Brake and Traction Issues

[AUSTINCTS1]

I have a few issues and would appreciate any insight. First, when braking, my car shakes (steering wheel shakes) pretty bad. Had the oil changed at couple of months ago, and the brakes were ok.

Second, when I back out of my garage onto the street, I something get a "traction engaged" message, and the brakes kind of locks up.

Finally, I feel like my shocks may need to be replaced. Is this likely for a car that is 6-7 years old.

I plan on taking the car into the shop soon, but wanted to get an idea what to expect.

Thank you in advance.

[Cadillac Jim]

You have a hard spot on one or both of the front disk brakes. This can be caused by leaving a big gob of grease on the caliper during lubrication. Simply resurfacing the disk will get rid of it. You can do it yourself with some fine grit sandpaper. You will need to use a stroke or two on the pads where thy contact the disk, too.

If it comes back the next time you have your car serviced, change where you have your car serviced. I solved the same problem that way once.

The "traction engaged" message is probably due to one of the disk brakes holding enough on the hard spot to slide the wheel a bit. That should go away after you resurface your disks and pads.

Monroe suggests replacing your shocks and struts every 50,000 miles. I replaced mine at 160,000 miles. They passed the bounce test before I changed them but there was a world of difference in how firm and controlled the ride was, and stability in cornering was much improved. The number of miles isn't the whole story, either. Time isn't very much of a factor but 50,000 miles in Alaska puts a lot more wear on the shocks than 50,000 miles in L.A. So, it really depends on how picky you are about the car's ride and handling. Perhaps a bounce test on your car compared with a bounce test on a new car in the showroom can tell you how much your shocks have aged. I suggest that you use either AC/Delco or OEM exact equivalent Monroe shocks and struts if you replace them.

[AUSTINCTS1]

Thank you.

[Texas Jim]

I had the steering wheel shaking problem in my 2006 DTS.

It was due to an incompatibility between the material the brake pads were made from and the material the rotors were made from.

The

Cadillac came out with some reformulated pads and after I put those on... all the shaking went away.

Now my brakes are smooth as silk.

And I DID NOT resurface the rotors on my car... just put new pads on.

Your rotors may or may not need to be resurfaced...

[Cadillac Jim]

Excellent point. If you can get your calipers retracted just a tad and work some 400 grit finishing sandpaper between the caliper and disk, with the grit on the caliper side, press the brake pedal gently and release it, then work the sandpaper out. Do this for each caliper surface. That may do it if it's just grease on the caliper.