In order to understand the brake judder of a passenger car, the brake judder test of a passenger car was performed with initial speeds of 90, 120, and 150 km/h, end speed of 20 km/h, and pedal forces of 25, 30, 35, and 40 N on a roller dynamometer in a semi-anechoic chamber. The pressure fluctuation of the brake fluid pipe was presented. The accelerations of the steering wheel were recorded at vertical, lateral, and radial directions respectively, and the frequency analysis of the brake judder was also performed. The frequency response functions of the steering system were measured in order to understand the cause of the brake judder. Meanwhile, the multibody system dynamics model of the test vehicle was created with a flexible body and steering system. The brake torque calculated with the brake fluid pressure of the brake pipe in the brake judder test was exerted on the brake systems. The simulated accelerations of the steering wheel were calculated at three different directions, and the frequency analysis of the brake judder was also presented. The design of experiment was presented in order to reduce the brake judder and improve the comfort of the vehicle. An orthogonal array table was designed with 13 factors and 3 levels. The optimum combination was confirmed. The brake judder was also simulated, and the accelerations of the steering wheel were also calculated. Furthermore, the optimization results were verified by the brake judder test. The verification of the optimization indicates that the optimization results are correct and effective.

In order to understand the vibration characteristics of the steering system and provide suggestions for improvement, a model of the steering system was created based on finite element method (FEM). Also, the modal analysis of the steering system was presented, and the first twenty step modes were calculated and analyzed. The steering system was also evaluated from the resonance point of view. The result shows that the frequency of the first step mode is 31.578 Hz which is higher than the exciting frequency of the engine; also, the road roughness excitation frequency has a minor influence on steering wheel vibration.