2013 BMW F13 640d - Braking Vibrations

[nathan6672]

Hi all,

Im in dire need of some help here, I've been to multiple garages and no one has been able to fix the issue. When braking 70mph or above and 40-50mph i have a vibration/shudder coming from the front, this has been present for quite a few months. Sometimes its barely noticable, while other times i can see my headlights bouncing up and down and the whole car shake. I have 20" BMW 373m alloys on the car with Michelin Pilot Sport 4s's on all 4 corners.

I've had 3 sets of pads and discs on, 2x Brembo pads & Discs, current set is BMW OEM. All of which didnt resolve the issue. I've had alloys checked for buckles/damage, wheels aligned/balanced and front left wheel bearing replaced, issue is still there. When i bought the car this issue was not there, its only developed over the last few months. im running out of ideas, at the minute im just throwing money away trying to figure out what is causing it . I've seen in many forums that this is a commonly reported issue with the 6 series. But i never seem to find a proper resolution, most times people gave up and sold the car. Any help would be massively appreciated!

Edited by nathan6672 on Sunday 26th July 19:16

Edited by nathan6672 on Sunday 26th July 19:48

[Riggie]

Have you had the radius arm bushes checked? This diagram refers to my GT, but it'll be very similar for your. Item 5 is the arm, item 6 is the bush. That's where I'd be looking.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=SN82...

Edited by Riggie on Sunday 26th July 20:24

[nathan6672]

Thank you for your response!, as far as im aware the bushes haven't been checked, ill suggest that next time i take it in.

[Jaybmw]

I had the same issue and took months to find it.. it was the bloody vacum pump !! Changed every bush, discs, pads, master cylinder etc. Changed the pump ( which was 50 quid ) gone

[Ninja59]

Disc build up would be my guess based on all the other items being fine.

I would be taking it out somewhere quiet get up to a decent speed and use the anchors heavily.

I noticed after lockdown my 6 was terrible for vibration under braking, even after a few runs removing corrosion on the discs. Eventually after a few heavy stops it was smooth again.

[Riggie]

Ninja59 said:

Disc build up would be my guess based on all the other items being fine.

I would be taking it out somewhere quiet get up to a decent speed and use the anchors heavily.

I noticed after lockdown my 6 was terrible for vibration under braking, even after a few runs removing corrosion on the discs. Eventually after a few heavy stops it was smooth again.

OP says he's had 3 sets of discs and pads to try and resolve it. I wonder if fitting new discs and pads initially solved the problem? If not it must be something else. Worth trying a bit of an 'Italian tune up' for the discs though

[gizlaroc]

If he changed discs and pads and still doing it then can't be pad build up.



I would say either you need it load balanced or the front thrust arms would be the first guess.


However, someone else has had it with the pump, so swap that out first.

[nathan6672]

Hi all, thank you for your posts. Sorry I couldn't get back sooner, was stopped from posting to prevent SPAM due to new account lol. I did originally think it to be debris on the pads or brake discs. I got it up to motorway speeds and slammed on about 6-7 times. At this point brakes went to jelly as they were blistering hot. But the weather hasn't been bad here in the UK so I'm not sure what could cause the debris if it was that, I never sit with my foot on brakes as I have the Auto Hold function in my car. Plus the car never had this problem on the discs I bought it with which where same as what I have on now. So a little stumped on that one. But I will mention all this to the garage when I get chance to give them a call! .

[Ninja59]

Okay based on that maybe not build up then, auto hold for reference holds the normal brakes on all 4 corners not the EPB, only if stop start is used does the EPB activate until the car moves off.

[nathan6672]

I did not know that, I thought it applied the parking brake when auto hold was activated, Thanks for the info. I rang the garage and mentioned the bushes so just waiting for a call back. Hopefully get this sorted soon

[gizlaroc]

nathan6672 said:

I did not know that, I thought it applied the parking brake when auto hold was activated, Thanks for the info. I rang the garage and mentioned the bushes so just waiting for a call back. Hopefully get this sorted soon

Did you mention balancing again?
These cars are seriously susceptible to being even slightly out.
My F11 was out a tiny amount, I had the same as you, it took a specialist an hour to balance my front wheels and immediately it stopped.

