Hi there,

I hope anyone here can help me with a problem I am having. I have a 1996 Magna TE 4 Cyl sedan. When I am travelling down the freeway I get this intermitant problem. The first shudder starts to come from the frontend and I can feel it within the steering saying doing about 100kmh. When I apply pressure on the brake the whole vehicle shudders with the brake peddle shuddering as well. Before you guys say disc's are warped- well I dont believe so. You see- I have taken to two independant mechanics and no one can pin point the problem. To start off with- I had the Front disc's/rotors put in brand new twice, Brake pads put in twice, brake master cylinder replaced due to a leak, engine mounts replaced, Brakes oil valve replaced, Suspension Checked, front brakes re-conditioned. Once I had the front brakes reconditioned- the problem disappered for say a month and a half and then it returned.
I have spent roughly over 2 thousand bucks and loosing desperatly the fight to discover whats wrong with it. I am at odds with my mechanic to change the front brake callipers for new ones. He seems to say that it is impossible for the problem to be the callipers as their operation is a pressure and release system. My opinion differs as I said that the callipers after re-conditioning the problem disappered for 1 and half months or so. I have become desperate and I feel like raming this thing into the wall. As I do alot of driving to the city and back say 40 km a day I am geting Haunted by this problem. Someone please help and give me an opinion.

Wish i could help, but everything that i was going to mention you have repaired or replaced. The only other thing that springs to mind is front/rear end bushes and also tyres (flatspots) possibly or un-round rims.

Apart from that why not take it to a Mitsubishi Dealer and ask them if they have had any similar problems.

Hope you find the problem. Good Luck.

:cry: As I was coming into work it happen again- Let me be a bit more elaborate- I am driving away without putting any pressure on the brake and it starts of with a light vibration in the steering column. Now as the vehicle is in motion I feel light thumping from what I perseave coming from the frontend. The effects become more distinctive as I keep driving on. Now at this stage I slight touch of the brake peddle will send a pretty sharp shudder though the vehicle also felt through the brake peddle.

I forgot to mention- I has also put four new tyres. So I know its not a flatspot. The only thing I havent done is done major surgery on the rear brakes as I feel that the vibration comes from the front. However tommorow I am planning to take it to the mechanic and get him to check the rear brakes and discs as well as well as bearings at the front. The bearings came into play when one of Mitsubishi's mechanics told me to get the mechanic to look at them. I rang Mitsubishi and as far as they are aware they have not had a problem like this before.

:cry: It looks like I am going down with this battle. I hope you guys can give some insight or possible areas to get my mechanic to check. I am exhausted with this car.......its a damn lemon!

well, when i first bought my 94 galant i had vibrations throughout the whole car, brake pedal and steering wheel.

So i called a mobile guy out who's a disc machinist.

i always thought/ assumed that the real reason for the vibrations was from the front discs, but as i was watching the discs being machined i was wrong, it turns out the rear discs were warped that bad that it caused the whole vibration scenario. So My advice would be to do the rear end and take it from there.

Altogh my front discs were slighty warped, most of the problem was coming fron the rear.

Ok also you said that you have had the tyres changed. Have you had the actually rims checked, they may need to be re rolled, or if you have a mate with a spare set of rims, ford or mitsubishi give them ago.

Has the car ever been in an accident?

I am trying to think of what else can cause this problem.

Ok also you said that you have had the tyres changed. Have you had the actually rims checked, they may need to be re rolled, or if you have a mate with a spare set of rims, ford or mitsubishi give them ago.

Has the car ever been in an accident?

I am trying to think of what else can cause this problem.
about to suggest that!!

also make sure that they are balanced right!! i had a tyre change once and had those vibes, then re balanced and all fixed =)

Thanks mrnizmo for your prompt reply- When I had the tyres changed I explained to them the problem I was having. The rims are perfectly fine no buckels is what they told me. To reasure things I even had a full wheel alignment done. I am still wondering if it is a sticky calliper problem.

As far as I know my car has not been in any major frontend accident- My mechanic took a good look and as he said if it has, then they did one heck of a job to hide it. I bought the car used about 4 years ago. The only thing is as suggested is to scrutinise the rear brakes then. Man if it ends up being the rear brakes then I would have to really kick myself. Honestly the shudder really feels like the frontend. I was always told that rear brakes play second fiddle to the front. Its not a nice little shudder- its a rotten violent shudder pulsating the heck out of the steering and brake peddle when I apply the brakes. Lasts for a fair while and seems to go away when I keep applying pressure to the brake peddle.

yeah give the rears a go and let us know of the outcome. hopefully thats the last of your probs.

