THE steering wheel of my automatic 2003 Toyota Altis 1.8 vibrates each time I apply the brakes when travelling at a speed exceeding 80km/h. Will this lead to a potentially dangerous situation? Does this require urgent attention? B.S. Lee
THE problem that's affecting your vehicle is more an irritation than a safety hazard – provided braking efficiency is not affected. More vehicles nowadays seem to experience a slight judder when braking at high speed, although braking efficiency seems unaffected and the anti-lock braking system continues to function normally.
The brake judder you're experiencing is probably due to a small amount of warp in the brake disc. This is common in modern vehicles, although the cause is not fully understood (or, vehicle manufacturers have not told us).
A possible cause is the weight-saving measures incorporated into modern brake rotor designs. The resulting thinner cross-sections of the braking rotor means they are less resistant to warp when they are suddenly cooled (when immersed in, for example, flood water) after prolonged or hard braking.
Another possible cause could be a fundamental design fault of the rotor itself; thus, it is easily distorted when exposed to high braking temperatures.
Whatever the causes, brake judder does not lead to a potentially dangerous situation, and can easily be rectified by removing the rotor from the vehicle and skimming it until it's perfectly flat again.
Take note that brake rotors have to be of a minimum thickness. Don't breach that as it would almost certainly lead to a drop in braking efficiency, or even a dangerous weakening of the rotor structure.
On the other hand, if left alone, the brakes will probably continue to perform as they are meant to throughout the life of the vehicle.
