I'm having a problem with my brakes on my '03 Max 6sp when I have to decelerate rapidly from 70 MPH or higher on the highway. I'm not talking about standing full force to create a screeching stop, just enough force to decelerate very quickly from 70 to say 30 without losing traction or kicking in the ABS.

Anyway, the problem is that when I'm in this braking situation(which is not very often, BTW-I don't get on it that often) the steering wheel shakes and there is a rumbling sound that comes from the front end that sounds like I'm running over a VERY rough piece of road. As soon as I let off the brakes, all this goes away.

I have looked at my front rotors and when I run my finger over them, they feel 'ridged' but NOT warped. The rear rotors are completely smooth and not warped.

FYI, I don't get on the brakes heavily on a daily basis, so it's not a matter of abuse. Also, the brakes in every other situation and at lower speeds perform normally. The car has just under 15,000 miles on it.

This has happened to me twice in the last month and the first time it happened, I thought I had a flat-just to give you an idea of how unnerving the sound is if you're not expecting it.

Thanks

 

you cant tell if your rotors are warped by looking at it. if it warped, just a little will give you a big headache.

to me, your rotors are warped and shaking steering wheel at high speed braking is its most common symptoms. Are they dark blue/purple-ish? when mine warped, it has all the symptoms that you mentioned and the rotors look dark blue. (overheat)

 

Warped rotors. Mine were warped to the point that is sounded like farting at low speeds when I 1st got the car. Just get it resurfaced, or get cross-drilled/sloted rotors & get it over with.

 

Yup, welcome to the "Brake Judder" club. With 15k on your ride, it should be easy to get the dealer to replace all 4 rotors and pads for nothing. You might want to bring the TSB with you tho...

 

I just took care of this problem myself. After having them surfaced twice under warranty I decided to change to something else. I went with some generic rotors from discountparts.com (or something like that) and some raybestos quiet stop pads. Mine was getting so bad my wife wouldn't drive it cuz she thought it was dangerous. I'm hoping some decent pads will cure the problem. We'll see.

 

I have the exact same problem with my 2k2. I'm probably going to get a set of Stillen rotors/pads to replace the crappy OEM brake setup.

 

is it safe to say that if i just replaced the front rotors, the problems will be gone. i'm assuming that the fronts account for the majority of the braking, which would prolly be the warped ones.

 

for my case, it is the pad that they replaced and rotors were resurfaced. They said it generates too much heat and cause the rotors to warp. It has been 30k miles after they replaced it, no problem.

 

Definitely a case of warped rotors.....I had my OEM rotors warp twice. The first time the dealership was magnanimous (car was new with 8000 mi) and said they would give me a new set. But when they warped again at about 20K they said they would only resurface them. I told these bozos that the resurfaced rotors would now be more susceptible to warping since there would be less metal to dissipate the heat. These clowns said that they would only resurface them and that was it.......long story short....... I went aftermarket and 19K later no warping problems.....

 

How are the pads holding up? Sounds like it's time to change the pads and get rid of the stock rotors(should change the fluid while you're at it). Go with the Stillen cross-drilled rotor and pads...I got a good deal from them for purchasing everything at the same time(rotors, pads, s/s/ lines). Good luck!!!

www.stillen.com

 

i think i have the same problem, at highway speeds and then braking just short of abs, i get the same brake chatter feeling in the steering wheel, but i don't hear any noises. can i assume that this is still normal? i also have an 03 w/ @ 15k miles on it.

 

On mine, I get a weird sound just like they are talking about. I can barely tap the brakes and hear it at high speeds. I saw the link to the Stillen brakes, but has anyone used Powerslot rotors? Also, on those Metal Matrix pads, is there a lot of brake dust?

 

Does anyone have a link to the 'brake judder TSB'?