Hi everyone, well it's been some time now that i've been having this problem and can't seem to fix it....

When driving (at higher speeds) and apply the brakes the nose of the car pulls hard to the right and it scares the crap outta me! if i let go of the wheel when driving the car runs straight (no pulling)...it only happens when braking..i guess i feel it more when at higher speeds...

what i've done (repairs/maint) since i've noticed this:

had left hub changed (not oem) and did alignment
had a man-hole gang under the front left tire area (twice..long story)
i bled the brake system twice (once me once dealer)..they said calipers where ok.
had front left control arm changed (not oem)
this week had all pads and rotors changed (not oem)
and had them (not dealership) check calipers..said it was okay

I don't know what else to do or to look at??? any ideas?
i have mags (rims) on for the winter on my nokian hakka studs.
anything? bent/cracked rim?
thanks
fabs

 

Fabs, repost this in the vehicle specific area. There may be an issue that your particular model is prone to...sure sounds like a sticking caliper though. I am a bit confused however. If the car pulls to the right, I'd be looking at the right corner, not the left.

 

Swift...the way i see if is that if it's pulling towards the right, that would tell me that the right side is catching and working properly and so the stoping weight is being shifted to the said that is working properly..
fab

 

Sometimes that is true. Equally often, however, it is the caliper working too well, grabbing, that provides overbraking. Is this a fwd or rwd car?

 

Swift...it's a fwd model..someone also mentioned to me that it might also be a problem in the rear suspension (trailer arm bushing) that might cause this? i know that at the dealer there was some mention of one of the rear bushings was a bit worn....maybe it's on it's way out and i'm feeling it mostly at higher speeds?
thanks
fabs

 

update....
Hi everyone, well i got an alignment yesterday (to see if it was causing my pulling) ...it seems to be still there ...but i was driving on the 40 today, well stuck in traffic actually, i had the windows down and as i slowly moved along and drove over the road ties on the ground i could here a slight "clunking" noise coming from the front suspension...any ideas? strut mount? spring seat?
if it's one of these, should i also change out the strut while we're at it? it think they are still good but could be wrong...
thanks
fabs

 

Sounds to me like you could have a broken control arm....a broken lower control arm could cause car to pull and also make clunking sounds...but could be 2 totally separate issues all together. Usually 98% of the time if your car pulls hard right while braking you have a bad sticking caliper....the other 2% it is caused by (broken or bent control arm or in rare cases extremely worn tie rods or ball joints or even a bent subframe) but usually in these cases the car will show other symptoms so it's most likely a bad front caliper. Good luck and keep us updated please

 

My guess would be that one of your calipers is grabbing more than the other. As you said, it happens during hard braking @ higher speeds which makes it more dangerous.

First, check your pads. Volvo's have a tri brake system. That means 2 fronts & 1 rear for each side of the booster. So, therefore it is not likely to be a booster problem, but a caliper problem. Check your pad wear and if one side is wearing less than the other, replace one of the calipers. I would likely change the one with the less wear assuming that it is not working as well. If that doesn't do it, change the other. If that doesn't fix it, I would guess it is a booster problem.

I doubt that it is a suspension problem because they would not align the car if anything up there is worn or broken.
I just picked up a car with the same problem except mine is pulling to the left. Very scary indeed.

 

I agree with RSPI they typically will not do an alignment if any of your suspension parts are too worn or broken. But if you hear a clunking now it may have happened after the alignment and that is why I said it is probably 2 different issues going on. Yes check all the brake pad wear and make sure it's even, most likely it's in the front not the rear but check all. Most common thing is a bad caliper but I have seen other things cause a pull as well. Start with the most common thing(calipers) and move on from there. Good luck!

 

I guarantee this is a brake problem. Go find a gravel road and slam the brakes on, tell us which wheel locks first.
I've had sliding head calipers that jam in their slides, pistons stick in their bores. Unless the dealership physically removed the calipers, pushed the pistons back to check for sticking and checked out the slide pins (all of which is unlikely) you can't rule them out.
A really easy way to check if a caliper has issues is to look at the brake pads. If the piston side is significantly more worn than the sliding side, the slides are stuck. If you can rattle the brake pads with a screwdriver when the caliper is on the disc, just in from service, pistons are stuck/sticking. I think it's a front brake issue because of how strong you describe the reaction. Rears generally make the rear of the car yaw or lock really easily.
Suspension seldom causes a hard pull under braking, more likely instability and wandering.

 

I would let you guys know what's going on with mine but I can't get ANY of the lug nuts loose. I just picked up the car and I don't want to break anything till I get home. I'm now 775 miles away and still heading in that direction. If my brother-in-law, who does eat his spinach, decides to break my lug nuts loose I'll post back.

The front calipers on the Volvo's have 2 pistons on each side. One piston for each tri system. So, if one of the pistons is locked up, you will likely experience the problem under hard braking.

 

Have not checked my brakes yet but my 500+ lb nephew helped me get those logs off.

 

If your going to rebuild the calipers and need a ball hone let me know we have like 30 of the size you need at the motorcycle shop, Ill send you one..