Camry vibrates, when breaks applied..

Hi All,

I have a 1998 Toyota Camry. Few days back I had a problem with it.. When I applied breaks at lights (Gradual Brakes ... no sudden stop).. It started hobbling.. ie Vibrating. It started in that "vibrating" mode. I felt like it will not make till my home. On my way home, whenever I applied brakes, it did same thing.. Somehow I brought it home (by not applying breaks all way) and next day morning took to mechanic.. He examined it.. and car ran just fine.. No traces of last days vibrating and stuff.. Mechanic couldn't figure out anything.... This was almost 2 months back.. And today again it did the same thing... ie started vibrating when I applied brakes...

Any guesses what could be wrong? and why is it so random and not consistent? Any advice is highly appreciated since I hardly know anything about cars.

Thanks.

Reply to
kavita.kale
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Did your mechanic mention the word "brake rotors"? Although there are other possible reason, that's the first thing to look at. Get a new mechanic. Do a search here first:

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And, start asking everyone you know if they have someone they like, and

*******WHY********* they like him. Someone may say "My mechanic has cute ears", and that would be an opinion to avoid.
Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

You need a brake job.

Your description is that of worn rotors. More accurately, warped rotors. Thias happens in part as a result of very little brake pad material remaining on the brake pads. (The brake material disipates heat as well as provide friction.)

Sometimes, the rotors can be turned (machined) to make them true again, but some automakers make them too thin for this in an effort to save weight. In any case, if they can be turned (machined on a lathe) the machine operator MUST measure them first to see if they are going to be thick enough at the end of the process to warrant startign the process.

Brake rotors vary wildly in price, but my guess is that you should be able to find them for somewhere in the $50 to $100 price range.

Good luck. And, they're brakes, not breaks.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Easy to warp rotors by tighting rims with a service station rattle air gun --- vice diagonally and finally with a torque wrench.

Reply to
Wolfgang

I would be surprised if warped rotors would come and go--once they are warped, my experience is that they vibrate EVERY time you apply the breaks.

Reply to
Heaving Weasel

If the rotors or drums are warped, then the pulsation should be repeatable, that is, under the same load, same speed, same amount of brakes applied. If the rotors are glazed, then the vibration can come and go. In my experience, rotors become glazed or warped most often when the driver gradually applies the brakes over long distances or uses the left foot to apply the brakes. In any event, have the brakes checked for warpage or glazing.

Reply to
Ray O

I had this happen to a set of Chinese rotors I put on my old Celica. The pedal was pulsing badly when I bought the car, so I did new rotors and pads all the way around, and it went away.

A few months later, the pulsating was back. I said screw it, I'll live with it. A couple weeks later it stopped again, never to return!

Now, there is another thing that can be happening here, and that is old calipers. The slide might be sticking and freeing itself. The sensation when a slide sticks can be pulsating brakes, or imitate the effects of a broken bead.

When I did the fronts on my Mom's car a coulpe weeks ago, the calipers looked real good (the car is 20 years old, with 84,000 miles). They didn't look new obviously, but they did look good. I checked the sliders and they were stuck; light pressure freed them. So I put some Sil-Glide on them and reinstalled everything.

I think I caught them just before they were going to start locking up...

Reply to
Hachiroku

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