Bumpy brakes
The owner of this 2010 Ford Galaxy had been unhappy with the feel of her brakes ever since her family had returned from holiday. Thinking that the situation might improve, she had left it for a while. With no improvement, she decided it was time to see if we could resolve the problem.
Taking the Ford for a quick test-drive, we realised the problem wasn’t the usual brake judder from worn front brake discs, but more of a lumpiness.
Checking out the rear brakes, we discovered that both were displaying marks where the pads had been sitting while the owner was away. This is a common scenario with cars left standing for a while. What can happen after a long drive, when the brake discs are hot, is that the brake pads lock tightly in position on the hot discs when the handbrake is applied, then they distort when they cool down.
This was far more common when the handbrake was operated using shoes and drums, but it can still occur with brake discs and means that new rear discs and pads need to be fitted.