Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Shaking car when braking...

I was going home today after school and pulled into the center lane to turn left to get into my subdivision and from when i was nearly stopped to when i was just sitting waiting for the light the car shook quite a bit. It was pretty bad b/c the only shaking ive ever felt was unbalanced wheels, and it was a stronger than that, the whole car shook pretty much not just the wheel or pedals. My bro was in the passanger seat and he felt it was strong too. Then i take off and the shaking stops and park in the garage and the shaking is not there anymore.

Any clues?

-ivan

I would first check the calipar clips and make sure they are on properly. I had one half clipped on and my car would shake. figured that out when I replaced the brakes... And on the calipar there are tab like flanges sticking out, the metal wire or calipar spring should be sitting on those.

I checked the brakes when i got home and found nothing wrong. Also, i doubt it was the brakes b/c it only happened that one time so far and went away within 10 seconds while i waited at the light. Thanks for the heads up though.

-ivan

did the car continue to shake after you were stoped? If so check your tranny fluid, could be torque converter? If the shaking stopped when the car stopped i would say warped brake rotors

something on the brake pad that you couldnt see also could be a possible cuplrit. however, if it only did it when you stopped one time, i'm

yep wrap brake rotors. Its when you apply the breaks and the front end fills shaky. Its not that big on deal to fix. You might just be able to recut the rotors. Meaning take them off take to autozone or somewhere they will check and see if in tolerance and just recut them. If not in tolerance new ones are for front only 100 for 2 in that ball park.

The car still shook as i waited for the light, so i dont think it was the brakes, though ill still drop by the shop and have them look at them. I searched for something similar but only came up with brake probs.

thanks guys

This might sound really really stupid, but are you sure you don't have an exhuast leak? The bolts for my cat rusted off and broke! But when it did I would have puttering sound that would caust vibrations on the fake tranny bubble of the interior. It wasn't really noticeable when I was moving(besides the sound) but lol its only a thought.

If it is a 4 cylinder automatic with the a/c on, it will shake, but you would be used to it. If the idle did not rise for when the a/c is on, it would shake a lot, maybe stall.

Its a 6cyl and the only shaking it ever had was due to unbalanced wheels. I dont think its an exhaust leak, since the shaking only happened the one time. It could just have been nothing since it has me torn about what could have caused it.

-ivan