The Dreaded Brake Judder!
Discussion
For no apparent reason some weeks ago, my car developed a braking judder, which I feared was the dreaded distorted discs.
This is despite the car, a 330Ci only having done 35,000 miles, and I am not a heavy braker or hard driver in any way. One day it was fine, the next there was severe judder when braking from 50 or 60mph.
I decided to go to a local garage (not a BMW specialist), that I have used in the past for MOT's etc to get this checked out and to my dismay, they did diagnos distorted discs. I braced myself for the repair cost, (knowing Kwik-Fit already quoted me £325), but was pleasantly surprised by a total cost including vat of £169 for pads+discs. What sort of price have people paid for this? Was the Kwik-Fit price totally ridiculous?
They seem to be fairly standard 325mm items, ie not grooved or drilled etc, but appear to work well so far, though I need to go for good long drive to test them.
However, I still fail to understand why they warped in the first place. I never drive or brake hard, so why would essentially big thick metal discs bend or distort without being stressed in any way?
This is despite the car, a 330Ci only having done 35,000 miles, and I am not a heavy braker or hard driver in any way. One day it was fine, the next there was severe judder when braking from 50 or 60mph.
I decided to go to a local garage (not a BMW specialist), that I have used in the past for MOT's etc to get this checked out and to my dismay, they did diagnos distorted discs. I braced myself for the repair cost, (knowing Kwik-Fit already quoted me £325), but was pleasantly surprised by a total cost including vat of £169 for pads+discs. What sort of price have people paid for this? Was the Kwik-Fit price totally ridiculous?
They seem to be fairly standard 325mm items, ie not grooved or drilled etc, but appear to work well so far, though I need to go for good long drive to test them.
However, I still fail to understand why they warped in the first place. I never drive or brake hard, so why would essentially big thick metal discs bend or distort without being stressed in any way?
Hi there,
i too have a 330ci at 42,000 miles so not far off yours but am also experiencing slight brake judder.
sytner charge £199 so i guess that is a fair price if the parts are good.
It is more than likely that the control arms and wishbone bushes are tired (and a known weak spot on these cars even at these low miles) causing slack in the steering and thus the wobble, is there a slight "pause" or judder between depressing the brake and the car slowing down? does it tend to tramline?
i would have put it down to this more than warped discs given your mileage and stated driving style, but if the problem has been rectified then i guess your ok, if it has not then this is where to look next!
i too have a 330ci at 42,000 miles so not far off yours but am also experiencing slight brake judder.
sytner charge £199 so i guess that is a fair price if the parts are good.
It is more than likely that the control arms and wishbone bushes are tired (and a known weak spot on these cars even at these low miles) causing slack in the steering and thus the wobble, is there a slight "pause" or judder between depressing the brake and the car slowing down? does it tend to tramline?
i would have put it down to this more than warped discs given your mileage and stated driving style, but if the problem has been rectified then i guess your ok, if it has not then this is where to look next!
Edited by taylor86 on Friday 12th March 21:41
i also have experienced this problem. i have a2009 123d m sport.i had 3000miles on car when the car developed this judder. as the car had been parked up for5 weeks whilst i was on holiday i put it down to a spot of rust which would clear. in fact it got worse. the car was booked into garage under warranty. they had to replace 4 warped discs and new pads. reason they gave was the car being parked for a long time in cold weather!! 3 other cars parked in my drive were not affected. why bmw???????? very disappointing.
sylvawaldiel said:
i also have experienced this problem. i have a2009 123d m sport.i had 3000miles on car when the car developed this judder. as the car had been parked up for5 weeks whilst i was on holiday i put it down to a spot of rust which would clear. in fact it got worse. the car was booked into garage under warranty. they had to replace 4 warped discs and new pads. reason they gave was the car being parked for a long time in cold weather!! 3 other cars parked in my drive were not affected. why bmw???????? very disappointing.
They may well be correct! My car stood in the very cold weather for three or four weeks after which the problem developed. It has never happened to any other car I have owned, so yes, I too was disappointed at the diagnosis. The new pads and discs did fix the issue.Won't be warped discs... Classic misdiagnosis. Would you like fries with that Sir?
Have a look at a modern vented disc, they're massively strong. You need to go out and do a series of full pressure stops from motorway + speeds to properly clear the residue then let the car cool down without parking until the temps have normalised.
Have a look at a modern vented disc, they're massively strong. You need to go out and do a series of full pressure stops from motorway + speeds to properly clear the residue then let the car cool down without parking until the temps have normalised.
Patrick Bateman said:
- good find: whenever I'm stuck behind a set of glowing brake lights, I wonder....
BliarOut said:
Won't be warped discs... Classic misdiagnosis. Would you like fries with that Sir?
Have a look at a modern vented disc, they're massively strong. You need to go out and do a series of full pressure stops from motorway + speeds to properly clear the residue then let the car cool down without parking until the temps have normalised.
If this is true (and I have heard that discs are actually very difficult to warp) then what exactly causes the judder and why would new discs and brakes cure it?Have a look at a modern vented disc, they're massively strong. You need to go out and do a series of full pressure stops from motorway + speeds to properly clear the residue then let the car cool down without parking until the temps have normalised.
I've suffered it briefly on my auto, just after I bought it - a tip from a Scandanavian site was to (where safe) brake hard, but not so you trip the ABS, from a good speed, twice, & let it cool before driving off, theory being you wear off the accumulated debris, so the disc is fresh & the pads are running on lean metal again. Mine's been fine since, I just make sure I hold it on the handbrake, not the pedal, so the problem shouldn't arise again. Never had it on the manuals, though.
I paid £220 for a set of 4 grooved discs & pads from eBay, so £170 fitted sounds pretty good!
I got grooved to help clear the water in the wet.
Surprised yours were warped, I wonder if they really were... Mine sometimes go juddery but soon clears up with more use (and no sitting in traffic with the brakes on).
I got grooved to help clear the water in the wet.
Surprised yours were warped, I wonder if they really were... Mine sometimes go juddery but soon clears up with more use (and no sitting in traffic with the brakes on).
8Tech said:
Brake judder can also be the result of binding or seized calipers which will often be cleared temporarily because the "sticky" piston is pushed back in to fit the new pads and also by worn suspension bushes setting up a harmonic vibration when the brakes are applied.
8Tech.
+1: I had brake judder from a seized caliper8Tech.
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