Also, someone else has had the same with the brake pump. I would mention that too.

Do you feel any vibration at all through the wheel or seat when you are not braking? Normally happens at a certain speed where you can notice it.

[nathan6672]

gizlaroc said:

Did you mention balancing again?
These cars are seriously susceptible to being even slightly out.
My F11 was out a tiny amount, I had the same as you, it took a specialist an hour to balance my front wheels and immediately it stopped.

Also, someone else has had the same with the brake pump. I would mention that too.

Do you feel any vibration at all through the wheel or seat when you are not braking? Normally happens at a certain speed where you can notice it.

I had them balanced last week. Front right was out by 25g and left was 5g. Issue is still exactly the same after balancing. As far as I'm aware I haven't felt anything through the steering or seats. I only notice it when braking as that's when its the worst.

[nathan6672]

So spoke with garage.. the radius arm bushes are no longer sold separately to the arms.. quoted me £210 per side so £420 in total without labour. So instead of biting that bullet I found an entire meyle front suspension kit so wishbones, tie rods, control arms everything. So I'm willing to take this venture on myself and replace the parts. Only issue is I have no idea where to find torque settings for each bolt, nut etc.. can anyone point me in the right direction or will it be a case of buying a manual from bmw themselves?

[gizlaroc]

nathan6672 said:

So spoke with garage.. the radius arm bushes are no longer sold separately to the arms.. quoted me £210 per side so £420 in total without labour. So instead of biting that bullet I found an entire meyle front suspension kit so wishbones, tie rods, control arms everything. So I'm willing to take this venture on myself and replace the parts. Only issue is I have no idea where to find torque settings for each bolt, nut etc.. can anyone point me in the right direction or will it be a case of buying a manual from bmw themselves?

BMW use standard torque settings for each size of bolt. They are listed every where.

Workshop manuals....

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/

Has the garage said the bushes are actually shot?

What mileage is the car?


Good test, drive the car at 5mph and slam the brakes on. Do you get a clunk?

[gizlaroc]

You're not giving us all that much info.

Model?

Year?

Mileage?


All really helps.


https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f13-640d-cou/re...

[nathan6672]

gizlaroc said:

You're not giving us all that much info.

Model?

Year?

Mileage?

All really helps.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e63-635d-cou/re...

Rookie mistakes, I'm new to the forums so apologies for not including the info. So its a 2013 BMW F13 640d M-Sport, it has 85k on the clock

[gizlaroc]

It was what I guess from the wheel style.

Did they say the bushes were obviously shot?



Torque settings....



Torque with the car on the ground, not jacked.

[gizlaroc]

My money is still on the pump.

Do you have any other signs of worn bushes?

Any clunking over rough surfaces? Does it feel loose on rough roads?

I would definitely try the brake jab test, 5mph, slam on brakes and see if there is an obvious clunk.


If you get none of the above I reckon pump. £50 worth swapping it surely before doing all the control arms?

Edited by gizlaroc on Tuesday 28th July 15:10

[nathan6672]

gizlaroc said:

It was what I guess from the wheel style.

Did they say the bushes were obviously shot?

Torque settings....


Torque with the car on the ground, not jacked.

Legendary stuff mate, cheers for the diagrams and links.

I asked them the question as my car was with them 3 weeks ago to have front left wheel bearing replaced (there was a loud clicking noise when coming to stop), they said the didn't see any excessive wear on the bushes when they were working on the car. But I don't think they were actively checking for worn bushes. I have a friend with a ramp so I want to inspect the bushes etc.. myself before buying anything. I've thrown more than enough money at this problem

[nathan6672]

gizlaroc said:

My money is still on the pump.

Do you have any other signs of worn bushes?

Any clunking over rough surfaces? Does it feel loose on rough roads?

I would definitely try the brake jab test, 5mph, slam on brakes and see if there is an obvious clunk.

If you get none of the above I reckon pump. £50 worth swapping it surely before doing all the control arms?

Edited by gizlaroc on Tuesday 28th July 15:10

Ill give that brake jab test a go and let you know how I get on. Yeah I'd rather not throw £100's into something that won't fix my issue. So to be sure you are talking about the brake vacuum pump yes?