Why Does the Pedal Vibrate When I Hit the Brakes?

When the brake is hit there is a vibration on the brake pedal. Usually, this is a cause of misalignment between the pads and the disc or misalignment of the shoe and the drum in case of drum brakes.

Possible cause of vibration on the brake pedal while braking
(1) Misalignment between front pads and discs.
(2) Misalignment between rear shoes and drums.

During braking, if the vibration occurs on the brake pedal and on the front end of your car the usual cause of this problem is misalignment between front pads and disc.

Front pads and disc mate with each other, if these two components are not in even contact with each other it will result in a vibration that can easily be felt on the brake pedal especially during braking. Several reasons can cause misalignment and the most usual cause is a warped front disc. Another reason that causes misalignment is a loose or worn front wheel bearing.

However, if there is no vibration coming from the front end of the car, therefore, the problem is misaligned rear shoes and drums. Misalignment of rear shoes and drums are caused by warped rear drums. If the rear a drum is not warped the other possible cause of misalignment is a worn or loose rear wheel bearing.

What to do?

In any case, you need to bring the car to the car shop and tell the mechanic to inspect the wheel bearing of the affected wheel for any looseness of worn. If the wheel bearing is fine the next thing to do is to machine the affected disc or drums. After the machining, you also need to replace the brakes pad or brake shoe of the affected brakes.

Car Shakes When Braking
Usually, if the entire car shakes during braking the problem is always the rear brake. The entire car shakes happen because the brake shoe is not making even contact with the brake drum during brake application.
Learn more: Car Shakes When Braking