Hello Scotty,
I have a 2006 Daihatsu Sirion 1000cc.
Its been almost a year that my car steers a tiny bit to the left when stopping and this happens even if I let the car stop on its own without applying the brakes. When coming to stop after the car steered to the left on its own and I start moving forward it steers a tiny bit to the right like there is torque twist but my car is far from powerful lol . This happens very rarely that I even forget when has the last time it happened, so I lived with it. Apart from this the car drives straight when you take your hand off the steering wheel.
Now its been like a month that the car vibrates when I apply the brakes ( You can feel it in the brake pedal and on the steering wheel ) and it seems like it brakes in steps of on-off-on-off and not smoothly. Again this issue is not that evident but it happens consistently every time. Also it doesn't seem to effect the braking distance but it does trigger my OCD.
Now I assume that the problem with the car steering left and right has to do with the ball joints in the steering arms and the issue with the vibration when braking is maybe wrapped brake discs ( but the discs are 3 years old )
Could the 2 problems be linked and traced to just one cause ? what do you think ? Also can you please give me a very rough estimate of the repair cost so I know what to expect ?
Thank you
Chris
I would inspect the brakes first. Odds are that the rotors are warped. Change them and go from there.
The rotors are 3 years old. Also what about the car going left when stopping and right when starting from being still.
You May have stuck brakes too. I still think you should change the rotors and inspect the brakes.
I will agree about the rotors causing the vibration, but I am not sure that would make the steering move. my bet on that goes to the ball joints or something around that. Am I not thinking correctly ?
Listen to what @InThrustWeTrust says.
I forgot to say that where I live there a ridiculous amount of speed bumps so I assume they are to blame for my problems.
When was the last time you had a wheel alignment done? A good shop will simultaneously check for wear in the front end components.
Also, how old are your tyres?
Swap the front 2 tyres in the back & the back tyres to the front & check if it still does it.
I bought the car used about 3 years ago and I did a lot of preventative maintenance because I didn't know how the previous owner has treating the car and that included new brake pad and rotors and wheel alignment ( among other things ) I have not changed the tires and the front are near the end of their life.
The car drives in a straight line if you let go of the steering wheel.
Try swapping them to check for an easy fix.
You mean to say that your last alignment was 3 years & more than 20,000 kms ago?
Its definitely 3 years and about 11.000 to 15.000km ago and the car started vibrating about a month ago or less. Odometer reads about 60.000miles which is about 96.000km
Alright, depending on your road conditions, a lot could’ve happened in 3 yrs. Have the car aligned & tyres balanced by a reputed shop. Pray it’s just your tyres/wheels as that’s an easy/cheap fix.
Vibration happens only when braking. When driving at any speed its smooth. The worst case scenario is wrapped disc rotors ?
It was that time of the month today to fill up the car and pump the tires, the tires did need air. I refuel and pump my tires twice a month @ 22-23 psi
The gas station is near to my house so I didn't get to drive that much to see any difference, I guess we will know tomorrow if correct tire pressure made any difference, when I drive to work.
Vibration when braking (assuming your car has never been wrecked) could be the rotors, if they are badly warped. What is the recommended tyre pressure for your vehicle? It should have a sticker in the door jamb.
If you’ve been driving all this while at 22-23psi on tarmac, you may have to check your tread-wear for signs of under inflation. Are all your tyres wearing evenly?
Sorry I confused the tire pressure measuring units its 2.2 - 2.3 bar.
Well now with the correct tire pressure the issue is still kinda there but its way better night-day difference. The weird thing is that as always ( in my case ) the rear tires were the ones that really needed air the front where more or less OK. Last air top-up was 09-01-2021
The front tires are near the end of their life and worn down way more than the rear since the Daihatsu is front wheel drive. The rear tires have almost no wear since they just follow the front tires BUT they tend to lose air quicker than the front. If I remember correctly the tires are 5 years old I will have to check with what is printed on the tires to verify.
Now I guess I need new tires, wheel balancing and alignment. This makes more sense than my previous assumption
Before you go & buy all 4 new tyres, swap the tyres front to back & vice versa to check if the pulling goes away. That way you can eliminate any other inherent issues with your front end. If it still pulls even after swapping the tyres, you may have to get the front end looked at first.
Also, consider rotating your tyres every 5000-10,000 miles to ensure even tread wear across all 4 tyres. If you use non-directional tyres & your spare is the same size as the rest, you can even try 5 tyre rotation. Good luck & please let us know what fixed your issue.
Thank you for the suggestion it makes sense, I will do that. The "pulling" happens maybe once a month its not constantly there.
Does it happen when the car is driven, after not being used for an extended period of time? Or just randomly?
I will try to explain as best as I can.
I can drive the car with no pulling issues for about a month and it drives nice and straight. After about a month the problem happens when I am stopping the car, it does not matter if you are going slow or fast and it does not matter if you apply the brakes, the issue happens even if you come to slow rolling stop without applying the brakes.
When the pulling happens trying to stop the car, it goes left and you can actually see the steering wheel in the cabin turning on its own. Trying to move forward after the pulling left has happened usually results with the car pulling to the right when accelerating. After this sequence of events the car is back to normal.
The fact that the pulling happens monthly had me thinking that it may be linked with the inflating of tires which I do monthly.
Check your CV axels maybe one side has more resistance than the other so the torque makes one side spin faster than the other. Neither less your problem is going to be on the left side for sure.
I took the car to the mechanic today for a quick drive and his estimate so far is wraped disc rotors and maybe something wrong with the left suspension because he was keep hearing a weird noise i could not hear ( and i usually have an OCD which anything out of place or wierd noises ).
We will know more when we actually lift the car on Monday.