them). dont' go to the dealer and get them (they'll charge you an arm and a leg just for the rotors), don't know if you want OEM replacements or aftermarkets, that's up to you, but they can be had for less money than what the dealer charges. you can always take them to the dealer to install or DIY or indy shop...that is if you go with rotors. hope this helps, good luck.

csmeance

the issue is warped rotors for sure. It's probably the rear rotors as they are solid and not hard to overheat; but getting the front rotors resurfaced wasn't such a great idea to help solve the issue. Cutting the rotors makes them thinner and MUCH easier to warp. Many dealers charge the same amount of labor to cut a rotor as changing a rotor so it's literally the same cost!

I warped my rotors within 30K miles and bought some racing brake slotted rotors. I'm at 106K now and they are running great! The stock rotors aren't the best design in the world...

If you don't mind me asking, why did you replace the axles and 3 rims?

chinesestunna

+1 with rotor issues - I had the exact symptoms and it was my rear rotors that were shot. Since the vibration is mostly in the pedal, I think your issue might be the rear rotors as well

djlandkpl

If you feel the vibration all the time, then I'm with rest on rotors. This is going to sound crazy but replace your brake fluid. I've experienced intermittent pulsations in two different cars that went away with fluid flushes. My theory is that the water absorbed in the fluid boils during hard braking which causes the pulsing.

runninlow3

Sorry, I should've been more clear as to why I had all the other work done...it wasn't due to diagnosing this problem...the other work was needed, being that it just had to be replaced.

No reason for not replacing the rotors...figured I'd have them recut first and see what happens.

I bent two rims on the passenger side this past winter, hit a huge crater on the highway, which I couldn't avoid. The roads were horrible this year due to the bad winter we had. The other rim we found to be bent as well, but had happened a year before that. As for the axles...I had a bad cv joint on the driver side, so replaced both.

How would you define...'feeling the vibration all the time'? I feel it whenever I apply the brakes at higher speeds.
I had my brake fluid replaced 17k miles ago.

runninlow3

Thanks for the replies everyone...the more replies, the better. I'll explore all possible solutions made so far.

In regards to the rear rotors...being that they are still original...should I start with having them recut first before replacing them?

If I were to replace my front rotors and decide not to go with oem, what would be a good aftermarket brand alternative, yet cost friendly?

Another thought I had in regards to this vibration...if one of my wheels was not balanced properly...would that cause the vibration that I feel or would it be a totally different vibration characteristic?

csmeance

If you had a wheel that wasn't balanced properly, you'd feel it ALL the time while driving at about 35+ MPH. Most folks feel it at 60+ mph as the TL is VERY sensitive to balancing. Go to a shop that uses a Hunter Road Force Machine and you'll be set as far as detecting bent wheels and balancing. Some discount tire's have these machines so it might be worth a shot to look there.

I went with Racing Brake since their slotted rotors were on sale at the time. They have treated me VERY well for the past 70K miles and still stop very well. The only issue with slotted rotors is that they eat up pads a bit faster than solid rotors. Drilled rotors are really for looks for consumer cars like ours and can be more of an issue than a benefit. Stoptech and Rotora make good replacement rotors as well.

Like I said before, cutting rotors is not worth it since they are made thinner and thus more prone to warping. At my dealer it's the same price for either them recutting the rotors or for me buying new OEM rotors from them and getting them put on.

If you want the factory rotors, they are about 60 dollars or so each from our sponsoring dealers the last time I checked. Don't fall for dealer prices!

If the vibration is while braking, it's something related to the brakes. If you feel it in the steering wheel it's DEF. the front rotors. If you feel it in the pedal and NOT the steering wheel then more than likely its the rear rotors.

I had a shimmy in my pedal and my steering wheel so I just went with all 4 rotors from Racing Brake and had some Acura A-Spec Pads installed and never looked back!

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^what he said. if the vibration is through the brake pedal...most likely a brake issue.

i'd just replace all 4 corners with aftermarket pads and rotors. check excelerate performance for brake packages for AZ. reasonably priced for the whole pkg. and you can never have too much braking power. i have the stoptech slotted rotors and pads sitting in the basement waiting to be installed when the time comes...heard good things about them. you could go with racing brake, rotora, OEM...depends on what you want. my thinking is if you need to replace, why not upgrade a little for about the same price as OEM or a few bucks more?

the TL seems to be sensitive to a lot of things...alignment and wheel balance.