i’ve got a mk2 focus and it has taken to juddering when i’m breaking on the motorway. it only seems to do it at high speeds. i noticed recently that the front tyres are running a bit low on tread but not quite ready for new tyres. could it be this or does the juddering suggest new pads needed or what? any help would be good.

Could be a number of things;wheels out of balance,warped disc/discs,or uneven tyre wear. Get it to your local tyre fitter(not Kwikfit,or any of the other nationals and ask them to sort it (cheapest option first).

Warped discs. I experienced the same on a loan Imprezza WRX that had been track-dayed the day before.

If you only get the problem when braking it’ll probably be warped or contaminated discs.

I had something similar in my fiesta – needed new discs.

discs are fubard, new discs and pads will sort it.

thanks guys, new discs, thats expensive aint it? oh dear, best get it done or leave the car at home and ride to work each day.

are warped discs normal? i dont use the car on track days (as above) and i’m normally quite conservative about the way i drive it. its done 25k, is that normal for that sort of distance?

New discs and pad shouldn’t be that much.

Just make sure you take the car to a garage you trust to get it checked and not one of the tyre and exhaust chain rip off merchants.

are warped discs normal? i dont use the car on track days (as above) and i’m normally quite conservative about the way i drive it. its done 25k, is that normal for that sort of distance?

Not at 25K, no, it’s not normal. Do you do a lot of town driving? That wrecks brakes…
It’s possible the pads could be just worn out, but I’d imagine it’s the discs as well….

i do a pretty good mix of town and dual carriageway driving.

so not taking it to HiQ, QuikFit, National Autocentres, Formula1 tyres, that sort of place. their all bad are they? what about the main ford dealer near me? I guess that would be silly expensive wouldnt it? what about CharlieBrowns places? My gf gets her stuff done there and thinks they’re tops.

so not taking it to HiQ, QuikFit, National Autocentres, Formula1 tyres, that sort of place. their all bad are they?

No they’re not. Some are brilliant in fact. I had our last car into Kwik Fit in Chipping Sodbury many times, good prices (Same or cheaper then the local independant chap), great service, friendly & knowledgeable staff. My brother tells me the Huddersfield branch is good too.

Shop around – Word of mouth is your best bet

well seeing as the gf speaks so highly of CharlieBrowns i think i’ll try there. could also get the tyres done at same time too.

My Focus estate 1.8 petrol has done 80k and is onto its third set of disc’s. When quizzing dealer about crappy wear rates etc was told that because they cant use asbestos anymore the pad material is a lot harder but also they make the discs softer to give good braking from cold. Was told that after a period of sustained hard braking not to sit with foot on break when stopped as this was the major cause of warping ie use handbrake! Auto’s are the worst culprits.

EBC brakes

try EBC above. their oem replacements are every good. tho since you drive conservativly, dont bother going for the Greenstuff or Redstuff pads
and the same with the disks – just the standard disks, rather than the grooved.

£25 per disk + £25 for pads.

My diesel focus2 estate has done nearly 40,000 miles and is still on the original pads and disks, still on original tyres too.
I must be doing something wrong 😛

i’ve gonna give the ford dealer a call to see if they can look at it under warranty. surely after 25k they shouldnt have worn out yet. i’ve just checked the pads and there seems to still be some life in them so its probably the disks.

Interesting to hear what inbred456 says about keeping foot on brake pedal when stationery after braking when the pads and discs are still hot.

SS pads?

SS pads?, they never came to England? Only as far as Belgium and France?

Depends how heavy you are on them, 40-50k seems reasonable, anything less than that and you are a boy racer, or drive with heavy loads in the back.

same thing happened to my focus (mk1). the garage said it was warped discs, but they weren’t bad enough to warrant changing them. that was over a year ago (15000 miles) and it doesn’t appear to have got any worse or better (it’s very slight). depends how bad yours is whether you need to change them

Are you quite sure it’s the brakes? Is it a diesel? My TDCI occasionally judders in engine over run really badly for just a couple of seconds. It feels almost exactly like brake judder, but goes away instantly on de-clutching. Something to do with the engine nmanagement, but I never put my finger on the exact conditions. It’s definitely not reproducible, but’s it’s dependent in some way on temperature, speed etc. It did it fairly often last year, but nowadays it’s become very rare, perhaps once a month.

it is a diesel, 07 plate. what is ‘engine over run’? sorry, i cr@p at technical terms like that.

mine seems to do it when engine is warm or cold and always on braking with the clutch pedal up.

Warped discs can occur on a brand new car, or an old one with 60k. Just depends how you drive etc.

If for example you have come off a motorway slip road, braked hard and kept your foot on the pedal that could easily warp your discs, as good driving hard and then spraying the discs with water.

If its not too bad they can be schemed, but that makes the disc thinner and more likely to warp again…

My Focus brakes were juddering and it was worn discs. It’s a pretty easy job to change out the discs and pads if you’re the sort that’s comfortable with basic jobs on your bike:

Jack the car up, put it on axle stands, wheel(s – both, but one at a time) off then undo 2 long bolts (02 Focus) and pop the caliper off, discs come straight off (ie not bolted to the hubs other than with wheelnuts) so easy to swap, pop off the retaining spring (I think) for the pads, push the piston back in with a bit of wood then put the new pads and spring in, bolt the caliper back up then put the wheel on. Takes about 30 minutes for the pair if the bolts aren’t a complete b1tch to get off.

You can get new pads and discs for around £50 as I think someone else mentioned. Factor in at least half again for a garage to fit them as they’ll charge you minimum an hour plus VAT.