Downhill brake shudder

[EuroBro]

I ventured down a long steep mountain with the whole family onboard. Halfway down the braking started getting wild - The car was violently shaking under heavy braking. It got worse and worse. My knees were almost clanging together, and the brakes were getting weaker and weaker.

When we reached flat ground, the brakes were still doing this for about 2-3kms. It faded away and went back to normal.

What's the go here? anyone?

[EUR003act]

I ventured down a long steep mountain with the whole family onboard. Halfway down the braking started getting wild - The car was violently shaking under heavy braking. It got worse and worse. My knees were almost clanging together, and the brakes were getting weaker and weaker.

When we reached flat ground, the brakes were still doing this for about 2-3kms. It faded away and went back to normal.

What's the go here? anyone?

im going out on a limb here, gases under the pads causing them to lift off the rotors?

or maybe rocks stuck in the pads/calipers

[T-onedc2]

I experienced similar before and it was due to disc warp from too much heat generated.

[akina]

abs??

[EuroBro]

I experienced similar before and it was due to disc warp from too much heat generated.

That makes sense, because it went away when it cooled back down. Is this normal, or is there something wrong with my brakes?

[enkay]

well there have been problems of disc warpin on the tsx forums which they replaced thier rotors and the problem went away
but im not sure if its the same problem as yours
hope it helps

[shadou]

once a disc warps the only way to get rid of it is either machinging the discs or getting a new pair. You can remove the wheel and inspect the disc + brake pad condition to determine if it is actually warped.
I think it may be the abs acting as well, mountain downhill (assuming downhill here) coupled with car load of oocupants coupled with heavy braking will induce abs to act. If it brakes normally now, then you have no worries.

[aaronng]

Did you ride the brakes for most of the trip down hill? That overheats the pads (reducing braking power), and warps the rotors. Seeing that it has gone away after some driving, the warping happens when the rotor is heated and expands unevenly.

Have you had the rotors machined before? I wouldn't machine it because once machined, the warping might become permanent like how the TSX owners in the US experienced. The steel in your rotors are distributed almost evenly from new. Once warped, it is still evenly distributed (mass-wise), but volume-wise, it is uneven. Once you machine it, the rotors are even in terms of volume, but uneven in terms of mass. Since you have an uneven amount of steel in distributed around the rotor, the next time it overheats, the warping will be more severe than the 1st time and the uneven mass means that the rotor heats up/cools down unevenly and making the warpage permanent.

[EuroDude]

Are you sure it wasnt just the road quality?

Theres a hill near me that shudders my brakes big time due to ridges in the road (which you cannot see). Whereas driving down other hills is silky smooth.

[55EXX]

as said many times before it is brake disc warp. heat was the cause. new disc are what you need for the problem to be fixed properly.

[aaronng]

as said many times before it is brake disc warp. heat was the cause. new disc are what you need for the problem to be fixed properly.

Not entirely true. If he is using the stock OEM brake pads, then it can be deposits left on the hot rotor. I had that but after going to an aftermarket pad, the deposits were cleaned off and it never shuddered again. Although, many people mistake brake pad deposits for a warped rotor and machine it, only to find that they have a proper warped rotor after a few months.

[cleary]

I've got the issue in my euro - a bit of spirited driving + heavy braking and it becomes quite prominent when braking from high speed.
I spoke to my dealer about it, they said it was relatively common for the discs to warp, and they'd replace them (I still have to confirm whether that's under warranty or not)

[EuroDude]

Ive had no rotor/pad problems with my 2006, perhaps its a 2003-2005 specific problem

[Merlin086]

Just got my Endless pads off Edward....

Should take away that grabby sensation at low speed.

Originals have 33k on them, should have switched ages ago :)

[tony1234]

Ive had no rotor/pad problems with my 2006, perhaps its a 2003-2005 specific problem
Me neither.Although i did upgrade my pads at 8k.

[aaronng]

Ive had no rotor/pad problems with my 2006, perhaps its a 2003-2005 specific problem
Yes, 2006 onwards got an improved pad formulation.

[iizzii]

its disc warp...
you may need to get them machined, or eventually they will just fix themselves if its not tooo bad.

[CB7_OWNER]

Could possibly be just brake fading, due to your consistent brake riding down the hill....

[LXRY]

i have had this prob for the past 10,000-15,000klms........not that noticeable now only doing it down hill braking or heavy breaking. My opinion the rotors are "CRAP".....When you need to get places in a hurry brakes don't work too well get really hot easily !! Hey it's a heavy car :)

.........my advice go non oem rotors/pads......IMO


Oh and i just had my brakes done recently...........

[aaronng]

I don't think it is the rotors. I've been using Hawk pads on my original rotors, been to 2 track days since and the rotors are still fine. The OEM pads are crap and leave deposits after you exceed a certain temperature limit....

[LXRY]

I don't think it is the rotors. I've been using Hawk pads on my original rotors, been to 2 track days since and the rotors are still fine. The OEM pads are crap and leave deposits after you exceed a certain temperature limit....


Yeah sounds about right..........Poor quality ;)

Next change will be non oem, for sure :thumbsup:

[tony1234]

Yeah sounds about right..........Poor quality ;)

Next change will be non oem, for sure :thumbsup:
Just change your pads LXRY,you'll notice a definite improvement.It's deposits on the rotors that's the problem.Drive a few weeks on the new pads before you change/machine rotors,should be enough time to remove deposits left on rotors from crappy OEM pads.

[aaronng]

Yup, when I switched to Hawk pads, the old deposits disappeared after a while!

[EuroBro]

A mate of mine suggested that if the rotors warp when hot then they will stay warped when cool. Doesn't make sense why the rotors will warp temporarily when hot... so I am leaning towards the crappy oem pads as you guys have suggested. Thanks!

[hotout]

would anyone recommend a brake fluid flush and change? seeing that the fluid's been put through hell and back..?

[aaronng]

Don't need to flush and drain. Just bleed it until the fluid that comes out looks like new. Regular bleeding and topping up means you don't have to change all the fluid out unless you get water contamination.