so recently, my front brakes seem to be vibrating when i come to a stop very slowly. my rear pads and rotors were replaced less than 5k miles ago, so im doubtful its them. plus, the vibrations feel like theyre coming more from the front.

anywho, i pulled off the tires on both sides, inspected the pads. they appear to be around 50% worn on both sides. rotors dont feel warped at all and there is barely a groove around the outer edge.

could the ABS system be causing this?

 

Don't know what you mean by vibrations. Please expound, steering wheel, front end, ???

 

it feels like it starts at the front end and then migrates to the steering wheel. i dont know how else to explain it.

 

Have you had tie rods/control arms/etc., checked?

If it were rotors you would feel it at all speeds while braking, especially high speed.

 

Make sure you use a torque gauge when you put the wheels back on and tighten the lug nuts to the specified torque.

 

i had some of the front end suspension replaced last year: new axles, new struts, new springs but nothing else.

guess ill have to hit my mechanic up sometime this weekend, really need to figure out what it is asap so i can order parts if necessary.

 

if you feel it in the pedal , warped rotors , 5000 miles and half way gone ? must be really cheap pads

 

YES! i do feel it on the brake pedal. thanks so much for assisting me, hookus.

the front rotors weren't replaced, only the rear brake pads/rotors were.

now that you mention that, when i apply light braking, ill feel it slow... then it feels as if theres a 'bump' in the brake.. then smooth braking.. them bump. the front rotors havent been shaved, so would this be an option, along with replacing the front brake pads when that occurs? the meat on the rotors looks nice and thick, like they still have some life left.

 

yes it has a pulseing feel , this is due to the rotors or drums not being cut ,the rotor or drum is warped and needs to be cut ,even when i buy NEW rotors or drums i have them cut also , i've had new parts even have a warp in them ! this will fix your problem . scott

 

yep yep. im gonna go ahead and get all 4 cut just to make sure. i took my car to brake check and just brakes (both have free inspections) and both told me the same thing: front rotors are more than likely warped and need to be cut.

they also said i should go ahead, even though they have less than 5k miles on them, and cut the rears to ensure smooth braking all around.

meat on my front brakes is great they both said, meat on my rear brakes are excellent.

 

great to hear it ! cut those baby's and slap'em back on and enjoy the ride !

 

I can not remember the last time I had my rotors turned. It is not recommended by Volvo. Make sure you have somebody that knows what they are doing turn them. Basically the more they take off the thinner they are and the more likely they are to warp again. I always just replace mine with either OEM or Brembo's.

 

i had mine inspected and measured the other day. they are well within the limits to be shaved. i have a guy who knows what hes doing when it comes to refurbing parts so no worries there.

when they were inspected and compared to new rotors, the difference in size was pretty small. he said he shouldn't have to shave off much to get them flat.

also, ive known guys who have bought OEM rotors brand new and had to have them cut due to them already being warped.

ill probably swap out the fronts in a year or so, depending how much longer these last. given the amount of metal left, i should have way more than a year left in them.

im actually waking up, fixing to get ready to head to his shop when he opens at 730am cst.

 

oh, heres something to add before i start to get ready:

the issue only happens when im in drive. when im in reverse, i can slow brake all i want and no vibrations. in drive? its like when i hit the pulse part, thats where it vibrates bad.

 

I can't remember the last time I had rotors turned either. I definately would not be getting a new set turned. Don't know how it could be possible for them to be warped but they would be returned to whom I purchased them from.It's starting to sound like you have a problem with your ABS paulsating. I suspected that a day or two ago but I didn't say. Not that often that you can feel warped rotors at such a slow speed. They would have to be warped real bad.

 

just got back from having them turned. the set in question is NOT new. the rears are the new set. the fronts are the set i just had turned.

that being said, its still vibrating at slow stops. i suspected the ABS system as well. my mechanic said that the rotors looked really good and didnt need to be turned, but since they were off, may as well take care of it and eliminate them.

how can i disable my ABS system to confirm/deny that it may be that system that is messing up?

-edit-

i dont mind driving without abs. this is the first car ive owned thats had abs. my hondas, my brick, none of them have ABS and they drove great.

-edit x 2-

to disable the ABS system, would i just pull fuses 8 (abs pump), 9 (abs air pump) and 14 (abs main relay)?

 

also, since im under the hood today, where is the bloody security system relay located? i have pictures of it but its not in the fuse box under the hood. those are the light relay, fuel pump relay and cruise control relay. nowhere under there is there a red relay that has 'security system relay' on it like the images i saw on google images.

 

removed the ABS fuses i listed, one by one. issue is still persisting. its only on super, super slow stops. regular stops are now smooth as can be, due to freshly turned fronts and almost new rears.

what else could cause this vibration? im talking front and rear. my mechanic set me up to come in on tuesday to give it a good looking over, but i want to do as much of the legwork as i can so if possible, i can have parts ordered and ready to go.

 

Yeah you wont be able to SEE warping on your rotors, unless they're absolutely destroyed. A couple thousandths of an inch will give you a vibration. I'm with hookus here....even when i get new rotors, I put them on a lathe and at least make sure there's no runout on them.

 

rear rotors have less than 5k miles on them. font rotors were just turned today. mechanic said he barely had to shave any off.

pulled ABS fuses, issue still persists. spoke with FCP (since ill likely order parts from them) and they said it could either be the control arms or hub assembly/bearings.

how hard would either of those be? im still learning the suspension of this car, but am willing to tackle it if its fairly straight foreward.