It’s a 2007 HHR, 12000 miles, when I decelerate from 60 or so by applying the brake gently (I dont have a lead foot), the steering wheel shakes in my hands. The second I take my foot off the brake pedal, the shaking stops. But!..the brake pedal doesnt shake at all! What the heck is the problem here.
Your front brake rotors are probably slightly warped. A bit unusually for a car driven gently for 12K miles. If it only does it briefly at the start of a trip, it could just be surface rust on the rotors being scraped off by the pads.
I had the same issue with my '07 Nissan Altima.
The cure for my car was new tires. Once I replaced them, all that shudder vanished.
BC.
Thats a good thought! Do you think the car place would purposely NOT fix the rotors because theyre under warranty and make me spend money on new brakes or something??
happens when you post two
Things are better in two’s
I have a 2006 HHR with about 57,000 miles. Ever since I bought this vehicle the front end shakes and a rattles when I come to a stop at an intersection. At first the rattle and shaking was somewhat minor and would normally go away after driving for 10 minutes or so. I had the front brakes replaced and just a month or two had four new tires put on the car. Tire balancing and front end alignment as well. The shake and rattle seem to be a bit more noticeable and loud now. I am about to bring the car in for an oil change and will be addressing this with my dealer service department. Does anyone have any idea what may be the problem. The shake and rattle seems to be coming from the front drivers side, but not entirely sure. Shaking can be felt in the steering wheel as well.
A Sticking or malfunctioning caliper would be next on my list, along with warped rotors.
Before you do anything expensive, retighten your front wheel lug nuts with a torque wrench. Snug them up, then tighten to 40 ft lbs, then 80 and then 100 ft lbs. The intial numbers are not critical but it’s important to tighten in stages. Check your owner’s manual to verify the 100 ft lb number. Tighten the lug nuts in the following pattern: Do one, then the one across; then another and then the one across from that one.
If this does not help, then follow the advice of others.