Help a lady whose steering wheel judders on braking?

[lisa110rry]

Hi folks,

I must confess this problem is not with the little green SLK, but rather with my elderly, but not as elderly as the SLK, Honda CR-V. When I'm driving at, say, 50mph or above, if I need to brake more than very slowly, my steering wheel judders. She's going in for her service and MOT later this month when I get back from a week abroad, but I could do with ideas as to what will fix it and what it will cost. The car is a lovely 52 model, petrol of course, about 300 miles off 150k miles. Mr 110rry says it's on it's last legs, but it's a classic in its own way and still going strong apart from this. I've had it since it was 18 months old with 18,000 miles on her, and when I put away the little green SLK in the garage, it's like greeting a friend I haven't seen for a while.

Any ideas chaps? Whilst I could buy a new car, I really don't want to.

 

[Benzowner]

Probably discs and pads renewal may be required, sounds like the discs have warped, maybe through wear.

 

[lisa110rry]

Sounds super-expensive, judging by a colleague who has a company car (BMW, sorry), Oh dear! But it will be done as the engine, touch wood, is in fine fettle.

 

[whitenemesis]

Could be pad transfer, try a couple of hard stops from speed (where safe to do so!) to see if it clears.

 

[lisa110rry]

I could do that whitenemesis, I live in the North and know a lane I could charge down and brake hard, if my foot it up to it (right foot was rebuilt in March 2014, it would be perfectly safe.

 

[lisa110rry]

What would cause disc warping please? I'm a very gentle braker, known for it. My brake pads last ages.

 

[trapperjohn]

From ebay Lisa and probably best not to buy the cheapest.
DAP1191 Replacement FRONT Brake Discs and Pad Set - BRAND NEW!! | eBay

CHEERS
John

 

[lisa110rry]

Thanks John, nice of you to post, but I have to go with my usual chap (Brook Lane in Longton) to do repairs. Having said that, I did, decades ago, replace the worm gear on the Scimitar's windscreen wipers the day before we were due to travel to France while Mr 110RRY was at work. No repairs now though.

 

[Yugguy]

Disc warping can be caused if the tracking is very out.

 

[lisa110rry]

Really? I had mine done recently on this car. Perhaps too late, although I didn't hear it before ai had it done.

 

[whitenemesis]

What would cause disc warping please? I'm a very gentle braker, known for it. My brake pads last ages.

Gentle braking is classic for transfer, I get it after pootling around town.

Disc warping is quite rare, can be caused by holding the brake on after a hard stop, causes localised heating. Most common cause for 'warped' disc is a dirty hub face not being cleaned properly during disc replacement.

 

[Trickythemerc]

Before we all go off down the "it's the brake discs" route,it may well be a worn suspension joint. I have not long back replaced the lower ones on my CLK the first indication that there was a problem was under fairly heavy braking from,lets just say plenty well odd MPH. First thought was it's discs/pads time,on inspection no problems found. On checking the control arms both O/S and N/S needed replacing.

 

[whitenemesis]

Before we all go off down the "it's the brake discs" route,it may well be a worn suspension joint. I have not long back replaced the lower ones on my CLK the first indication that there was a problem was under fairly heavy braking from,lets just say plenty well odd MPH. First thought was it's discs/pads time,on inspection no problems found. On checking the control arms both O/S and N/S needed replacing.

Good shout

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Was it OK before you parked for Summer?

Sometimes the pads can stick to the disc through corrosion if the vehicle is left standing for a while in wet conditions. This causes a high spot on the disc the size of the pad, sometimes it clears after a few hard applications of the brakes, but if not, then it's new discs and pads.

 

[grober]

Could be suspension [bushes] could be steering [worn track rod ends/linkages] could be brakes [ discs/pads ] but the brakes, steering and suspension will be checked when the car is MOT'd. The fact it happens when you brake hard does tend to point towards the problem being brake related as the most likely candidate.
An unlikely candidate would be the ABS system kicking in prematurely [ correctly I may add] which might happen on a wet/slippery surface if your front tyres were particularly worn although that would normally manifest as a vibrating brake pedal!

 

[PobodY]

^Particularly if the handbrake was left on.

 

[bolide]

Disc warping can be caused if the tracking is very out.

I think you're barking up the wrong tree with that one.

Nick Froome

 

[C43 AR2R]

I would suggest to start from wheel balancing. Regardless of tyre age if the car is stationary for a long period of time tyre can get a flat spot which causes steering wheel judder on braking.

 

[John Jones Jr]

Car off the road for a while and then an issue occurs while braking? Odds on all that's required is that both pads & discs need cleaning up. There's two ways to resolve this if that's the problem. One, strip and clean or as already mentioned drive with the brakes applied - on/off/on/off (the same with the h/brake) but avoid excessively breaking if poss.

 

[rf065]

Before we all go off down the "it's the brake discs" route,it may well be a worn suspension joint. I have not long back replaced the lower ones on my CLK the first indication that there was a problem was under fairly heavy braking from,lets just say plenty well odd MPH. First thought was it's discs/pads time,on inspection no problems found. On checking the control arms both O/S and N/S needed replacing.

Mine need replacing too, it does feel like a problem with the discs but it is the thrust arms.

Russ