Pulsating brake pedal

[Canadian Vibe]

Hi New here!!I've got a 2004 plain jane Vibe. It seems to go through brakes quite fast. Actually what happens is I get a shudder in the pedal. Replace them and it goes away. Problem is it seems to happen every year. Less then 40k on new set. It shudders real bad at high speed stops. I've tried different brake types(never cheap ones). There's always lots of pad left when I change them. Anyone have similar problem or any idea why it does this. THANKS

[epcIII]

Hello northern neighbor, welcome to Genvibe!Have you tried replacing the rotors themselves, or have them resurfaced? They may be warped.

[jkm311]

Absolutely change the rotors. Especially since you're putting 40k(m?) on them a year?! If any decent hunk of that mileage is city, your rotors are killing your brake pads faster than a speeding bullet. That is, unless, you're slamming the brakes on when highway traveling...

[silverbullet]

x3 for new rotors. o yes, and welcome

[jkm311]

Quote, originally posted by silverbullet »x3 for new rotors. o yes, and welcome Quote, originally posted by jkm311 »...your rotors are killing your brake pads faster than a speeding bullet.Perhaps I should have said faster than a silver bullet. Zing.

[lovemyraffe]

x4 for the rotors.

[Salsa Guy]

X5 Rotors and welcome to genvibe! I had a van with new brakes everytime I came to a hard stop it seemed like the front end was going to fall apart. Put new rotors on and that made a huge difference! Matter of fact bad rotors can also give you a vibration in the steering and mess up tires!

[joatmon]

nobody else has mentioned it so far, but you might consider checking or possibly replacing the rotors.

[epcIII]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »nobody else has mentioned it so far, but you might consider checking or possibly replacing the rotors.Lol!

[Canadian Vibe]

I did replace the rotors the last time still the problem returned and it's 40000 kms not miles. that might be alittle high but still I hear guys getting lots of miles out of there rotors and pads. Could there be a reason for the rotors going out of round??? Thanks guys

[star_deceiver]

Where are you taking your car to get the tires/brakes changed over/replaced? Start going to a different shop because someone is overtorquing your lugs!

[epcIII]

Quote, originally posted by Canadian Vibe »I did replace the rotors the last time still the problem returned and it's 40000 kms not miles. that might be alittle high but still I hear guys getting lots of miles out of there rotors and pads. Could there be a reason for the rotors going out of round??? Thanks guysHmmm.... you had to make this difficult. *Stumped*

[silverbullet]

hmm? no ideas. although star deciever may have a good point. when you had them replaced was there any evidence of warp?

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »Where are you taking your car to get the tires/brakes changed over/replaced? Start going to a different shop because someone is overtorquing your lugs!I am a firm believer in torquing lug nuts... Even a 20$ torque wrench can keep the lugs to within +/- 5-10% of each other in torque..proper ultimate torque isn't quite as important as having even torque.. There is nothing worse than being able to back off one lug super easy and having to stand on the lug wrench to get another off..

[Salsa Guy]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »nobody else has mentioned it so far, but you might consider checking or possibly replacing the rotors.You can't read either....LOL

[Salsa Guy]

Wheel Bearings? Still willing to bet on a warped rotor even if you only have that many kms. If they were cheap rotors they'll warp quickly

[yyamad1]

yes torque to spec, but Ive found cheap rotors to warp after 1 year of easy driving. Autozone that is... Then I tried a EBC rotors, so far 2 years later, its still warp free. I dont do any track days or even auto x with the vibe. Only easy driving. Not all rotors are made the same, cheap ones are cheap and will warp sooner. You get what you pay for...

[RWatters]

If it happens all of the time on all of your setups then my guess is it's your driving and not the car. If brake hard right before you stop then it's a very easy way to overheat them and get them to have hot spots like you're feeling. The best way to avoid that shutter feeling is to brake slowly and from a ways away when coming to a stop, and once you're stopped to avoid keeping the brake pedal pressed down. This way the rotors get a chance to cool evenly without having a hot brake pad still applied to them. My wife had this same exact problem on her Protege5. After she started practicing my technique she hasn't had a single issue with the current brake rotors/pads on her car.

[Sublimewind]

Everybody that drives like they are 80, brakes last longer... Common sense there.. Those of us that live in the real world, try and keep our lugs torqued proper and tire pressure correct... I had a set of rotors on my last Subaru, for 5-6yrs of REPEATED flogging, without warping... All it takes is one good stop to warp a rotor.. It's far easier with lugs that are improperly torqued... It's also easier on most automatics to warp a rotor based on the fact that there is more load on the brakes due to little to no engine braking.. The overall heat load is higher.. Trust me, I know brakes...

[ehoff121]

Any thoughts about the effect of temperature on lug nut torque? In theory, as temps get warmer, shouldn't metal expand and increase the pressure of the rotor between the hub and lug nuts?Before I replaced my rotors, I noticed that my pedal pulsation was decreased in sub-freezing weather.

[Sublimewind]

Effects on torque would be very minimal, but that's possibly another reason why if you use the proper torque, it's REALLY not a LOT of torque.. 74ft/lbs is just not a lot of torque, but it's got the 5 bolt pattern to place even pressure on the hub and stabilize everything... Maybe the lower torque allows for the expansion of the metal and the stretch in the lugs?? but really if you could measure .001 due to expansion I would be surprised..

[Kincaid]

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »I am a firm believer in torquing lug nuts... Even a 20$ torque wrench can keep the lugs to within +/- 5-10% of each other in torque..proper ultimate torque isn't quite as important as having even torque.. There is nothing worse than being able to back off one lug super easy and having to stand on the lug wrench to get another off.. Uh oh. I think I screwed up my Civic. I'm guessing that backing off the lugs and re-torquing to spec isn't going to fix it now? When I put on the new Hawk pads everything was fine. Now several months later I drove it for the first time (daughter has it at college) and I'm getting a lot of pedal pulse. If I need to change the rotors, will the pads still be okay?

[Sublimewind]

The pads should be fine, but backing off the lugs and re-torquing isn't going to fix a warped rotor...no..... You might get away with turning the rotors, but it doesn't remove the warp, just trues the surface to flat in relation to the hub. leaving you with a now unbalanced rotor.. lol.. Best bet would be fresh rotors, it's a Civic, can't be that expensive.. Also, with torquing to spec, you need to go back after 100 or so miles and check the torque.. A cheap 20$ Harbor Freight TW could be thrown in the trunk with a cheap socket, just for it.. Reminds me, it's time for me to get a fresh one.. or 2.. lol.. (great for lugs, don't trust it for much more)