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Shaking Steering Wheel when braking

15K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Jackson 
#1 ·
I found a new problem on my 05 odyssey a month ago.

The steering wheel is shaking back and forward 1/4" when I hit the brake at 60mph. It does not happen if the speed is slower or faster, and no shaking at normal driving.

Anyone have the same problem? I will take it to dealer next week.
 
#4 ·
This shaking when braking at 60mph puts a lot of stress on the brakes and steering. Take it in as soon as possible. Some folks have them turned; I prefer to replace them because they often warp again soon after turning. The labour cost is the same either way, but buying a new rotor costs more than turning the old one. If you have them turned, make sure they keep the required minimum rotor thickness. It's usually cast into the rotor; otherwise, it's available in the shop manual. Good luck!

- Dave
 
#5 ·
It's almost a certainty that your front rotors are warped, or at least one of them is. If you are still under the factory warranty this should be covered. If you have HondaCare they might cover this. Having them trued up by turning is an acceptable fix in my opinion. I had this happen on an Accord, and after they turned them the vibration never came back.
 
#6 ·
I agree with the warped rotor diagnosis. Warped rotors are a pet peeve of mine and the condition is preventable, but it does require action on your part.

The most common cause of warped rotors is lug nuts that are not torqued evenly. I have yet to find a tire shop or dealer service department that accurately torques the lug nuts after a wheel is reinstalled.

As a result, any time I have service done that requires wheel removal, I take a 1/2" drive breaker bar and a torque wrench along for the ride. Before I ever leave the parking lot, I loosen each lug nut slightly and torque it to specifications. I recheck the torque after I arrive home.

This procedure while tedious, has elimated my problems with warped rotors. I even retorqued the lug nuts on my Odyssey when I drove it home from the dealer for the first time. Nearly 40,000 miles later, the brakes still feel like brand new without even a hint of vibration!

Even if you see the service techs use a torque wrench, don't trust that they did it right - many times it's just a safety check to ensure they didn't under torque one. If they run the lug nuts down with the impact wrench and exceed the specifications and then follow up with the torque wrench, it does absolutely no good.

If I sound cynical, I had new tires installed on my Volvo V70 this morning and the above scenario actually happened. I watched the tech install the wheels and he followed-up with a torque wrench. When I went to retorque the nuts, I had to stand on and jump on the breaker bar to get some of them loose.

Even worse than warped rotors however, is the possibility that you won't be able to loosen the lug nuts on the side of the road with the factory supplied lug wrench, should you have a flat.
 
#8 ·
kschatwin said:
I agree with the warped rotor diagnosis. Warped rotors are a pet peeve of mine and the condition is preventable, but it does require action on your part.

The most common cause of warped rotors is lug nuts that are not torqued evenly. I have yet to find a tire shop or dealer service department that accurately torques the lug nuts after a wheel is reinstalled.

As a result, any time I have service done that requires wheel removal, I take a 1/2" drive breaker bar and a torque wrench along for the ride. Before I ever leave the parking lot, I loosen each lug nut slightly and torque it to specifications. I recheck the torque after I arrive home.

This procedure while tedious, has elimated my problems with warped rotors. I even retorqued the lug nuts on my Odyssey when I drove it home from the dealer for the first time. Nearly 40,000 miles later, the brakes still feel like brand new without even a hint of vibration!

Even if you see the service techs use a torque wrench, don't trust that they did it right - many times it's just a safety check to ensure they didn't under torque one. If they run the lug nuts down with the impact wrench and exceed the specifications and then follow up with the torque wrench, it does absolutely no good.

If I sound cynical, I had new tires installed on my Volvo V70 this morning and the above scenario actually happened. I watched the tech install the wheels and he followed-up with a torque wrench. When I went to retorque the nuts, I had to stand on and jump on the breaker bar to get some of them loose.

