[kailashnj]

Hi Guys,

I have a question for all you gurus out there

My baleno 2006 has a problem. Today when I was travelling at a speed of 120 kmh and had to brake the car steered violently towards the right. I was able to control the car but that was a very dangerous right steer.

Can you suggest what could be issue. This does not happen at slower speeds. 80 kmph does not make any movement here and there.

I took the car to M.A.S.S and he said first try and change the tyres and then if the problem persist we will change the entire suspension.

I am not satisfied with the answer.

MODS:- If there is any other such thread kindly move it there

[zipzapzoom]

hi kailash
i guess you might have locked your right wheel resulting in loss of traction and car turning to right violently. that's only possible explaination.
as regards to your MASS advicing to change tyres, how much you have clocked on odometer and what is the recommended milege for changing tyres? do check on that before you change tyres?
wich you all the best.

[GTO]

I think thats most definitely a problem with your braking system. Check the calipers, lines etc. Do you see any brake fluid on the inside of the wheels (front and back)?

[Ricky_63]

@ Kailash

Did the problem occur on hard brakeing ? You mentioned that the car behaves & brakes in a straight line without pulling to the right at 80 kmph. The difference in the pressure exerted to brake being the same.

In case of sudden / emergency braking the pull will seem more if you have bad alignment or uneven tyres or uneven tyre wear on both front tyres. Another possible & probable cause could be uneven rotor / brake pad wear on the two front wheels, the right one having a better bite than the left.

These are all probabilities I can think of. A thorough check is needed. Tell the workshop guys to run your car with tyres off another Baleno & see if the behaviour is the same, then you can safely rule out the tyres.

Hope that helps


Cheers

[shrivz]

Insist and get your brake bleeding done, and get the brakes checked, lines, caliper, pads, disc.

OT: As a precaution, get all oils changed since this is a used car you've purchased. Start your maintenance afresh! Get a thorough check and service of the vehicle done.

[kailashnj]

The problem did not occur in hard braking. I braked to reduce the speed of the car as I could see the signal Red at a distance.

Shrivz - Will get that work done tomorrow. I have already changed the engine oil and transmission oil. Will go tomorrow and get the bleeding done. Also will change the power steering oil tomorrow. I will give you guys a feedback soon.

By the way any one knows a good mechanic in Mumbai for Baleno. I cannot trust M.A.S.S as they only want to make money at any cost.

[iraghava]

How old are the tyres on your car & what is their current condition?

[kailashnj]

Tyres are 1 year old and they still have more than 50% thread intact. But is there any other way to check the tyre except the thread depth.

[humyum]

Check your front brake callipers and ask them to free the front brake piston.One of them is surely jammed.

[SirAlec]

because you were driving fast, Test ur brake at about 60kmph, if still the problem
Three Options!
1. get your alignment/balancing of wheels checked.
2. check level of brake oil, if the level is low, top it up, and remove any air bubble in brake lines.
3. Get your brake serviced, wheel serviced.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by humyum

Check your front brake callipers and ask them to free the front brake piston.One of them is surely jammed.

I'm going to agree with humyum on this one.

It is quite likely that one of the pistons in the left caliper is jammed and hence the right brake is infact working harder.

cya
R

[rks]

Originally Posted by kailashnj

My baleno 2006 has a problem. Today when I was travelling at a speed of 120 kmh and had to brake the car steered violently towards the right. I was able to control the car but that was a very dangerous right steer.

Can you suggest what could be issue. This does not happen at slower speeds. 80 kmph does not make any movement here and there.

At 120 kmph, does your car steer to the right when braking from a dead straight, level road? You see, a lot depends on the road conditions when braking hard from that speed. E.g. was the road straight, was your car moving straight, was the road a bit bumpy or dusty, was there a camber on the road (the road camber could cause different grip levels in the left/right tyres and consequent pulling). Since you have a problem only with high-speed braking, I suggest you get the brakes serviced, and the tyres/wheels checked carefully and see if the problem persists when braking on level. straight, smooth road.

I took the car to M.A.S.S and he said first try and change the tyres and then if the problem persist we will change the entire suspension.

Problems with the suspension can certainly cause problems with braking as the balance of the car is affected, but this would have to be confirmed before you go in for such an expensive repair. How many kms has the car run since the suspsenion was last overhauled?

Is the car running on stock wheels? If the offset of the wheels is a lot different from that of stock, the steering could become over-sensitive to road conditions and the car could pull one way or the other upon braking.

I have braked my Santro from 130-140 kmph several times by now on the Expressway (sometimes quite hard braking) and at times I have found a tendency to pull to one side or the other depending on the road conditions. In general, the car is controllable and I am not overly worried at this point. On the whole the braking has improved by leaps and bounds after fitting tubeless tyres (Turanza) and wider alloys.

[rks]

Here is a useful website addressing the issue:

Pulling You In to Brake Diagnostics: Tomorrow's Technician

The bit I mentioned about wheel offset is contained in the quote below:

A zero scrub radius will have little effect on steering pull if one front brake works harder than the other does. A positive scrub radius will pull very hard while a negative scrub radius will have a minimal effect. (That's why most all front-wheel drive vehicles have zero or a negative scrub radius; to reduce the opposite of brake pull, namely, torque steer.) If the scrub radii of both front wheels are near equal, they will, in effect, cancel each other.


The problem arises when there is a difference between the two. This can happen with bent front suspension components (measure camber, SAI and included angles), wheels with different offsets, or missing spacers on aftermarket wheel. Take note, cars with zero or little scrub radius can have a severely stuck caliper while exhibiting very little pull. Look for signs of uneven pad wear or uneven amounts of brake dust on the wheel and uneven temperatures.

Here if the aftermarket wheel has an offset that is lower than that of stock, the scrub radius is positive and can cause steering pull upon braking when coupled with other problems like bent suspension arm.

Another useful website that discusses steering pull in detail, including while braking:

Service Tech, Larry Carley, Tire Review, May 2002

[kailashnj]

The car is still on her stock tyres. It has done 33k in all. The tyres are Goodyear Tubeless.

RKS :- Road was a straight road and car also was running straight. I don't think this could have been due to the Road as I did the same road at the same speed in Indica and that did not bother me at all. I will surely get my car brakes checked. I am going in for entire oil change and bleeding now.

Will keep you guys updated.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by kailashnj

I will surely get my car brakes checked. I am going in for entire oil change and bleeding now.

Tell them to remove the front left caliper and check the pistons specifically.

Just a general brake bleeding etc probably wont solve the problem.

cya
R