ND2 Wheel juddering

Technical Area Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
1

My 6 month old nd2 mx5 has developed a strange juddering/vibration from the front offside corner when it has been driven on country roads for 3+ hours. It feels like the wheel is skipping and the handling becomes really bad.

It’s not noticeable on motorway journeys of the same length. After stopping the car for 5 mins the issue goes away mostly and after 30 mins it’s gone completely and the car drives as normal.

I took it into a Mazda dealer and they weren’t too sure what the issue is.

Any ideas?

2

Head scratcher… have you looked for any tyre damage though not sure why this would evidence on country roads and not motorways.

From the getting better profile and the fact it’s country roads is it brake related to that wheel, is that when noticeably warmer than the others?

3

The tyres seem to be okay.

I think something related to the brake overheating could be the issue. Though I’m not sure what the actual issue would be.
What’s the best way to check whether that side is running hotter?

4

Is it speed related i:e you can drive past it may be buckled wheel or out of balance …6mts old you will be taking it back to the stealers…post back on hear about there

findings may be another nd fault…

5

Well this will break the bank. I reckon a brake caliper on the way out.

Go on to ebay or the like and get an IR thermometer.

The inexpensive ones are sent from China, The £10 ones are in stock in the UK.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-Handheld-Digital-Thermometer-Temperature-Non-Contact-IR-Infrared-Gun-50-550/202771187465?epid=16032603863&hash=item2f361ac709:g:t8UAAOSwTm9dEzlH

Check the temperature of all the discs when you do not use the brakces say 25C but write it down.

The same with normal driving and braking say 60C again write it down.

Do the same after your country road run when you get the issue and what are the temperatures

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6

Also point it at the bubs as it mabe could be a wheel bearing. On my Golf GTI around 1983 it could drive all day on the main road without an issue but on a specific windy road there was a whine from the front wheel and it was the wheel bearing.

2 Likes
7

I agree with Drumtochty, definitely something to check.

It happened to me when I borrowed my sister’s old Viva for a week away on a course when we only had one car. (So long ago I’d forgotten about it).

The car went really well but on a long trip back it started bouncing the front left wheel so badly I had to find somewhere to pull over. The wheel was so hot I could not touch it and the tyre was out of round, possibly ready to burst.

Fortunately I had my toolbox and was able to slacken the hub nut two flats to allow the wheel to turn, and the spare was OK.

8

Caliper sticking? Problem with slider pins on ND1 causing excessive brake pad wear.

9

The car is booked to go into the dealer this week and I will let you know what they find.

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10

The dealer were unable/unwilling to check it in the arranged slot and want to have the car for a few days which I can’t handle at the moment with work.

It’s has just occurred to me that this has only ever happened with the top down. It happened a third time this morning with the top down.

I have the IR temp reader so will take a look at the hub and brake temps this weekend.

11

You would get a curtesy car all part of warranty …its OK to look for a problem…but if you touch it beware that could invalidate your warranty …with my experience with mazda they are not the best

12

I checked the temperatures of the disks after 25 mins of mixed speeds and the left was sitting at 27C and rapidly dropping. When I eventually checked the right afterwards it was at 40C and the temp wasn’t dropping quickly.

I have relayed this back to the dealer.

1 Like
13

I have just realized that this thread is a different thread to this one:

From the comments on this and the other thread, plus your findings, it sounds like you need to get the calipers inspected and possible replace them/some components.

14

Finally had the car into the dealership 2 weeks ago. They had the car for the whole day and apparently stripped down the brakes and could not find any sign of corrosion/sticking and they took it out for a 30 mile trip to get the car up to temp and try to replicate the issue. Temps on both discs were even afterwards.

I have driven about 600 miles after this trip to the dealers which has been trouble free. Then having not driven the car for the past 7 days I had the issue again this evening on the way home from work. After some spirited driving was getting 40C on the front offside disc and 30C on the front near side disc.

So it probably is a stuck calliper but as I can’t get the issue to be replicated by the garage I’m struggling to get it sorted on warranty.