2004 Camry. steering wheel shakes when braking

[OutHouse]

i do get some shaking when i am at highway speed but it really starts to shake when i brake. is it a out of balanced tire? the roters seem fine i get no surging.

 

[cprince]

I think that it's both the wheel balance and the brake rotor(especially when it really shakes when you brake). Have both of them check out at the shop.

 

[ValValline]

If it shakes when you brake, it's the rotors. If it shakes (or shakes worse) the faster you go, then it's a wheel/tire problem.

 

[theeedude]

get your wheels balanced, that's the cheapest thing you should try first. If doesn't help, the second cheapest is to turn (resurface) your rotors.
Seeing how you have shaking even without braking, my guess would be it's the balance.

 

[DrPizza]

I'd think that if the wheels weren't balanced, the problem would occur all the time, not just when braking. Almost without a doubt, you've got at least one warped rotor.

edit: I see Colorado on you profile... been riding your brakes coming down a long steep grade? Overheating the rotors can (so I've been told) lead to them warping. Keep that in mind, as if that's the cause, you can avoid repeating it in the future.

 

[imported_Truenofan]

um...warping your rotors, wont cause you to shake like that all the time even at high speed. warped rotors, cause your car to shake only when you brake, and thats the steering wheel, not the car, i know how this feels because my parents had warped rotors on one of they're cars, and i tested it out. either its your tires that are out of balance. or you may have a bad halfshaft. those are only things that come to my mind. (i had a bad u-joint in my driveshaft and it made my whole car shake like it was giant vibrator, not that i know what one feels like)

edit: i love that sig citrix....made me laugh.

 

[Engineer]

As others have said (and I just corrected on my Intrepid), sounds like you have hotspot or warped rotors. Also sounds like a tire out of balance (or two). I changed my rotors and the brakes are now fine but I still have shaking at between 50 and 65 mph. I have lifetime balance and rotation and I may take it in this weekend to get them rotated and balanced.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Hard spots on the rotors. They will not cause surging or a bouncing brake pedal but will cause chatter.
Look at their surface for heat checking (small cracks) and/or cigar shaped dark areas about 5/16" wide by 1/2" long.
Having the rotors ground (they can not be turned w/hard spots) will clear up the problem for quite awhile.
Long term cure is to replace the rotors.

Do you do alot of high speed down hill braking? That is the quickest way to over heat/work brakes.
I might be full of hot air but this is my guess.