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Home / Symptoms / Shaking While Braking

Four common causes for brake vibrations from the vehicle and their related parts.

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Is Your Car Shaking When You Brake?

Your car is shaking while braking because of wheel-related issues, warped brake components, or faulty steering components like the control arm bushings and the steering knuckle. For wheels, is probably worn tires or faulty bearings, and for brakes, the rotor might be the culprit.

Safe driving depends on staying in control, slowing down, and stopping confidently. So naturally, feeling your car shaking when braking is troubling. The shaking indicates a problem with your vehicle that will worsen as the vibration continues.

Since braking systems relate to the wheels, shaking can result from disturbances in the tire or wheels' ability to roll smoothly, which may come from the axles, the bearings, the tires, or even the brakes themselves.

Watch out: A car shaking while braking needs a good inspection. However, paying attention to your speed and the intensity of your braking when you apply the brakes offers a clue into what is causing this trouble. In addition, the shaking will often worsen over time and cause more damage to your vehicle's braking system.

The most common causes of the car shaking when you brake

The most common causes for a car shaking when braking:

Severely worn tire: If the tires are so excessively worn that they lose balance, the spinning movement from the wheels might become wobbly and uneven. This happens especially during braking when the tires receive the highest amount of pressure. Consequently, the vehicle shakes when braking.
Damaged drive axle: The drive axle is an axle connected to the wheels, transferring engine power to them and ensuring they turn efficiently while the vehicle drives. However, if the axle is faulty, leaking, bent, or rusty, it loses movement flexibility and smoothness, resulting in vibrations when turning the vehicle and even while braking.
Bad control arm bushings: The control arm bushings are rubber components in the vehicle’s suspension system that absorb vibration, helping to cushion the ride and balancing out the weight distribution through suspension components. However, if these components fail, your vehicle loses some cushioning, becoming a bumpier ride, especially when braking.
Warped brake rotor: The brake rotor is a disc-like surface in the wheels that the brake pads press against to try and stop the wheels from spinning while the vehicle brakes. However, the rotor might be bent or warped, resulting in an uneven surface that makes the vehicle vibrate while the brake pads are pressing in a wobbly fashion.
Bad wheel bearing: A wheel bearing is a component inside the vehicle’s wheels that ensures the wheels can rotate smoothly and balance without friction or becoming wobbly. However, a faulty wheel bearing might become loose and allow play, resulting in a less stable rotation, leading to vibrations that can be more perceptible when braking.
Faulty steering knuckles: Steering knuckles are components that connect the wheels to the suspension, allowing them to turn based on the steering system's movement. The knuckles basically ensure the wheels are attached to the suspension and steering, being like the “joints” of this connection. However, if the steering knuckles fail, the turning movement in the wheels becomes wobbly and unbalanced, leading to a vehicle that shakes when braking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you feel shaking in the brake pedal?

You may also feel shaking in the seat, floorboard, and steering wheel.

Your brake rotor is attached to the hub behind the wheel. With excessive braking, the rotor overheats and warps. When the rotor bends, the brake pads move back against it whenever you brake and push on the caliper piston and brake fluid. When this happens, you will feel shaking from the wheel into the brake pedal.
Does your vehicle shake when traveling at highway speed and applying the brakes?

You may hear a louder noise the faster you go, or your entire vehicle may shake if you brake hard.

If your vehicle is out of alignment, it will wear on the tires and cause them to become unbalanced. Unbalanced tires are easier to notice at high speeds and may not cause roughness during slower driving. However, you will feel a shaking in your brakes while driving at high speeds due to having unbalanced tires.
Does your vehicle shake when you brake hard?

You may also notice a shaking in the brake pedal, floorboard, or steering wheel. The vibration might let up when you stop braking as well.

This is because the control arm holds the wheel and tire upright, fixed at the proper angle. When the bushings around this flexible joint wear, your control arm will get pushed out of position when you brake hard. This makes the tires change their angle, and being out of place causes vibrations in your vehicle.
Does your vehicle shake when you brake at slow speeds?

You may notice that the shaking stops when you stop applying the brakes.

The wheel bearings are designed to follow the steering knuckle as you maneuver to keep your wheel locked in a straight position. If these bearings develop wear, they loosen, and your tires may lean in. Applying the brake pressure to these leaning tires straightens them again, causing you to feel a shake during this adjustment.
Does your steering wheel shake if you apply the brakes lightly?