Good Luck

Well I have got an update on this problem by Geof from emtech who I consulted earlier on the problem. This is what he had to say-

The TE Magnas sometimes had brake judder which was caused by thick thin
runout on the discs which was caused by the pad material & disc material .
If you used genuine Mitsubishi dics & pads & they were checked for
runout when they we replaced & it was within specs you should have no
problems.
If the steering wheel is moving when you brake it is the front, if the
pedal moves it is the rear.
Check the rear anyway if you haven't already.
The front calipers should not be the problem, it is the hubs/discs
runout that is causing it.

Regards
Geof
Emtech

I am due to go in tommorow, but prior to that I did speak to my mechanic in regards to Geofs opinion on the matter. He will check it, however he is more inclined to believe it as a bearing problem as it is intermittent. Just for everyones info the first mechanic I went to that looked for this fault was ABS Brakes a specialist in Brakes. So here goes. I will update this again soon as I know what the prognosis is. :(

Ok Been back from the mechanic, and had the brackes checked for runoff- The front drivers side disc has a very slight runnoff. So my mechanic decided to give a call to the wreckers to try and fetch a right drivers side hub assembly. Now upon ringing to see how much they were secondhand something very interesting came up. Rang Magna Wreck car wreckers here in Dandenong. They confirmed that the shudder is got nothing to do with the brakes. It is more likely to be a colapsed steering column. It is a place to look as when I bought the ****** heap from Melbourne Cheapest Cars "AWE AWE"!! I disgnosed a problem in the steering. In which they got some shoddy mechanic to fix.

Now Magnawreck has supposedly had two cars that were bought to them that had the problem. It was diagnosed with the steering colapsed. Man I hope this is the case as my mechanic seems to say that although the brakes have a slight runnoff- it cannot cause the major problem that I am experiencing and magnawreck puts their dollar on the colapsed steering column.

With all of this problems I am experienceing regardless to say if it is or isnt a steering problem- I have one advise to all of you in Victoria who are searching for a car to buy! NEVER EVER BE TEMPTED TO GO TO MELBOURNE CHEAPEST CARS TO BUY A VEHICLE NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE PRICE MAY BE!!!!!!! AND DON'T BE CONNED INTO PURCHASING EXTENDED CAR WARRANTYS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! :cry: :cry:

Its a two hour job to take the steering apart and another 2 hours to put back together 300 bucks for a new steering shaft. So did a few calling around to make sure we are on the right track- It is funny what other so called mechanical experts have to say. For example one guy said it was the power steering fluid :lol: he he-. We are talking of a major shudder that keeps coming and going that pulsates the ***** brake peddle and steering and the whole bloody car. Not a power steering failure.. With advise like that- I cannot only think were all this will lead but for sure I am headed for one expensive and costly credit card statement. God help me!! :cry:

Sorry to hear, I hope that the problem is rectified properly, power steering fluid, hehe, should put that mechanic on A Current Affair.

Have you tried Magna Wreck in Newlands Road Reservoir? they might have a steering there.

Magna Bits
92 Newlands Rd Reservoir 3073 (03) 9462 3477

also

Magna- Brunswick
191 Albion St Brunswick 3056 (03) 9384 0401

or just click on this link. white pages,

http://www.whitepages.com.au/wp/search/results.jhtml?_DARGS=%2Fwp%2Fsearch%2FsearchInput. jhtml

Good Luck.

Well after calling the RACV for info- I found out that ABS Brakes my local dealer is a shoddy bugger and that most mechanics dont really know what they are doing when they service brakes. Well thats what the RACV guy told me anyway. The stearing column problem seems far fetched in my opinion as I cant believe that the steering column can effect brakes to such a degree that they are shuddering its head off for a short distance. So I have decided to give it to Mitsubishi here in Dandenong to do a thorough inspection on Friday. I am hopefull that this problem can be solved- but its going to cost me massive inflated Mitsubishi prices to find out. Hay I have almost spent over a thousand bucks so what the heck.

Unlucky bud. I've got the a similar problem with my TH. Not quite a shudder but pulsing in the brake pedal instead. Only when I'm just pulling to a stop. Got new tyres, pads machined front discs and still have the problem. Nobody knows what's going on. I only bought the thing last month. Oh well.

