Burning smell and now Juddering

[Bobton125]

On my 2013 Kia Ceed, i replaced one front caliper myself about 6 months ago when i noticed the piston seals leaking during a brake pad change.

Last week (maybe on 2/3 occasions) i kept noticing a smell of burning rubber after a 30 min drive. Couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from as i couldn't smell it in the engine bay or in the interior. I presumed maybe its a DPF regen and carried on driving.

Now the burning smell has stopped but i've noticed shaking at the steering wheel when going 50mph+ and when braking from higher speeds i'm getting fairly violent juddering on the brakes. Which leads me to think the front discs are warped and could the smell been from a sticking caliper?

I'm going to fit new discs and pads (pads again after 6 months) but i don't want to warp them again if they are getting too hot.
How can i avoid warping the discs again? How do you stop a caliper from sticking if it is the case? I haven't checked which side it is yet, whether its the new caliper or the old one.

[Tony1963]

“Which leads me to think…”

You might want to make sure, first of all.

[Bobton125]

Tony1963 said:

“Which leads me to think…”

You might want to make sure, first of all.

i poked my finger through the spokes of the wheel and they do feel a bit rippled

I thought i can be pretty certain the discs are warped if it judders under braking and then stops when you come off the brakes

[Tony1963]

The usual response will be that they’re unlikely to be warped but will have areas where a hot pad has remained in contact with a stationary disc and transferred pad material to the disc. This is what you can feel through the steering.

Have you felt if that wheel is hot after a drive?

Has your fuel economy dropped noticeably?

[LuS1fer]

Check road spring hasn't snapped and the jagged end contacting tyre.Did it on a Fiesta I had.

[E-bmw]

Tony1963 said:

Have you felt if that wheel is hot after a drive?

^^^^ This is your first job to see if you have a partially seized piston in a caliper.

Go for a drive of 30 min or more using the brakes as little as possible for best chance of seeing a difference wheel to wheel.

[Bobton125]

thanks, will check how hot the wheel is.

[Bobton125]

checked after a drive. Both front wheels felt warm. The Wheel with the old caliper felt slightly warmer than the other but not too hot to touch or anything?