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Sometimes when I brake, I get a shudder from my front wheels. Sometimes only slight judder, sometimes quite bad, but about 70% of the time, no judder at all.
The discs have about 20,000km on them, same with the pads. I had the discs resurfaced about a year ago, and the judder only started 6 months ago.I had the hubs replaced a year ago, and also new tyres a month ago.
The suspension is fine, and visual inspection of the discs and pads look fine too.
Alignment and wheel balance has been done, but this has made no difference.
My mechanic (indie) thinks it may be an electronic problem - something to do with the ABS kicking in randomly, which may make sense.
Has anybody experienced this problem before, or know what the problem could be?
I have never had good luck with having MB rotors resurfaced. I Just replace them. There is an interesting mymercedes vid on youtube, granted for a 190e, about abs issues and brake judder. He suggests fluid changed, then pads/rotors, then cleaning abs sensors, then replacement of said sensors. If that doesn't work you probably need to replace something exspinsive and it will most likely have a fault code.
Insame1, I've replaced fluid, cleaned ABS sensors, and have no fault code. New discs and pads is something I don't wan't to do this soon after replacing them, but i will certainly bear it in mind
MarcusF, I have had my steering box tightened, so I don't think this is the problem, but thanks for the suggestion.
I think Khan may be onto something. My mechanic told me previously that my bushings were on the way out, but still OK. I have been noticing a clunk from the front - intermittent, and not very often. Also, when I am parking with full lock, the front wheels seem like they are rolling over an obstacle, if you get what I mean. Like they're going over a speed bump,(but without the speed bump being there), or skidding. Also, it doesn't seem solid on the road, which points to front suspension problems.
I'll be visiting my mechanic on Saturday, and will put the car on a lift and give the suspension a good check.
Well, the suspension checked out fine. No problems....And no judder when the mechanic was test driving it, but back again on my way home!!!
I'm beginning to wonder if it's something to do with dirt/dust. I live in a desert climate, and work on a construction site, so there's sand and dust everywhere. The judder does seem to stop after I get the car washed, but then it comes back again...I would assume however, that any dust/dirt on the discs would be wiped away after a few KMs driving.
After a busy few weeks at work, with the vibration gradually getting worse (along with the handling), I left the car in and replaced the upper and lower control arms (complete with bushes and ball joints) on both sides. The judder is now gone, and the handling is vastly improved. The bushed must have been bad for a long time.
Khan, you hit the nail on the head with this problem, so many thanks.
The only thing that I'm concerned about now is why my mechanic told me the bushes were fine, when they were completely worn out...He's normally very good.
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