Good luck and let us know how you go.
;)

MICK

Lets face the reality. I think Mitsubishi have made a major design fault or I have one Lemon of a car. Thats the least of my problems- I also have a indicator arm that ***** up with a buzz sound. I had the flasher can replaced and it still does it. I have an intereior light that doesnt work when a new globe is inserted. According to the mechanic thier is no power going to it arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I hate this car and I have a wife, Mother and Father who won't let me get rid of it!! As I will get into debt again if I purchase a new one. (Its Freehold) Furthermore when my Dad gets to find out how much I spend on it- he goes off his nutt!! Blameing me, the ****** mechanic and every other ****** who comes to have a brief association with the car. The only thing that keeps rising is my credit card bill and the old buggers temper. Man I have a ****** up life and it is all cause of this car!! oh by the way the extended warranty I bought with this shit expired last month!!! You can only ****** laugh at the situation :lol: :lol: :lol: :cry: :cry: :cry:

Hi Mate, sorry to hear about your problems, there is definatly no design fault to start with.
If you get shudder while driving and not applying brakes your brakes are not the problem unless you have sticking caliper which you will notice immediatly when brake smoke come pouring out your front wheel
There is an issue with wheel tension, should use a tension wrench to do up the wheels for starters. Suraru used to also have the exact same problems.
The steering column should not be hard to check.
I am happy to have a look for free if you want, I do not have a workshop but I used to have one and I knwo Magna's inside out. I may not find anything but then again I might.
BTW, I have had to alter your posts, I know you are upset at this as I would be but please keep the swearing off mate.
Let me know or PM me if you would like to meet up for a squiz.
Cheers

My apologies with the swearing my friend. Yes it is upseting as I have forked out a hell of alot of money. I have booked it in to Dandenong Mitsubishi on friday. I intend to get to the bottom of this problem. Thanks for your help- I will wait until I take it to them and see what they have to say. If I dont get any answers then I would be gratefull if you can have a look. I will get in touch with you to organise something. If they fix it then I will update this message. Thanks for your help- I will be in touch.

Ok todays the day its going in. Appoximatly 8am I have to drop it off. It will be very interesting to see what Mitusibishi come up with. In all honesty I am sick of explaining to every mechanic what the car is doing. Its very disheartining when I explain it as an intermitent problem- they come back to say that if it is a brake problem then it should be doing it all the time. I wish they can say YES its a brake problem or yes its most likley this..... You no they might even take it for a test drive- and then come back to say it drives perfectly and they cant find a fault. This is whats been happening with my own mechanic until I took it for a drive with him in the front seat and it eventually the problem showed up for even him to see. All this time I think he thought I was lying. Thats how intermitent it is. Its driving me nuts even when I think about it.. I will tell you the feeling "It feels like when you striveing to remember something and cant remember it"- Well thats how I feel about this cars problem. Anyway Here goes..................To be Continued

Hello,

I am back- Ok I have some good news and some bad. For the good news, My dad and I got ready to go to the dealer and when we went in it was roughly 730am. Since the garage open at 800am we dicided to walk around the other dealerships. Holden, Mitsubishi, Ford, Kia etc- To cut things short the car didnt go through to the workshop, but instead landed in front of a dealer who was gazing over it with an eagle eye. I ended up trading it in for a VX 2001 Calais.... :D fully optioned. My Dad sat their for four hours bartering his head off.... and I guess we both won!! At the exception of me being called an Idiot if I had brokered the deal by myself. (Dealers are sharks in Dads opinion) In his opinion I would have bought a car at any price the dealer would have said. For once in my life I didnt mind getting put down in front of the dealer, as a good thing came out of it. My heap was traded for $8000 bucks which in all honesty its worth was about 4 grand. The dealer new it and I new it. It had done 175000 Kms, had a intermittent brake problem, stffued indicator arm, interior light not ****ioning and a host of other problems and god knows what else.

The bad news is that unfortunatly I and you, all who helped me here will never no what the problem of the car really was. Its been a rough couple of weeks for me- and finally it has ended. Although I am not a Magna owner anymore- I still think Magna's a very good car. I just think as the one I had as a one off problem that had to come along given the high mileage that I had done . It lasted me a good four years. As for all- of you please keep the forum going. It is trully an asset for all of us and who knows maybe a second car might be another Magna.

Best Regards
Chaminda

I also have a indicator arm that ***** up with a buzz sound. I had the flasher can replaced and it still does it.:

i have that too, only when indicating to go left. i have put up with it for over a year :evil: