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Can bad alignment cause vibration when braking? YES, bad alignment can cause vibration when braking; however, there is more information you need to know.
There are a lot of reasons why your car would vibrate as you drive; however, the major reasons for this are a result of a faulty component in the braking system or the wheels.
Not just the wheels can cause your car to vibrate, even your engine can cause that to happen. You may need to run a diagnosis to detect the exact problem causing your car to vibrate when braking.
Can Bad Alignment Cause Vibration When Braking?
Yes, as I said earlier, bad alignment is capable of causing vibration when applying the brake system. Alignment is very important, and it’s necessary that you align your wheels after having the car repaired in a mechanic shop.
When your car wheels are properly aligned, it makes driving smoother and sweeter. However, in contrast, when your wheels are not aligned, you will experience different unusual signs, including vibration.
Poor wheel alignment can affect your brake pads and quite other minor components under the hood. This mostly applies to cars with disc brakes.
When you start experiencing unusual vibration when you brake, ensure to check out your wheels and the braking system – fix any detected issues as soon as possible.
What Can Bad Alignment Cause?
1. Uneven Tire Wear
One of the commonest effects of improper alignment is uneven tire wear. Since your wheels are not properly aligned, it would put more stress on the tires, causing them to start wearing out faster, or even get torn.
This wear and tear happen because your car would find it difficult to maintain a lane; thus, forcing you to wheel the steering forcefully to keep your lane.
Now, this constant struggle puts more stress on your tires; hence the uneven wear and tear.
2. Vibration When Braking
As said earlier in this post, a bad alignment can affect disc brakes, and if not fixed on time, it could cause you to experience vibration when you match down the brake pedals.
Nevertheless, there are other possible reasons why your car vibrates when braking, but poor alignment is one of the main reasons.
3. Damage To Suspension Components
Because poor alignment puts more stress on various components that make your car work, it can cause certain suspension components to damage.
The underhood design of modern cars is quite complicated and the components found there are typically interconnected, which implies that the failure of one can also cause the failure of others.
How To Handle A Car That Vibrates When Braking
The best thing to do when your car keeps vibrating at different instances is to find a safe place to pull over.
When you have stopped the car, next is to look out for the cause of the vibration. If the car was shifting to one side while you were driving, it could due to wheel alignment issues.
However, if the was stable (except for the vibration or shaking at certain speeds or when braking), then you’d need to check the brake calipers, brake pads, and even your spark plugs.
If you have a diagnosis tool, use it to troubleshoot and detect the possible issue with your car.
It is not advisable to keep driving when your car is having braking issues or unbalanced tires. Such situations can cause severe collisions or accidents.
Furthermore, you need to call on a mechanic to help you in fixing the car or drive to a car alignment center to get your wheel aligned properly.
You may also like:
- Why Car Shakes When Driving Over 70 mph
- Can Worn Tires Cause Steering Wheel Vibration?
- Why Does My Car Shake When I Accelerate?
- My Car Shakes When I Hit 60 mph
- Why Car Vibrates at Certain Speeds
Conclusion
So, can bad alignment cause vibration when braking? Apparently, the answer to this question is YES, and we have explained it above. However, it is important to stress the need for routine maintenance and wheel alignment.
When you keep up with a regular maintenance plan, it helps to detect issues earlier so you can fix them quickly before they grow into costlier repairs.
Also, it is not normal for your car to shake or vibrate when you hit high speed like 60mph. Hence, if you experience such, you need to examine your car and fix the possible cause.
Ensure to have your car fixed by a mechanic – mechanical issues shouldn’t be done the DIY way, most especially when it has to do with the braking system or the engine.