Wheel Judder Under Braking

[javaboss]

I don't drive my IS200 that much as I train it into London to get to work. My wife has just got a new car, so whilst waiting for the new car order, we used her car more often as it was being traded in.

So.... In the end I didn't drive my IS for over 2 weeks. Last weekend, I noticed that the steering wheel shook when braking. The more I drove the car, then less I noticed. After a good hard drive, with lots of braking, it had disappeared.

The car spent the week in my garage and I drove it again today. The slight shake was there (but less than last time) for the first time I braked and then disappeared.

Any ideas what is causing it? The car brakes fine, and in the straight line. I assume the tracking is okay as the car has never been kerbed. It seems the more it is driven the less likely the shake ocurrs.

mmmm....

[BESTY]

could be a sticky calliper with not using it much.i`m getting a small judder at the mo,but my wheels need re balanced for sure. :)

[ColinBarber]

Probably just rust on the disc surfaces which will wear off after a short time.

[woggledog]

I don't drive my IS200 that much as I train it into London to get to work. My wife has just got a new car, so whilst waiting for the new car order, we used her car more often as it was being traded in.

So.... In the end I didn't drive my IS for over 2 weeks. Last weekend, I noticed that the steering wheel shook when braking. The more I drove the car, then less I noticed. After a good hard drive, with lots of braking, it had disappeared.

I offer this, as you've had two different replies so far...

I've had probs with warped brake discs, caused by keeping my feet on the brakes after braking heavily, causing a hot spot under the pads, this warping the discs.

Skimming the discs sorts it...

However, if it disappears, I'd go with the sticky calipers

[Bazza]

i would suggest having a look at your discs before you drive it next time

if left for a couple of days

i get a scraping noise

and it is just as colin has said , the rust on the disc surface

allways dissapears after a couple of braking sessions

no wobbles though

[ColinBarber]

I cannot really see how it can be a sticky caliper. Sticky caliper normally overheats the disc and warps it, you then get wobbles which won't go away until you replace the disc.

Maybe a sticky piston (dual piston brakes) which is putting uneven pressure on the disc?

I still think it is rust on the surface - different thickness under the pads to the rest of the disc which causes the wobble. The rust would be worn off very quickly though.

[Gavin G]

I agree with Colin. I don't use my IS much either (only at weekends and sometimes I skip one or two) and I get this too. It goes away after a bit of driving

Gavin :)

[johnboy]

If it was a sticky caliper it would tend to pull to one side and the brake pedal could feel a little firmer too

Id go with the surface rust on the disc

john

[pacemaker]

i had this problem

garage informed me it was a recognised one and changed front discs!

problem solved

[Steve]

i had this but got worse.. found out i had a sticky caliper... this was fixed but noticed it is still sticking so its going back in to stripped down and fixed.

it had already warped the disks before so worried that it will warp them again!

[GreyBeard]

i had the same problem on my LS400, and when it was stripped down they found the rubber shrouds on the calliper pistons had cracked and corrosion was starting inside cylinders. new seal kits fitted all round while they were at it, and problem almost disappeared, but i recon the sticking piston had caused the front disc rotor to warp, so i'll get new ones at some stage. but the seal kits sure made a difference to the braking operation.

[ColinBarber]

hopefully it's not a seal issue on a 1 year old car.

[javaboss]

Well, it's still doing it... I'm taking it to Lexus Hadleigh on the 8th to have a tecnnican drive it. They reckon that it's warped discs... The shaking happens at speeds over 60mph. Andy (the service manager) tells me that if it's warped discs then it would not happen at lower speeds. Or, wouldn't be as noticable. This is what I'm seeing. I can detect it (just) at speeds above 50mph. However, at 65mph+ it shakes the steering wheel like made when I hit the brakes.

Andy says they have seen some IS200s that suffer from warped discs, but with only 8000 miles on the clock they shold just replace them if it is confirmed to be the problem.

Fingers crossed...

[javaboss]

Took the old girl down to Lexus Hadleigh this morning to have a tech drive it to see what was happening with the brakes. It seems that Andy has left Hadleigh, which is a shame...

John dealt with me instead and drove the car. He immediately said that the discs were warped and would need replacing. No arguments... nothing. Phew! It's going in on the 21st and they're picking the car up and returning it. Now that's service!

John said that they had seen this problem with discs before, but it was quite rare. Something to do with new manufacturing methods that had caused some problems.

I also met up Jeremy Chilton who has sold me my last 3 IS's. He's now the dealership manager (I think that's the title!) As ever Jeremy was friendly and we had a bit of a chat. He told me that the new IS would be along in 2006 - just about the time my car will be 3 years old! Fortunate or what!

As ever... a pleasurable hassle free trip to Lexus Hadleigh. Well done!

[javaboss]

I can't post a dealership review as it won't let me. Keeps telling me that I need to login to the forums before I can post a review. *but* I am logged in!!!

Anyway....

Last Friday:

1) Lexus Hadleigh picked my car up from my wife's work at 10:30am

2) Car returned mid-afternoon.

3) I get home from work at 6pm to find that my car has had it's discs replaced and it's also been washed!

I phoned Hadleigh and spoke to Jeremy and let him know how pleased I was with their service. If only all car dealers could work this way! At the end of the day it was all sorted with no hassle to me whatsoever - and that is what is really important - to feel looked after by your dealership. They've ensured yet again that I won't be replacing my car with anything but a another Lexus!

Well done Hadleigh!