Why Does My Car Shake When Braking?

Why a Car Might Shake When Braking 

When cruising along the highway and notice shakiness when you hit the brakes to slow down, some potential reasons include:

• Bent rims
• Bad CV joints
• Loose lug nuts

If your brakes are merely making grinding or squeaky noises, you may be facing a different issue. However, steering wheel shakes when braking, in particular, is often linked to issues with the rotors.

Why Rotors Fail

To understand why rotors fail, you should understand how your brakes function. When you press on the brakes, your brake pads clamp down on your brake discs, also known as rotors. In an ideal world, the rotors are perfectly smooth. If your steering wheel shakes as you brake, this indicates your rotor is either warped or, more likely, has worn unevenly over time. The latter is something that happens over the lifespan of a car.

How Dangerous are Worn Rotors?

Though warped rotors don’t indicate immediate doom, the sooner you confront the issue, the better. The vibrations caused by warped rotors can create problems in any number of other components in your car, from your calipers to your car’s brake pads. The sooner the problem is addressed, the smaller your bill—or time investment—will be. Even more dangerous than a high bill: the wobbliness could potentially be a hazard as you drive around Woodinville. So for the sake of your wallet and your car’s stability, address this issue if it continues.

How to Fix a Car’s Rotors

If your rotors are bad, you can replace them or fix them. What does fixing a worn rotor entail? If you happen to have a lathe around, you can shave the flat side of the rotor smoothly. This fix is temporary though—there’s obviously only so much rotor you can shave before you run out of rotor. If you want, most mechanics can also complete this quick fix for you.