Hello fellow tribute drivers!
(Disclaimer: my car knowledge is extremely limited)

Before I start here is a little info about my tribute:
2002 tribute, v6, automatic, optional 4wd, 105k miles, not sure about the trim off hand. I have owned the car for about 7 months.

As the thread title suggests recently my brake pedal has been pulsating/vibrating. The best way I can describe it is: the feeling you get in the brake pedal when sliding on ice and braking, just to a lesser degree. The sensation usually goes away shortly, or at least switches from pulsating to OK for a long enough period for me to brake safely. I have also noticed that the problem only happens when braking from speeds over 40 mph.

Now before you guys think I'm just lazily posting this here w/o doing any research myself, I will say that according to my cursory internet research it seems like my problem is a warped brake rotor (though I'm not sure front or back). I had also read that sometimes these symptoms can come from water exposure creating rust on the rotor and normal driving will take care of it in a few days. This has been going on for about a day and a half now, so we'll see.

Has anyone had any experience with problems like this? My primary concern after my safety is of course money. I am a college student and like most do not have much in my bank account. If you have had any experience with this problem is there anything I can do to cut down on costs while still ensuring a quality repair?

Also, an unrelated (maybe related? once again my car knowledge is extremely limited) problem is that the button on my E-Brake handle is very far into the handle itself. To release the E-brake I must use my left hand to press the button in while pulling up with my right, I can no longer do it with one hand lol. This has been going on for a while. Besides the inconvenience is there anything wrong with this, should this be a concern at all?

If you have read this far I truly thank you for your time, and thank-you in advance for any advice I'll receive.
~Saikrid

 

Sounds like a warped rotor. Surface rust would normally only produce a slight grinding noise. A warped rotor will increase your stopping distance, so whether to fix or not is up to you. If it were me, I would either wait until the pads become worn and replace pads/rotors then, or just go ahead and do the pads and rotors both at this time. Don't just repalce the rotor.

 

x2 on the warped rotor as the likely culprit; this happened on mine. Recommend you ask around for a brake specialist in your area that's trusted and not just choose one at random. If it's a reputable place, they should provide an explanation on rotor and pad condition and give a recommendation on whether replacement is required. Costs will likely be similar regardless of who you call, but there's always the chance someone is running a special. One thought to cut down on cost is to ask if they'll accept parts purchased from a local auto parts store, ie Autozone or Advance, and if so, pick them up yourself to take in to the repair place and pay for their labor. Or maybe someone you know is an auto guru...replacing the rotors and pads really isn't that difficult, just takes some time and elbow grease.
Bottom line, safety comes first, so do what you have to do to stay safe on the roads. Brakes are not something to take lightly.
Sorry, can't answer the e-brake question...

 

I have t he same problem on my '06 S, and arrived at the same conclusion - I had changed the front pads without changing the rotors. I will have the rotors resurfaced by a machine shop $12 each as soon as it's warm enough to remove them. I will keep the pads as they are almost brand new. Anyone see a problem with my thinking. Normally I would have everything done at once but the rotors look like they have plenty of thickness and at the time of the change there was no warping. The symptoms did not manifest until after 3-4 months of changing the pads. IN addition to remove the rotors all I have to do is remove the 2 (18mm ?) bolts that hold the caliper them tap the rotors out. the center hub bold does not keep the rotor in if I'm not mistaken.

 

Rotors are not typically turned any more, as they are made from thinner materials now, and are pretty inexpensive to begin with. When I worked in a shop we basically refused to do a pad-slap unless the customer was getting rid of the car. I suppose if you can get it done for $12 that's pretty tempting, but if you are removing them yourself, you could replace with new for $30 each, maybe less.

 

update:

i took my car to my friend, who knows a bit about cars, for his opinion.

he told me after looking at my rotors they seem fine (hes not a mechanic, maybe it is the rotors i dont know). He says the problem feels and sounds like its from the front left tire, and it feels like the ABS is kicking on because the tire is slipping.

Based on this any new ideas?

I'm going to get this into the shop asap.

 

take it to a real mechanic. You can not tell if rotors are warped just by looking at them.

 

Why would the tire slip? is it bold? This is pretty weird but I just rotated my tires, front to back and my pulsating has diminished significantly. my tire are almost new Continentals (not my choice the car came with them). Try rotating your tires see if there is any change.

 

I agree, and I normally would put new rotors in not do a pad-slap as you call it, but they seem as thick as new and barely used. As far a brakes I normally avoid cheap stuff, a good set of front vented rotors run about $80 at Rock Auto.

 

anyone have any experience with brake 'glazing?'.

finally took the car to the mechanic, he told me that was probably the issue (along with my 4th cylinder ignition coil is bust + some engine maintenance i need that will cost me $625 i cant afford.. X_X) as far as the brakes go he told me he didn't do a thorough test drive because of the check engine light, (tho the brakes is what I stressed I wanted taken care of... not too impressed with this guy) and will try driving the car again tomorrow.

I guess my question is does anyone have any experience with brake "glazing" (based on internet research its brake pad glazing i guess?) and could this be the culprit? I'm assuming the solution is to replace the brake pads?