We've had our '04 coupe for almost a year now, 39K mileage, and except for a cruise to Vegas when we first got it, it has just been a light-duty weekend "date" car, just driven around town.

This weekend, we decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather and take a backcountry cruise, over the mountains and down to the desert, in bloom now from the spring rains. This included a drive down San Diego county road S3, a twisty, winding snake of a road that drops quickly down out of the mountains and on into Borrego Springs.

I had the Autostick tapped down to third gear for most of the descent, and noticed that when I stood on the brakes going into the corners, the whole car sort of shuddered - no loss of control or anything, but it just felt very "unhappy." I've never noticed this in all my city driving.

What was it, and what's the fix?

 

How much brake pad do you have left?
Are they the original pads?

 

No clue. I'm not a "car guy" and just trust that the dealer checked and cleared everything - it was a Certified Chrysler Pre-owned deal, got the 8/80 warranty on it.

 

I would take it to a dealer or another shop of your choice and have someone check the pads
If they are originals, they probably need replaced at almost 40k miles. At least that is my guess.

 

In my past experiences with the shudder it has been warped rotors.

Would you say your driving style is spirited? If so it might have been the ESP kicking in? Did you notice the indicator lamp flashing on your speedo?

 

I would say my driving style is usually "rubber-necking geezer" rather than spirited - although I WAS having a quite a bit of fun on that patch. I was too busy watching the road to notice the dash... But yeah, I was wondering if it was maybe the ASB or something messing with me, as the car is perfectly docile around town. But, it seems to me that it would sure be poor timing on the part of the ASB to pick a place like that to start chattering!

As for the pads and rotor guys, anything I can do to confirm this WITHOUT heading into a shop?

 

I drove my '04 for almost 70,000 miles and when the tires get about 15,000 miles in the front. They tend to shutter, but it could be brake rotors also. If your braking doesn't do it all the time and only in hard braking I'd say tires. If you have not changed rotors or pads do it all at once and buy the new kevlar rotex gold and crossdrilled rotors for the front only.

 

Warped rotors would be my guess.

 

I agree with NoCones (warped rotors).
I don't think it's the ABS/ESP, as the last thing you want when the vehicle is not 100% under control is anything unpredictable happening (so I doubt shuddering would be designed into any safety/electrical system). My car never shudders when the ESP kicks in.

 

My first guess would also be warped rotors. Especially if you do not hear any grinding that would indicate worn out brake pads.

Believe it or not, warping can be caused by over-tightened lug nuts. Have any of your rims been removed lately? Perhaps during a recent safety inspection? I would supect that the inspection guys do not re-install wheel nuts ( bolts in the Crossfire's case ) at the proper torque. They generally use an air wrench and make it hard to hand loosen whenever you need to get the wheel off yourself.

Since I haven't seen others reporting rotor warping problems, this does not seem to be a general Crossfire issue, such as seat heater problems.

Also, with warped rotors, the vibration usually increases with speed. You should feel it under all braking condions and not just extreme conditions.

 

just my 2 cents again if you have new tires or under 15,000 miles on the front then i'd check or brakes which you should do anyway for safety ! then replace both rotors and pads ! it will drive like new if your tire aren't bad or unevenly worn !