First of all thanks to all of you... yes even the sexist one.... for all your info. Oh and FYI the car is a 99 honda accord. OK so the problem is the steering wheel shakes when I slow down. Now a lot of you said warped rotors.. what is that and how does that happen? I guess I'll try the e-brake test and have the brakes cleaned...but where will they do that and how much does it run? anyone know of any good places in san antonio texas

 

i would think its more uneven wear in the pads, but if you do it yourself check the pads on how they are wearing, if they are wearing even then you may want to resurface your rotors at like checker, or autozone, (cheaper that way),
if your not going to do it yourself, tell the shop whats going on and they will know what to do

 

Oh I'd never do anything myself... wouldn't know how to do a damn thing.

 

There are two conditions which can cause this while slowing.
If it were to shake from side to side while just rolling (not applying brakes), it would indicate an out of round tire (belt break)
If it were to shake from side to side while lightly braking, it would indicate a warped rotor. (either both side surfaces are no longer parallel or one side has developed a high spot).
Two probable causes
1) over tightening of lug nuts during the last tire rotation or
2) splashing cold water on a hot rotor. This can happen as easily as long braking for an exit ramp and hitting a puddle.
One repair:
1) remachine both side surfaces parallel again either
a) on the car
b) on a brake lathe

P_Adams

"Oh I'd never do anything myself... wouldn't know how to do a damn thing."
Um, yeh right

 

Ok so who does this .. "remachine both side surfaces parallel again"
and how much does it cost. OH and what is an out of round tire?

 

An out of round tire discribes just that; a tire whos' tread has turned egg shaped or "unround. This condition is usually caused by damage to one of the tire's inner components called belts; which are the tires structural strength, and when they break cause the tire to go out-of-round.
Just about anyone can remachine rotors. Honda dealers, Independent garages who specialize in Hondas and some mass mechandisers (Pep Boys) should be able to do it. Prices will range all over the place.

 

it it only shakes when you are coming to stop your rotors are warped have your rotors machined ,,,it is not your tires ,,if it were your tires you would feel it when driving anytime mostly at slow speeds 20-40 mph and it would feel like the whole frt end of car wobbling

 

Don't forget out-of-balance wheels. (edit Yes, I should have said you feel that at high speeds...

Out-of-balance wheels or out-of-round (damaged) tires would shake even when you're not using the brakes. Balancing your wheels might cost less than $10 each? Bad tires are easy, just expensive - throw away the tires & get new ones. But check to see what kind of warranty your tires have.

Brake rotors can warp so they're not flat & straight. But it's much more common for the brake pad material to imprint itself on the surface of the rotor. Then patches of the rotor are more 'slippery' than others. So the braking power is uneven making the car shake. You can get the rotors resurfaced pretty cheap, even new rotors aren't too expensive. What costs is the labor for your mechanic to take the brakes apart...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Prisky &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oh I'd never do anything myself... wouldn't know how to do a damn thing. </TD></TR></TABLE>That's fine, but it doesn't hurt to understand what's happening.



Modified by JimBlake at 11:05 AM 5/5/2005

 

jim if a wheel is out iof balance you will not feel that at slow speed you will feel at at hwy speed unless wheel ib bent...once again guys if you are slowing down applying the brakes your rotors are warped either frt or back or drums out of round if you have drums on rear guys trust me have seen hundreds of them and it has always been rotors or drums for shimmy while applying brakes