vibration when braking?

[dread]

Hi everyone I just got back from a 2 month trip and when driving my car I noticed that the car is vibrating when braking at speeds over 65mph. I can especially feel this in the steering wheel. It happens even when I tap the brakes and press them lightly so i don't think its the abs. Any ideas. I was thinking maybe brake dust because it was fine before i left.

[greenman]

sounds like warped rotors.

[RonH]

I agree.

[dread]

How could that happen when the car hasn't been driven in 2 months

[BrianG]

You can try checking the lug nuts to make sure they are properly tightened, but if they were loose, you'd probably notice something during driving, not just during braking.

If you use the brakes quite a bit, like coming to a stop from a high speed, or use them a lot like in city stop-and-go driving, they will heat up and going through a puddle may cool them too quickly and cause warping.

[wicked]

if your felling it in the wheel,it's your front brakes,they're warped.

[tallrd]

if your felling it in the wheel,it's your front brakes,they're warped.

A) loose lug nuts

B) warped front rotors.

I've experienced both and they can feel similar. Hopefully you don't have both (boom02)

[dread]

thanks for the tips. the vibration seems to be going away the more I drive. I also noticed excessive brake dust especially on the fronts which seem to be going away. I am going to drive a couple of days and see what happens and check the lug nuts. If it doesn't get better i am taking to mazda

[BlueMonsta]

is the brake pedal vibrating? or car? or both?
either way, just take it to mazda.
and if it warped rotor make sure they replace them instead of machining.

[lcruz64]

warped rotor and/or cracked brake pads.

[goldwing2000]

Since the car sat for two months and the problem is going away on it's own, it's probably just some rust on the rotors. I've noticed that Mazda3 rotors seem to be especially susceptible to rust.

Mazda3 rotors also do tend to warp too easily for my taste but that problem won't generally go away by itself.

[tsunami]

exactly what gold wing siad... if i leave mine for more then 2 days there is a slight vibration, and i would imagine 2 months would be a nasty rust spot that the pads need to wear down.... i would drive up to 40-50 or so and slam the brakes really hard a couple times it should help get rid of the rust build up...

[goldwing2000]

i would drive up to 40-50 or so and slam the brakes really hard a couple times it should help get rid of the rust build up...

Except that if you do that, you could warp the rotors by generating too much heat.

Just drive normal. If it doesn't go away in a few weeks, then have it looked at by a competent mechanic.

[Mikey444]

My mazda 6 rotors had to be resurfaced at only 11000 kilometers. The problem started at around 5500 kilometers and only got worst.

[tsunami]

Except that if you do that, you could warp the rotors by generating too much heat.

Just drive normal. If it doesn't go away in a few weeks, then have it looked at by a competent mechanic.


really by only doing that a couple times.... i know these aren't some super sweet rotors but i would think it could take some hard breaking... autoxers and what not have to put more heat then that during back to back runs...

[nautical2086]

I get that too, but mine is from having a bent cv shaft i think,

[goldwing2000]

really by only doing that a couple times.... i know these aren't some super sweet rotors but i would think it could take some hard breaking... autoxers and what not have to put more heat then that during back to back runs...

Except that these cars weren't designed for auto-x. It is conceivable that doing a couple "panic stops" one right after the other could warp a rotor, especially considering the minimal thickness of them.

I'm not saying that it will, only that it could. Better safe than sorry.

[tsunami]

Except that these cars weren't designed for auto-x. It is conceivable that doing a couple "panic stops" one right after the other could warp a rotor, especially considering the minimal thickness of them.

I'm not saying that it will, only that it could. Better safe than sorry.


gotcha... i know these aren't autox ready but people have/do use them for that, as with most mazda cars and i haven't heard of that many warped rotor issues... but i understand what you are sayin for sure...

[wicked]

no way,there have been a lot of warped rotor issues from mazda,just ask the MSP guys,I warped mine in less then 10,000 miles,replaced with aftermarket,now at 40,000 no problems

[cars]

Hi everyone I just got back from a 2 month trip and when driving my car I noticed that the car is vibrating when braking at speeds over 65mph. I can especially feel this in the steering wheel. It happens even when I tap the brakes and press them lightly so i don't think its the abs. Any ideas. I was thinking maybe brake dust because it was fine before i left.

If the brake pads were sitting on the rotors and there was moisture in the air (or rainfall during that period), then the other problem is that the semi-metallic brake pads (I'm assuming the pads are SM) may also leave extra residue on the rotors (which most likely were showing rust when you came back). Often a few hard stops from 65 (no traffic around when doing this hopefully) to 20 (do not come to a complete stop) should scrub the rotor clean without leaving hot brake pad residues on the rotor. Continue driving the car normally so the brakes can cool off before parking the car.

[tsunami]

no way,there have been a lot of warped rotor issues from mazda,just ask the MSP guys,I warped mine in less then 10,000 miles,replaced with aftermarket,now at 40,000 no problems

that may be but i haven't heard of to many with the mazda3....

[dread]

The brakes seem to be fine now, but thanks for all the helpful tips. They must have been pretty rusty after 2 months. The overly abundant brake dust has also cleared up.