I have a 2002 4.6 X5 in great condition except for bad wheel shudder when I brake.
I've owned several 2000 to 2003 BMW's and I'm aware of the shudder caused by worn large rubber bushings on the lower (upper) control arm that goes from the bottom of the strut back to the chassis, or in the case of the X5, it goes forward to the chassis.
I put a dial indicator on the rotors and they only run-out by 0.002" to 0.004", which I consider great.
I just put on a pair of new control arms as well as the ball joint at the strut end. and then checked the alignment.
I made sure the car was on its wheels before I tightened the large bolt going through that large bushing.
and I checked I have the recommended tire pressure.
This cured about 70% of the shudder but its still there. If I'm going over 70 and hit the brakes, about 55 to 65 the shudder starts and stays all the way down to about 25 to 30.
I'm new to the X5 (had it about 1 year) so do any of you experts out there have any suggestions?
I know this is an older post, and not sure if you’ve fixed your issue yet, but I finally solved my very similar shudder problems with new front pads and rotors. I had replaced all the suspension arms and bushings as part of a complete refresh recently and my shudder on braking was still there. Although the brakes and rotors were ok by any measure, I decided to throw those parts at it too a week or so ago, and sure enough, shudder fixed. Worth a try maybe.
I went with the TRW ceramic pad and Zimmerman rotor combo sold by FCP. First time using ceramic and they seem to do a good job. They definitely need to be bedded in, per the instructions. Much more so than the previous pads I’ve used.
Current BMW
2002 E53 X5 4.6i (4.4 to 4.6 swap)
Former BMWs
1996 BMW Z3
1998 BMW E36 M3 Sedan
2004 BMW E46 M3
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