Steering wheel shake when braking

[prinx]

Hello,

Every time I am driving at 60+ and have to brake, my steering wheel seems to shake. Any ideas?

Sponsored

 

[hawkeye3point1]

How do your front rotors look? They are prone to corrosion in EVs unless you are proactive in using friction braking.

Warped rotors or smooth spots is usually what causes this, but you need to brake fairly hard at 60+ to engage pads and rotors.

Is it AWD? If yes and rotors are OK, suspension (bushings, ball joints) or half axels could be the problem.

Dealer visit should be scheduled.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Hello,

Every time I am driving at 60+ and have to brake, my steering wheel seems to shake. Any ideas?

Hi there! If you send over a DM with your VIN and Ford dealer info, I can look into your concerns on my end.

 

[TuxToaster]

I've noticed this on mine as well, but it's a fairly minor vibration right as you first begin braking, always assumed it was normal as I guess my brain is slightly conditioned by other vehicles I have that vibrate the wheel as part of lane assist.

 

[BillPitman]

I have this also, 2021 premium AWD.
I have not quite 15,000 miles, since picked up 1/11/2022.
I use 1-pedal pretty much exclusively…….
, this requires that car be put in neutral, going down a nice hill, and make hard braking several times……
at my next tire rotation, I plan on a careful inspection of all rotor surfaces. Bill P

 

[roamtheworld]

Everyone should apply the brakes when using 1PD every so often. Check your rotors and pads frequently since they don’t get used as much when driving an EV. Steering shake is most likely the rotors being out of true or build up on the pads.

 

[Blue highway]

Everyone should apply the brakes when using 1PD every so often. Check your rotors and pads frequently since they don’t get used as much when driving an EV. Steering shake is most likely the rotors being out of true or build up on the pads.

yes - and please realize that the gently pushing the brake pedal does not engage the friction brakes. You have to either brake a lot harder than many people realize, or put the car in neutral and then hit the brakes.

The rotors should all be shiny, no rust streaks or spots... If you have any rust streaks, your brakes are not being engaged enough to clean the rotors.

 

[DaMeatMan]

Hello,

Every time I am driving at 60+ and have to brake, my steering wheel seems to shake. Any ideas?

Sounds like warped rotors. I had the same issue and took mine in to have the rotors turned, which is essentially just a process of machining the rotors to remove material at any high spots due to warping which results in a smooth flat surface for braking. The issue was resolved by doing this. They were also able to do it without removing the rotors from the vehicle.

 

[generaltso]

I use 1-pedal pretty much exclusively…….
, this requires that car be put in neutral, going down a nice hill, and make hard braking several times……

Everyone should apply the brakes when using 1PD every so often.

The use of 1PD in this context is irrelavent. The friction brakes get very little use in normal driving even when not using 1PD. Shifting to Neutral before braking every once in a while is a good idea either way to keep the rotors clean.

 

[azerik]

Warped rotors + some brake pad. Dealer turned mine and put in new pads. 3k later it's vibrating at speed with a hint of shake at brake. I tried rebedding the brakes which was a mistake as it shakes a little worse now. Honestly i don't think the dealer turned them down enough, but on the paper it looked a little thin for me. If I could just buy and swap them myself, I might.
Edit: turns out floating rotors, 2 bolts and pull the caliper off, rotor pulls right off. However I need to "Activate the brake service mode." Which I don't know works in my Forscan. ($195 each I'll give the dealer another shot first)

Shifting to Neutral before braking every once in a while is a good idea either way to keep the rotors clean.

I now do this on my FFE after rain and it's far better than looking like a dork flying up to a light and hammering the brakes. If you're in 'N' and it shakes it's pad/rotors. I get just a slight vibration in the steering wheel when lightly applying. I'll have them looked at again when it goes in for the 30k.

 

[roamtheworld]

The use of 1PD in this context is irrelavent. The friction brakes get very little use in normal driving even when not using 1PD. Shifting to Neutral before braking every once in a while is a good idea either way to keep the rotors clean.

I don’t have dirty or rusty brakes this might be because I live in Texas but might be that I often use hard braking (I must drive too fast) while using 1PD. I agree that shifting into neutral and applying the brake firmly will insure they are getting applied.

 

[azerik]

I'll probably take mine in. I think it's pad material on the backside, which is fully covered by the shield. I can throw it in N and if I ride the brake down to 5mph I get more shake from 45 to 20 in my steering wheel. I was hoping to get a look on the backside of the rotor for uneven wear but I'd have to pull them, which I don't want to do. I don't think it's warped rotors so much as pad material build up, which has been an issue since day one with the MME.
Looking at the work notes they only took off 10 thou from each rotor (.05 a side REALLY doesn't seem like enough) which might have been enough to remove the pad material but I doubt did much.

 

[azerik]

For anyone hitting this out of warranty down the road.
Rockauto has the brrf469 front rotors for $110

From the manual:

Front brake disc minimum thickness 0.984 in ( 25 mm)

Rear brake disc minimum thickness 0.354 in ( 9 mm)

My fronts are (were? back in Feb '23) 1.056 and 1.054. Looking for the as new spec for these rotors still.

Sponsored