recently, whenever i've been driving my 99 rx300 awd, it tends to shake when i do several things. one is when i brake. the steering wheel shakes and it feels like the rest of the car does too. at the same time the pedal isnt steady. it feels like its pushing back at me, bumping back and forth when its pressed. this doesnt happen all the time, but it seems to be becoming more and more frequent. it also seems that now when im going speeds that are over the normal highway speedlimit (wish to leave it unnamed, but under 100), then it seems that the steering wheel shakes a bit. it didnt use to do that. then when i use the brakes at that speed it shakes like crazy, which i dont imagine is that uncommon. however, even when going 40 mph and then needing to brake for a stop sign or what not, the wheel seems to shake a ridiculous amount (and like i said feels like the whole car is shaking at least a little bit). this should not be the case as i drive many different cars. mercedes ml55, mini cooper, lexus lx470, lexus is350, toyota fj cruiser, and scion tc just to name a few. none of these do it, so i assume its a fixable problem on my car. what should i do? WHATS WRONG WITH IT?!

--thanks

 

As far as when you press on the brake pads...brake rotors need to be machined. Relatively cheap to do and most mechanics with a shop should have a machine to do this.

As far as shaking with just the wheel, a possible culprit is some minor play in one of the lower suspension arm bushings. I haven't found a way to replace the bushing by itself, but I think it is possible. I ended up buying both suspension arms (both over $300 USD each). However, here is the bushing below. If you the vehicle jacked up you can shake each of the front arms to see if there is play.

 

i took in my car today to have things looked at and fixed. i had my tires rotated and aligned and they said that i needed new rotters (i think i spelled it right) or i could just rotate them. should i just buy new ones? i found some that sounded good on trdusa.com, but nothing on that sites for lexus, much less lexus rx300 specifically. if i do have to get them replaced (or decide to), whats a good one (good brand and model and such)? can someone send some links? i did some quick search on CL but nothing was really exactly what i was looking for. ill continue searching, but could someone please help me out! they're holding off till tomorrow (or today my time)(Thurday) till i decide what to do.

--thanks

 

You can't rotate rotors. Take a look at the diameter and thickness difference between front and rear.
BTW, rotors are those metal discs that pads rub against.
I recommended Rotora Slotted rotors from www.streetbeatcustoms.com, you can order the front two (you need a pair) first and ask any brake shop to install them.

 

oh they cant be rotated? maybe i misunderstood the brake shop. i should only replace the front 2? not the back 2/ if thats what u mean, whys that?

--thanks for the help

 

Go to tirerack.com and they sell brembo rotors, they are reasonable and are of good quality.

 

I think what that shop was referring to was turning or machining. They put your rotors on a device that literally cuts down the side of the rotor slightly to get rid of imperfections. Done it a few times myself.

I also plan on getting the Rotora rotors one day when I get back to the U.S.

 

Your mechanic probably meant "turn rotors" or "cut rotors" which is the same thing.

 

Because the front brake does most of the braking, you can replace all 4 if you want, but no need to waste $ if only the front two rotors need to be replaced or cut.

 

ok thanks for all your help! i wish i would have told the place to replace them, but they did what u said, which is machine then. the rotera roters seem like the perfect things, but i left my car at the place over night and they machined them in the morning so i guess ill just have to wait!

i dropped off my car yesterday and told them to check everything, brakes engine, everything, and to just fix anything was having a problem. they rotated my tires, changes my oil, aligned my tires, machined my roters, and i think that's all. ill post back when i find out if my steering wheel is still shaking!

--thanks for the help

 

my car is doing much better now. the wheel doesnt shake at all and everything seems to be going perfect again!

--thanks for all the help!