Your vehicle might shake if you apply the brakes hard too.

The steering knuckle connects the steering control arms to the wheel bearing with a ball joint. It can be damaged in car accidents, which causes the angle of your axis to change. If one side of your vehicle is at the wrong angle, you will feel the steering wheel shake when you apply the brakes lightly.
Does your vehicle shake when you slow down rapidly?

You may also feel shaking in the seat, floorboard, and steering wheel.

The drive axle consists of two CV (constant velocity) joints attached by the axle shaft. When the axle becomes damaged due to road impact or collision, the axle can become out of balance, which leads to wear and increased movement in these joints. When this gets accentuated, the axle starts to shake, causing the grease to sling out of the CV boots and for the vehicle to shake when you apply the brakes.

Typical fixes to address the cause(s)

These are typical processes and repair services that fix a check engine light issue

The most common cause: Worn tire

The most common reason for a car shaking when braking is due to worn tires. The tires are essential to keep your vehicle balanced and the wheels spinning properly. Therefore, tires typically require being same-brand with the same tread patterns as they basically “harmonize” your vehicle and help distribute its weight properly. However, when they’re too worn out, they’ll lose grip, become wobbly, and cause balance issues that become more evident while braking.

Symptoms it causes: Apart from the vehicle shaking while braking you might notice steering wheel vibrations, slipping tires, tough handling, etc.
High risk of priority: Bad tires can cause handling problems and vehicle slipping depending on weather and road conditions. Tires are safety items that help your vehicle drive properly, and they need replacement whenever they’re too worn.

How exactly do tires get bad?

Tires are made of rubber and naturally degrade over time while you drive the vehicle. The best way of keeping your tires safe is to check them at every maintenance and replace them every 6 to 10 years, depending on the manufacturer’s specifications and the driving conditions.

Go safe: Ask for a mechanic to inspect your vehicle’s steering, suspension, and braking systems to investigate if the tires are worn due to surrounding components and if there’s further damage to check out. Many shops do transparent vehicle inspections and lay out your options after investigating your vehicle’s conditions.

What’s a vehicle inspection? It’s “detective work” on your vehicle, checking its systems to see if anything prevents the car from working as expected. In this case, mechanics examine different parts of your vehicle to track if anything is causing the tires to wear out. They’ll also check the condition of components during their inspection, noting which are causing the problem and which got affected by it, recommending to replace them in order of priority.

Transparency example in a bad air filter service

A steering, suspension, and brake system inspection is the most transparent process to understand why your vehicle’s tires are wearing out excessively. This is because many components surrounding the tires and wheels can have a say in the issue, indicating the real culprits that caused it all.

Let’s read an example of how this kind of inspection helps to service a worn tire and solve a vehicle shaking when braking.

A customer dropped off their vehicle after they noticed a slight shaking when they drove at freeway speeds, which got much more severe when they applied the brakes. The customer was concerned that their brake rotors might be warped, even though they hadn't driven harshly.

During the test drive, the technician noted that the steering wheel was not off-center when driving straight and that the vehicle had a pull to the left. The technician also verified that the car had a slight vibration at freeway speeds and that the shake or vibration got worse when applying the brakes.

During the vehicle health inspection, the technician noted that both front tires had extreme wear on the inside edge across the tire. In addition, the left tire was bald on the inside and unsafe to drive.

Both front tires must be replaced with new ones before the vehicle can be safely driven. In addition, the technician recommended a steering and suspension inspection and an alignment to prevent damaging the new tires.

Severely worn tire

In this case, the mechanic put the “Immediate Action” tag on the air filter.

Similar Symptoms

Below are just a few examples of typical Symptoms and Fixes your car might be experiencing

Four common causes for weird braking from a vehicle and their related parts.

Is Your Car Shaking When You Brake?

The most common causes of the car shaking when you brake

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you feel shaking in the brake pedal?

Does your vehicle shake when traveling at highway speed and applying the brakes?

Does your vehicle shake when you brake hard?

Does your vehicle shake when you brake at slow speeds?

Does your steering wheel shake if you apply the brakes lightly?

Does your vehicle shake when you slow down rapidly?

Typical fixes to address the cause(s)

The most common cause: Worn tire

How exactly do tires get bad?

Transparency example in a bad air filter service

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