Steering wheel vibration

KELECHI OKEKE

MEMBER
1999 HONDA ACCORD
1.8L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
170,000 MILES

The steering wheel has an unpleasant vibration that usually happens when I place my foot on the brake and after the engine has gotten considerably hot (in long traffic).

I doubt this has anything to do with the brake rotors, as I usually notice this issue during my evening drive home, especially when braking in the rush-hour traffic.

1 Reply

KENW1

MECHANIC
213 POSTS

Thanks for visiting 2CarPros.

It may be a small vacuum leak in the brake booster that is showing up only when the engine bay is extremely hot. A vacuum leak can cause a misfire that you can feel in the wheel. Often times you can hear a hissing sound when pressing the brake to detect this but not always.

To test this got to a large place like a mall parking lot and unplug the vacuum line from the brake booster, plug it and see if this still occurs. Please keep in mind without the booster brake effort will be increased, this is why I suggest doing it in a controlled environment.

The booster is on the drivers side of the engine firewall. I'll post a picture below showing the hose and booster.

If this is not the issue I would suggest checking the motor mounts. You can have a friend observe for extreme engine movement while the brake is held in gear and changing gears.

Image (Click to make bigger)