I've been having a violent steering wheel shake for a few months now on and off. One day it would be buttery smooth, and the next day, it will shake so bad that I won't be able to see through any of my mirrors and the cd player won't even play because it skips. I've taken it to a few mechanics, and they all shrug their shoulders, telling me that I should expect a harsher ride with all of my mods.

The first thing I did was search club lexus like a mad man, trying to find someone with a similar problems. I ended up doing the following: balance wheels, replace LCA, got an alignment, and replaced swaybar bushings. After I did all these things, the problem seemed to actually get worse

It wasn't until last week that the car became undriveable. I felt the brake pedal pulsing up and down whenever I applied the brakes. I thought to myself immediately, "warped rotors," but after a few more minutes, the brake pedal was pulsing very exaggerated and I felt a lot of resistance from the car. I immediately pulled to the side of the road, and there was smoke coming only from the front brakes At this point, the car was completely stuck with the brakes fully applied. I called my dad and while I was on my phone I heard a groaning sound from the brakes. I started the car and the brakes were perfectly fine, The brake pedal was firm with no more pulsing, and they were no longer dragging. I was close to my house, so I drove straight home with no problems.

After that, I searched frantically for an answer on club lexus. After a bit of reading, I changed my brakes back to NA, ( I had TT brakes) replaced my brake lines with SS lines, and bled the brake system( used a whole 1 liter bottle.)

I went for a test run and the vibrations were completely gone! I was so sure that I had solved the problem until I started to feel resistance again..... I was stuck on the side of the road within a few minutes

I don't have to use the car until September when school starts, so I was hoping you guys can help me troubleshoot my problem before I start school again. I think it might be the brake booster or master cylinder, but I wanted to see what you guys thought before I just drop more money on this car.

 

check your brake master cylinder.... it might not be giving the proper amount of fluid when needed, maybe it is causing your brakes behave iratically.
That's what i would think right now.... if your car is acting up with both calipers, then go after the one that controls it.

Good luck!

 

When you're bleeding your brakes, does the fluid only come out of the lines in repect to the motion of the pedal, or is it a constant squirt? (assuming you do it with the engine on)

 

its your abs module. im 99% sure. i had this same problem for a while. one day i would go for a cruise and its fine and another i would not be able to get out of the parking spot.

the easiest way to test if its the abs module or not is to pull both relays for it under the hood. they are in the small relay box on the drivers fender. there will be 4 relays in the. 2 for TRAC and 2 for ABS. my car didnt have TRAC relays because it is a manual.

when i pulled the 2 ABS relays the problem has not come back. it has been over a year since i had the problem. you can sourse an BS module for cheap but it might go bad as well. new ones are murder on price. i just drive without ABS. ive driven without it for a while and even through winter its been fine.

pull the relays and see if that effects it in any way.

 

peter95-
That's what I was thinking since both brakes were being affected

kyoso23-
The fluid only came out with respect to the motion of the pedal whether the car was on or off

5sp_jzz30-
I checked in the engine compartment but I only had one relay for the ABS and one for Trac. I pulled both and I still have the problem

Thanks for responses guys, I know I came to the right place for help

 

keep the abs relay out for a few days. it will not just "fix" it right away.

 

I'll just leave them off since I never need ABS and traction control just bugs me

 

Have you inspected the "slides" that the calipers float on? Sometimes your calipers can hang up on those too. Also, the master cylinder can actually stick to where it can't release the pressure holding the calipers together. Sounds like you're going to have to check your rotors again now too.

 

I didn't think it would be the calipers or rotors, since it affected both sets of front brakes (NA and TT) I'll check the slides this weekend. Also, I should mention that whenever I pump the brakes, I hear a squeak coming from inside the brake booster.

 

I'm just saying you might be getting the shaking from you rotors getting warped from all the extra heat and force they've endured the few times this has happened, they might have been dragging a bit before too, getting them extra hot. It really sounds like you aughta change that booster out. Good luck man, really tough question you have going. Junkyard parts are cheap, but you can't return them usually. When it comes to something like brakes though, new is the only way to go IMO.

 

yea, I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to replacing the booster, but I guess I have no choice.

 

when i had my problem which seems very similar to yours i replaced the master cylinder, brake booster, pads and rotors, and cleaned every single caliper to make sure it was flawless. the problem persisted until i pulled the abs relays.

 

Just an update for you guys: I changed my brake booster and master cylinder this Friday and have driven 100+ miles with no problems(except the warped rotors) Thanks for the help guys