Hello everyone. So I got my brakes and rotors done a couple months ago and two days ago, I had a set of new tires put on. Car drives very smoothly like the day I got it. However, when I'm braking at high speeds, my steering wheel shakes. Could that be an alignment problem or be an issue with my rotors being warped?
High speed brake shake is not an alignment problem. First place to look is the runout on the new rotors.
I figured it might be the rotors, but I was hoping it wouldn't be. Especially I'm a little tight on money and can't afford to buy and install new rotors. You think its an easy fix?
You said you got the rotors done a few months ago, which implies a shop did it. Take it back to them and have them resolve it under their warranty.
Problem is, I didn't take it to a shop. I bought the rotors off Amazon (which has a good rating from other buyers) and had a friend of mine put them on.
If you have a runout gage, mount it on the car and check the runout. More than a few thousandths out and you may get some wobble. You can also unmount the rotors and check the hub face - make sure that is perfectly clean and the rotor mounted flat on it.
I don't have the tools to do that at the moment. There is a local mechanic down the street from my house whose got steller reviews on google and facebook and a few people I went to school with back in the day have commented on their honest service. I'm thinking of taking in there in the morning to have them look at it. I'm hoping its an easy fix/adjustment that can be made without replacing the rotors.
It depends. It may not be the rotors. If it is the rotors, a remount might fix it. You might have defective rotors under warranty. You might be able to turn the rotors if they are lightly warped. In other words, no good answer until you find the problem.
The manual suggests a procedure for any time you're putting a rotor on: put it on all five ways, measure the runout each way, choose the one with the least. When putting an old rotor back on an old hub, I've definitely seen that make a significant difference (runout could be several thousandths out of spec, 4 out of 5 ways, and neatly within spec, the one other way). Harder to say what happens with a new rotor on a new hub, or a new rotor on an old hub (well wire-wheeled clean, ideally). But it is an easy procedure to follow to make sure you get the minimum runout you can. On the same lines, any time a rotor needs to be cut, Toyota recommends the on-car type of lathe, so it ends up flat in its actual plane of rotation.
Here's the runout spec and how to check: (Full document attached too, see below.) Here's a dial indicator (with magnetic base) example, about $35: (If you have an ad blocker running, you may need to switch it off to see the link. I can't see it myself, lol.) Local automotive specialty shops should have them too, readily available. They are easy to use. Just for giggles, something you can try first: raise the front, loosen and retighten the lug nuts. There's an outside chance some gorilla installed the wheels with an impacti wrench at full power, and not in a criss-cross pattern. This might be distorting them, hopefully not permanently.
I didn't go to the shop this morning due to work. But I'm visting my buddy tomorrow and he's going to take a look at it. Thanks for all the helpful advice. I'm hoping for the best. I just had my 120,000 mile done back in July and the dealership said everything is fine. (shrugs). I'm hoping for the best, my buddy does mechanic work on the side for alot of people. So I'm hoping he can find the issue and get it fixed. I'll be sure to have this page pulled up when I see him tomorrow.
+1 A rule of thumb for diagnosing vibration under heavy braking: - if the vibration is in the brake pedal, it's uneven rotor surface - if the vibration is in the steering wheel, it's steering or suspension (typically tie rods ends or control arm bushings)
Did the shakes start after the brake service "a couple of months ago", after you changed the tires "two days ago"...or was it like that before hand?
The problem was there before the brake service and the dealership insisted that it was due to uneven tire wear. So I went with that and with replaced my tires (which they really need it anyway), I went ahead and done that on Saturday and the shaking is less noticeable. Someone else mentioned that it could be due to the weather since the heat and humidity have been hitting record temps/percentages and I noticed my girlfriend's new RAV4 was doing it too, but on the cool nights with little to no humidity where the temp is in the 60s, it doesn't happen at all with either of our cars.
The temp difference will not cause the steering wheel to shake...and I hope your wheels were balanced with the tire installation. "Uneven tire wear" can mean many things...so without pictures we can only speculate. Your vehicle is a 2013 with over 120,000 miles of unknown terrain, unknown driving habits and unknown maintenance. You don't have the tooling, equipment or know how to troubleshoot and/or repair this issue. I respectfully suggest you take your vehicle to a reputable "legitimate" front end shop (tires/brakes/alignment) that does...and move on to your next fire in life.