I've recently purchased a 2011 4.4TDV8 which had been sat a while. On the journey home I quickly found that there is a juddering at higher speeds (55+) which varies from slight to strong or sometimes not at all. I put it down to rear brakes being sticky due to it's lack of use after having similar symptoms from this in the past. There was no feel through the steering wheel which points me to the rears.

After taking the calipers off today I found that both rears move well on their slider pins and retracted with a G-clamp without much hassle. The N/S pads were more worn and crumbly than the O/S and the piston in that caliper took a little more force to go in (but still not seized solid). Does this point to a sticky caliper on this side or possibly a delaminated flexi? I was surprised to find both calipers moving *fine* as in the past they are always fairly solid if i've had the same symptoms.

The handbrake seems to operate perfectly and smoothly.

Are there any other common reasons these would have this symptom?

Thanks for any advice!

Is the judder only when braking? Touching the wheel to feel any heat difference after a drive is usually the giveaway for a sticky or seized calliper. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

No the judder is more pronounced when cruising - not braking. I will try and get a feel for temperatures later today.

If it's been sat for a while you could have a flat spot on a tyre or tyres. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

I did think tyre/wheel issues but the wobble/judder comes and goes.

I’ve noticed similar on my 2007 at the moment.

Sometimes it can drive absolutely perfectly and then out of the blue on the same stretch of motorway you get a little bit of a judder through the steering wheel.

Braking and changing direction don’t seem to have any effect on it either.

Haven’t had a chance to have a proper look at it yet though.

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

JayGee wrote:

If it's been sat for a while you could have a flat spot on a tyre or tyres.

I’m thinking it’s possibly a flat spot too due to the amount of time mine has been sitting whilst I’ve been working on it.

It’s the same wheels and tyres that were on it before it went into the workshop so don’t think it’s a buckled wheel.

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

Take it to a good tyre garage and find out. Their experience and knowledge are usually free and invaluable. 2015 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 SDV8

There’s a place locally that do road force balancing which I’m tempted to try.

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

. Deleted by author. 2012 L322 4.4 TDV8 AB low mileage - a peach
1986 V8 Defender 90 County ex-Swiss Army - Red everything....

My preferred Independent: Roy Hardy. R & B AUTOS LTD, 20 Brook Road, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 2BH 07500 866775‬ (Ex LR Chief Technician)

Last edited by Range Rover L322 on 12th Sep 2022 8:49pm. Edited 3 times in total

Problem is, there’s not a bush or balljoint that’s not been changed on my car in the last few months. I’ve had it in bits from front to back and done everything with genuine parts.

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

Range Rover L322 wrote:

The weight of these wheels on a 4WD 2.25 ton car means a lost balance has about as much effect as a mosquito hitting a freight train, it's not that either.

It appears mine is the NSR caliper (or possibly flexi hose) so have ordered one and a set of pads to stick on tomorrow. Is the bleed procedure nice and standard on these or am I going to run into problems? A quick search appears to say I shouldn't...

If it's repeatable, and you have someone who can drive a 'chase car', get them to look at the suspension oscillation, it may well be a weak suspension damper - this can give the same symptoms as the 'now it's there, now it's not' scenario as it depends upon the speed and something in the road surface triggering it.
Brake issues can usually be found fairly quickly with an IR thermometer if the vehicle can be stopped safely soon after the onset of the vibration.
Finally, wheel balancing can be the cause - but it's a to identify & cure, essentially, the variation in road speed from side-to-side due to cornering can cause the wheel weights to coincide and the minimal variances in actual balance (most machines have a 5g tolerance built in, even though it may read zero) multipy to cause the vibration. If you have a fairly large balancing mass on either wheel on each axle, then you need to either rotate the tyre on the wheel to reduce the amount of balancing mass, or have them 'dynamically balanced' both are time consuming tasks.