Shaking When Braking

[xCELSIORx]

hi ppl need some advice

my car has started shaking when i brake so i jacked up the car and checked for play in any bushes and noticed when i hold the wheel and move it side to side it makes a clunk and it looks like the steering rack arms are moving slightly....

also when i brake the handbrake warning light flashes i have checked the fluid and pads and they all seem fine could this be something to do with the shaking as it started at the same time

any help would be appreciated

thanks

[The Manxman]

That sounds very much like a front disc (specifically) that's binding. Either through heavy wear or even a slight warping of the disc itself? For confirmation, check visually for any grooves on the discs themselves, and look for any blue discolouration of the disc surface as soon as you can after ending a journey.

[Mybikesacx500]

hi ppl need some advice

my car has started shaking when i brake so i jacked up the car and checked for play in any bushes and noticed when i hold the wheel and move it side to side it makes a clunk and it looks like the steering rack arms are moving slightly....

also when i brake the handbrake warning light flashes i have checked the fluid and pads and they all seem fine could this be something to do with the shaking as it started at the same time

any help would be appreciated

thanks

Fixing whatever is causing the clunk might fix the shaking

[plastic orange]

I had a similar problem, and went with the top suspension arms as a first cure. It wasn't this, it was the discs. There was only a very slight runout on 1 of them, but enough to cause shake. It may be worth your while getting them skimmed on the car.

Pete

[xCELSIORx]

checked the dics they look fine can u buy inner tie rods or will i have to replace the whole rack because that is where the clunk is coming from

[The Manxman]

I'm pretty sure (though not 100%), that Toyota UK don't supply inner tie rods to anyone other than authorised Service Centres. So if it is the inner tie rods, the only option other than having the problem investigated and resolved by an authorised Service Centre, would be to pick up some rods from a scrapper. The problems with that however are three-fold; First, it'd take a lot of time and messing about to remove the rods from the scrapper without damaging them. Second, it'd be impossible (visually) to know for sure that the rods from the scrapper weren't damaged either. Thirdly, you could go through all the messing about, fit the rods from the scrapper, and then discover that still hasn't resolved the problem.

Unfortunately I suspect there's no worthwhile shortcut to resolving the problem yourself. It sounds like the only surefire way of addressing things would be to take it in, and have the problem diagnosed by an authorised Service Centre (regardless of it being an import, grey or otherwise). If it's any consolation, it is worth remembering that any respectable/half-decent authorised Service Centre shouldn't charge you for diagnosing and/or confirming the problem. Also, you'd have no legal obligation whatsoever to have the work carried out by them. So in any case, you might as well at least use them to confirm 100% what's causing the problem, and then make a decision from there.

Keep me posted anyway.

Cheers, The Manxman.

[AKY-B]

hi ppl need some advice

my car has started shaking when i brake so i jacked up the car and checked for play in any bushes and noticed when i hold the wheel and move it side to side it makes a clunk and it looks like the steering rack arms are moving slightly....

also when i brake the handbrake warning light flashes i have checked the fluid and pads and they all seem fine could this be something to do with the shaking as it started at the same time

any help would be appreciated

thanks

hi. i had the same problem when i test drove mine. it was warped discs,as the car had been in the garage for 5 weeks.worth checking the discs

[cleverdick]

hi ppl need some advice

my car has started shaking when i brake so i jacked up the car and checked for play in any bushes and noticed when i hold the wheel and move it side to side it makes a clunk and it looks like the steering rack arms are moving slightly....

also when i brake the handbrake warning light flashes i have checked the fluid and pads and they all seem fine could this be something to do with the shaking as it started at the same time

any help would be appreciated

thanks

Re. warning light: Check brake light bulbs.

[The Manxman]

It all seems to be pointing back to what I said originally about it being a worn or warped front disc xCELSIORx? I don't know how experienced a mechanic you are so apologies if I'm saying stuff you already know, but you can't just look at a disc on the vehicle to conclude it's fine. Chances are you've got 280mm+ discs on the front? In which case you only need one disc to be warped by less than 2mm for it to both affect the feel of the steering AND make some pretty horrible noises - clunks, squeals etc. I'm (still) all but convinced that's where your problem lies. Obviously you need to be careful. If it IS a warped disc, and the caliper 'grabs it' while you're driving, it won't give you any warning and you'll just become a passenger. It happened to me in (coincidentally in a GI Toyota) a few years ago. Only the launderette knew how frightening the experience was!