What Causes the Civic to Shake When Braking?
2 Answers
Civic high-speed braking shake reasons are as follows: Multiple braking: After the car has been driven for a long time and has undergone a certain number of braking processes, the brake disc reaches a high temperature. At this point, emergency braking activates the ABS. Heat generation: ABS is the Anti-lock Braking System, which is an electronically controlled intermittent braking. Through the continuous clamping and releasing action of the brake caliper on the brake disc, the brake disc is intermittently and strongly stretched, generating heat when braking to decelerate the vehicle. Finally leading to shaking: When there is excessive heat, the brake rotor can deform. At this point, the brake disc will become wavy in shape. Later, during high-speed braking, when the brake disc is constrained by the brake caliper, the uneven surface of the brake disc will vibrate, transmitting the vibration through the steering linkage and suspension to the car body and steering wheel, causing body vibration and unstable direction.
I had the same issue last time when I was driving my Civic on mountain roads. When I braked hard, the steering wheel shook like a massage chair, which scared me into getting it checked immediately. The mechanic said it was due to warped brake discs—the discs became uneven from hard braking, just like a frying pan expanding and contracting from heat. This is mostly caused by prolonged braking leading to overheating, such as driving too long on long downhill stretches. It could also happen if the contact surface wasn’t properly smoothed when installing new brake pads or if the wheel hub bolts weren’t tightened evenly. I strongly advise you not to delay fixing this—shaking increases braking distance, which is extremely dangerous, especially in rainy weather when braking becomes ineffective. If you absolutely must drive, at least take it to an authorized service center for a disc resurfacing, which should cost around 200 bucks to fix.