Even worse than warped rotors however, is the possibility that you won't be able to loosen the lug nuts on the side of the road with the factory supplied lug wrench, should you have a flat.
Excellent advice. I've had that happen to me, too, where the tech would hit it with an impact wrench then just click the torque wrench. I raised hell and had them back them all off, then torque them properly. They thought I was the lug nut! Odd how sure of themselves these people can be.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Many shops have torque limiting sockets

Many tire shops and most dealers have torque limiting impact sockets. They are color coded as per the requirment ie: 80flbs- Green, 100 flbs White, ect... and the item limits the amount of torque that is transmitted to the bolts. I have found them to be fairly accurate. Just thought I would throw that bit of information in. The average person who does not know of these and is under the impression that all shops are run by idiots who have no idea what they are doing, might go up to them waving a torque wrench when in fact the bolts were torqued to specs.
 
#11 ·
He should pick the right one but if he didn't it isn't that big of a deal. Having = torque across the lug nuts is the more important factor in helping to prevent warping. The fact that sets are color coded and have the torque rating stamped on them should make them fool proof.
 
#12 ·
I am fully aware of torque limiting adapters. They are known as Torque Sticks. They are better than nothing, but can be misused (as can a torque wrench).

Torque Sticks are nothing more than special extensions that allow the shaft to flex in sync with blows of an impact gun once the correct torque has been reached. If you stay on the trigger longer than necessary, they will continue to apply torque.

Even with their use, I have still found great variations in the amount of effort required to break lug nuts loose. Nothing can beat a good quality "Click" type torque wrench for consistency.

The shop I was referring to in my previous post is a national chain and was not using Torque Sticks.
 
#13 ·
I had an experience (not the Ody) where I had new tires installed and despite my requests that the shop did not use an impact wrench, they impacted the $#!+ out of them. Probably out of spite since I made a big deal about not using the impact wrench.

When I got home, I pulled out my torque wrench and attempted to check the torque while loosening the lugs. The wrench maxed out at 150 ft-lbs and this didn't even budge the lugs. I then took my breaker bar and attempted to loosen the lugs. Couldn't budge them even jumping on the dang thing. So, I put a six foot cheater bar on the breaker bar and finally broke them loose.

As the lugs turned, there were bad crunching sounds going on and pieces of metal fell off the lug nuts. The lugs were totally gouged up and ruined. I was very surprised the studs didn't break off.

I called the shop and explained what happened and they ended up buying me a new set of lugs. The brake rotors also warped within a couple weeks of that event and the shop refused to do anything about it!! They said I couldn't prove it was a result of their work.

In case anyone wants to avoid this shop - it was Sears.
 
#15 ·
The most common cause of warped rotors is lug nuts that are not torqued evenly.
Right! The correct procedure is a 3-step process. Each step covers each lug nut in a skip pattern (i.e. 1-3-5-2-4):

1. Install the lug nuts finger-tight
2. Torque them to 1/2 the final torque (40 ft/lbs for the Ody)
3. Torque them fully (80 ft/lbs for the Ody)

I am lucky to have found a shop that tightens lug nuts by hand using a torque wrench. Ever since the dealer ruined one of my alloys with an impact wrench, I have always returned to this shop for anything that requires removing the wheels (rotation, brakes, etc.).

- Dave
 
#16 ·
oliver605 said:
I just got call from dealer, they told me the lug nuts are over torqued.

need to replace front rotors and pads.

Does warranty cover this?
No, warranty would not cover this. But I would think you could simply have the rotors turned and put it all back together using the old pads, provided they still have enough lining left. I don't think there is any reason to replace the rotors.
 
#17 ·
I just got call from dealer, they told me the lug nuts are over torqued.
Who ever torqued the lug nuts? If the dealer was the only one, then the dealer should be responsible for the cost. Might be worth a try. After all, it is a 2005. But the dealer might just change their theory about the cause and blame something else, like the full moon.

My dealer tightened my Odyssey lug nuts so tight I could not remove them with a breaker bar. So much for quality service. I had to have the dealer re torque them and I did recheck the torque afterward.

Time wasted going back to the dealer to re torque lug nuts...priceless.
 
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