Q: Will bad brake calipers cause excessive vibrating in steering wheel while driving?
My car has excessive vibrating/shaking in steering wheel while driving and you can hear and feel klunking noises coming from the front end on the drivers side, under your feet. I also have uneven tire wear on the inside of both front tires. My mechanic says that I have bad brake calipers and they are sticking, which is causing the vibrations. The brakes work fine, no noises while braking and no swaying/pulling to one side.
My car has 260000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
This may very well be caused by the uneven wear on the front tires. When uneven tread is subjected to various road conditions or braking power, this will definitely cause a vibrating or shaking feeling. This may also be caused by warped brake rotors. As you may know, when you press on your brake pedal, this activates a hydraulic pressure which forces small pistons inside your brake calipers to push the brake pads against the brake rotors which is what causes the stopping power you are familiar with.
When this happens, an enormous amount of heat is generated due to the friction between the brake pads and rotors. As the brake rotors eventually cool down and then heat up again the next time you press on the brakes, over time this can cause them to warp slightly causing very small low spots on the surface of the brake rotor. When this happens and the brake pads are applied again to the rotors, this causes an uneven surface (on the rotor) to be applied to the flat surface brake pad, which is what causes the vibration or shaking you describe. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your home to diagnose your brake system to properly repair.
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