Well, all systems connected to the brakes experience these vibrations, so it's unclear what you mean by feeling shaking. however, if the vibrations are more of a pulsing rather than random shaking where your car feels like it's trying to shake off any passengers on board then the front brake pads might be frozen or worn down. if you're experiencing this then try working with some break fluid and pump each side individually until they feel better before taking them in for repairs yourself. also make sure there isn't too much air in your tires as that's an issue similar to frozen brakes except less noticable on paved roads but really apparent when off-road or through snow fields where all four tires need proper air pressure.
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why my car shakes when i brake at high speed?
braking hard will cause the front wheels to lock up. this forces the weight of the car onto any other wheel still touching the ground, instead of evenly distributing it among all four. when one side of the tire has more weight on it than other, even if tiny, that can cause shaking in some cars or trucks which are not equipped with steering dampers for this exact reason.
there are other reasons why a car shakes while braking at high speed; these include suspension problems and lower air pressure in one or more tires (possibly due to low tire pressure light). sometimes rapid deceleration could also generate engine shake that is directly transmitted into suspension components. but front wheel lockup should be at least part of your investigation! 🙂
what does it mean when car shakes when braking?
brake shudder can be caused by many things, but it's usually due to flexing brake pads. many newer cars have a hydraulic system that prevents this from occurring.
brakes are designed to stop the spinning wheel from moving forward and transferring the body of the car backwards. in order for this to happen, there has to be two contact points on either side of the wheel where braking takes place. if they're not contacting evenly, then you may experience shuddering when slowing down or coming to a stop because one point is putting more force on the wheel than what it was designed for, and subsequently gets hot and loses grip- warming up your brakes will also help ensure a better grip with even pressure distribution during braking.
can wheel alignment cause vibration when braking?
wheel alignment can cause vibration when braking when the vehicle has an unbalanced tire, which is a condition in which the weight distribution is not even on one side of the tire. when this happens then your steering will be affected and you may experience vibrations when braking.
if you suspect that you have an unbalanced tire we recommend having your tires balanced at a service station near you to correct this problem and minimize wear & tear on all four of your tires.
to diagnose if there is an unbalanced tire, try parking in front of a level floor and allow each wheel to bump against it in succession while rolling forward and backward. the idea is that if both wheels are aligned correctly or neither would hit their own reflection at the same
