[GoVikings]

driving me nuts! vibration on full stops after new winter tires installed
hi I am new and know little about cars unfortunately.

BMW X3 2017 35i M Sport. About 29000km or maybe 18000 miles. Original brakes.

I had 19"OEM rims. This year I installed new x-ice Michelin 18" with after market hub centric rims, no centering rings required, at Costco. According to the installer, there were no problems with fit and the original lug nuts being reused. However they did say that the original tires had some excess wear on the front outer left and right areas, which they said was common with BMW alignment.

Immediately, I noticed a definitely new creaking noise whenever coming to a moderately firm full stop, only when I ease up on the brake before finally applying full brake to stop, if you know what I mean. Kinda like "creak creak creak" , sometimes more or less. Coming from the front, I believe both sides but hard to tell. Audible to the tire installer from outside.

I noticed brakes creak creak creak only while *easing off* when coming to a medium or hard stop only. If slower stop or no easing up, there is no obvious noise.

Could this be caliper pins sticking? something to do with the tire change? (winter tires are new, were balanced by the installer, I re-torqued all wheels no problem and they were not overly tight to begin with, the dimension of the new tires is same height, width only 0.5" narrower, which the tire shops confirmed was not a problem, rim company confirmed that they are 100% designed for use with OEM lug nuts and hub centric fit.) Or perhaps an alignment issue?

I have attached some pics with a limited view of the left & right brakes in case that helps

Or if you think this sounds like an obvious defect, I could take it to the dealer to see if it is covered under warranty...

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Wgosma]

Hard to pinpoint this issue; a bit hard to see it as result of fitting new tires, but perhaps possible (?).

The older front tire wear you described is likely attributable to incorrect 'toe' angle up front...so an alignment check/adjustment is worth having done. I'd do the alignment and then see if braking issue is resolved, go from there.

[GoVikings]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

Hard to pinpoint this issue; a bit hard to see it as result of fitting new tires, but perhaps possible (?).

The older front tire wear you described is likely attributable to incorrect 'toe' angle up front...so an alignment check/adjustment is worth having done. I'd do the alignment and then see if braking issue is resolved, go from there.

Thanks for the suggestion!

I heard this could be excess wear as well from aggressive turns. I never thought this the case, but then I realized while driving I was taking cloverleaf on-ramps at 35mph and sharp turns fairly briskly, because the car feels nice and stable compare to my old sedan so I couldn't even tell!

I will also try switching back to my all-seasons soon...

I'm open to further ideas, anyone?

[kevink1]

On incorrect alignment being common. Maybe it is with BMWs. But my 2015 model with nearly 93,000 miles is the first car I haven't had to do an alignment on. No steering issues. No odd wear on tires.

Maybe it is just good luck and not hitting pot holes.