RedRum Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 My girlfriend has a 2001 Legacy L (I like my 97 GT much better). anyway, I have two odd problems with the 01. First the brakes...when I brake while going anything above 10MPH the steering wheel shakes back and forth and you can feel the vibration in the pedal as well. It started suddenly and I have no idea why. I changed the front brakes (rotors and pads) mysleft like 15K miles ago and all was fine until a couple days ago. I took the drivers side rotor off and looked at the pads and rotors and all seemed normal. Anyone know what this might be? The other problem...it is an automatic transmission. 2 weeks ago my girlfriend was driving it and was leaving her parents house. She backed out of the driveway in reverse and it would not shift out of reverse. Her dad works with cars and he had it for a week and it would not shift. He determined it was the sensor saying the brake was not depressed even though it was and found that if you open the small spot next the shifter and jam a pen or screwdriver down there you can then shift as normal. He did that for a couple days and was then showing my GF how to do it when it started shifting ok agian without the pen. It was on the ride home from her parents house that she noticed the brake problem. Her dad says he didn't go near the brakes and should not have caused any problems. Anyone have any info? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannonball Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 As for the brakes there is a good chance that your rear rotors need to be turned. I have heard that you can feel the rear in the steering as well. I think it's safe to say that most of the time brake vibration is a warped rotor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottbaru Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 My neighbor had warped front rotors on his '04 3.0l OBW. Turned them, then replaced them when they warped again. He says he found a service bulletin about it, something wrong with the alloy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBrat84 Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 The brakes sound like rear warped rotors... more than likely caused by driving a short distance with the hand-brake engaged 1/2 - 3/4 of the way. As for the shifting issue.. I have had a similar problem where it wouldn't shift out of park.. but was due to a tail light fuse being bad. Edit: I would suggest some aftermarket high performance type rotors. Something with good airflow and better stopping capability. Then don't drive with the hand brake engaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outback_97 Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Just curious: Why would warped rear rotors cause vibration in the steering wheel? Sounds like front rotors to me. I've never heard of rear rotors causing a steering wheel vibe, but now twice in one thread I just bought two new front rotors and hope they will fix the steering wheel shake that's very evident in my car. It's worked in the past (I've had to: turn the original rotors, replace them, then turn the replacements IIRC). Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstSubaruGLwagon Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 I have shake in the front and in the steering wheel when braking also. I've noticed if i go real slow and let the car coast with very gentle pressure on the brake peddle , you can feel it grab and release,, So in my case i'm sure it is a warped disk or rotor. Thinking back,I have known people to put brand new rotors on a car and then drive through water when the rotors are hot and warp them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 Rear rotors can cause front sterring vibration. Cars now have diagnal brake systems where left rear/right front and right rear/left front are connected. The pulsing from the rear rotors will be transmitted via the brake lines to the front brakes. Since the front brakes are connected to the sterring wheel, you get a pulsation. It should also possible to tell which one is warped (i said should, not can) . If the left rear is warped the car may want to pull to the right in pulses, and visaversa. In anycase check both rear rotors. Also its not uneard of for rotors to warp quickly if there is a frozen caliper etc. Check all 4 rotors for runout. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstSubaruGLwagon Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 which year did subaru start puting disks on the rear? One easy test would be to block a wheel, put it in "N", and jack up each wheel and spinn it , if you notice a place where the wheel catches or where it incounters friction on the disk then that will give some idea as to which rotor might be worse. Just an idea anyway:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 http://www.cars101.com/subaru_legacy_archive95_99.html Looks like they were available as an option on the L in 95 then about 98-99 they becams STD equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 The other problem...it is an automatic transmission. 2 weeks ago my girlfriend was driving it and was leaving her parents house. She backed out of the driveway in reverse and it would not shift out of reverse. Her dad works with cars and he had it for a week and it would not shift. He determined it was the sensor saying the brake was not depressed even though it was and found that if you open the small spot next the shifter and jam a pen or screwdriver down there you can then shift as normal. He did that for a couple days and was then showing my GF how to do it when it started shifting ok agian without the pen. It was on the ride home from her parents house that she noticed the brake problem. Her dad says he didn't go near the brakes and should not have caused any problems. Anyone have any info? The Interlock only effects taking the car out of park, not ************ing in any of the other gears. It sounds like a linkage issue.There was a recall on shift linkage, i dont know what years it was offhand. Look on the NTSA web site and see if this car was covered by it. Shifint prblems can be broken or worn linkage, or a bad motormount or transmission mount. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garthpro Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Turning, not worth the time and effort! I forced the dealer to "fix" mine, he turned them. within 5-10k, they were shaking like a leaf again. Everyone tells me that it is not worth the time or effort. Just buy new ones. is this pretty much what everyone thinks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzam Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Check the torque of the lug nuts. Over tightening can cause stress on the rotors. After a while the heating and cooling cycle can causes the rotor to warp. Also aftermarket pads can leave a residue on rotors, light sanding of the rotor might help if that is the cause of vibration. In my experience, a very noticable shake of the steering wheel is the front rotors. A milder shake and more shimmy of the car is the rears. Once you experience both it's a little easier to ID. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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