Quick question to anyone in the know, my 2006 ford s-max is not that smooth at braking, in fact it’s fairly juddery when I brake at lowt speed and without masses of pressure on the pedal. When I really apply pressure on the Brakes all seems ok, has anyone experienced anything similar? If so I can then prompt the garage as what to look at.

Thanks

warped discs.

Steering judder when braking, front brake discs warped or badly coroded

Juddder felt throught the whole car, steering ok, rear brake discs warped or badly corroded.

Other option could be wheel balance, though more likely to be a problem with discs.

Mine is a bit grabby when slow so need to be smooth on them or it gets a bit rollercoastery, but not juddery. Only 3000 miles on it though so not expecting problems.

Highly unlikely to be warped discs in reality (takes a lot to warp discs unless the mounting surfaces have not been kept clean when hey were replaced) – more likely the previous owner or yourself has been braking harshly and then leaving their foot on the brake. This effectively infuses more pad material into the brake surface in one spot, which then wears differently to rest of the disc, causing a high spot that grabs.

I only mention is as it’s something you can prevent rather than being the magical warping problem most people put down to poor design etc. Either way, replacing or skimming the discs is the best solution.

Had major issues with my 2007 & 2009 Galaxy’s warping disks, mostly due to the weight they had to carry on a daily basis causing the brakes to overheat.
Apparently the weight of comercial espresso machines and all the spares, water filters and tools put them under quite a strain.

The dealers did replace the first set under warranty, but it became a regular occurance on our fleet of 50+ Galaxy’s and s max’s.

Had major issues with my 2007 & 2009 Galaxy’s warping disks, mostly due to the weight they had to carry on a daily basis causing the brakes to overheat.

Almost impossible to get discs to warp through heat – you’d have to have the rotors literally glowing like a rally car (and they dont get warping discs despite such extremes), then apply a either an uneven cooling action (like holding the brakes on when coming to a halt say at lights, or have the mating surfaces uneven). Or have a batch of rotors with residual internal stresses (rare these days I hear). As I say, far more likely that the drivers just hoon aroung making deliveries and wait a lights with their foot on the brake rather than using the handbrake, especially if not bedded correctly in the first place (why lots of people get new discs and wreck them within weeks with the same problem, then assume it’s the cars fault.)

For those wishing to read…

Seem strange we never had problems with the vw’s we had previously to the Fords, which carry the same field tech’s kit (although these VW’s gear boxes were problematic!)

Have just got new model VW Sharan to replace Galaxy so we will see how this goes.