Rx900

I already asked about this somewhere else, but wasn't very satisfied with the response so i'll post it up here...


ok. when i went to the dealer to complain about the rim, didn't work. then he asked me if I had any other questions and I decided I wanted to tell him this. Ok. At first, when driving at high speeds and braking really hard, you feel the brakes pulsating, not very smooth braking. Now few weeks back, it was only when ur at high speeds and braking, usually braking hard. Now sometimes I can feel it, even at slow speeds. I told the service advisor (same guy who said he didn't scratch my rim) and he said that "Oh, it's normal. Rotors are warping because of the heat that is produced by braking a lot. It's normal, no problem". WHAT????? NO PROBLEM???? If he's right, aren't warping rotors a bad thing???? He tells me that there is no need for me to take it in and have it checked. Anyone really know what the problem is with my brakes??? Cuz i never heard of any warping rotors on my odyssey, and it's got 127k on it.

and i felt this again when i went to the bay area the other day. had to do a really hard braking and my steering wheel was vibrating (no it's not the vibration problem) so hard that it was noticable...

ADVocate

I have the same thing going on with my truck. And if your curious, NO, it is not normal. if warped rotors were normal every car your probably driven in the last 10 years would have the same issue. That is the most retarded response for a sevice tech to give anyone. I will be bringing this issue on my next service break, which should be in the next month or so.
I will say this, if they have a similar answer to what your service tech said, I will be taking my truck to different dealership from now on.

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

RX900, from the obvious explanation that you get vibrations when braking, the rotors are warped. Pads then can be unevenly worn out.
Bring your car back again and ask for another tech. Make sure his higher authority knows about this.
If they are warped, then they need to be resurfaced or replaced (if they're that bad).
If he says its normal to have vibrations when braking, I would ask for him and a manager to take one of the loaner car out to see if this is NORMAL.

From reading info here on CL, warped rotors are also caused by OVER TORQUING the wheel lug nuts....and he did rotate your tires last time (hence assuming the mark on your wheels).

Good luck.

SacKen

Warped rotors are a common problem, especially with heavy vehicles and/or lots of stop-and-go traffic. Even my little Suzuki had them once (what can I say... too much hard braking into corners ) Now I said common, but not normal... and it definitely is a problem that needs to be fixed!!! If they aren't fixed, then over time they can cause other problems. If your rotors warp and you are under warranty, then the dealer should fix them for free (as mine had to do at 20k).

Rx900, you have had some pretty bad dealer experiences. If this is the same one that has caused you heartache in the past, I suggest you let the world know of the crap they have pulled with you and vow to never give them another penny. Seems like there are a handful of dealers in the US that do not live up to the Lexus standard. Too bad Lexus doesn't seem to do anything about it.

Johnny Mo

Mine were warped also after about 30k miles, replaced under warranty.

Rx900

I think i'm gonna bring the GX to another dealer IF talking to the owner of Fresno Lexus doesn't work. I've talked to the owner before, seems like a great guy, and told me "IF there's anything wrong with any of ur experiences at this dealer, tell me." That is what I'm gonna do, tell him about this. So far, these new service advisors are being stupid idiots who don't care about other people's vehicles. I knew there had to be something wrong but telling me that "It's normal. They warp.... blah blah blah" is a bunch of BS.

Thanks for forewarning me that it's a real problem. Yes i did have the tires rotated about 4k miles ago. As you would know from my previous post (rim post) that it's obvious they rotated my tires because of my "VANDALIZED"rim (with the backwards "F" and small "L" on it).

Rx900

actually, the service advisor was the one that told me what the problem was. I never had a tech check it out. The service advisor already answered my question when I told him about it. Only higher authority, as I said on my post before this, is talk to the OWNER of FRESNO LEXUS and forget about dealing with these stupid service advisors (at Fresno Lex).

Since you guys have been saying it's a problem, I hope nothing else would break because I'm taking the GX on a 800-1k mile vacation to Vegas this weekend. I hope that it wouldn't warp so badly that it would break something. Right now, I'm thinking of bringing it to Fletcher Lexus , was it, the one in Vegas, but then again, it would ruin my vacation. I just hope they stay the same condition till like Thursday of next week (after all that heat and mileage) because that's the earliest time I could get it in.

Tony

Mine was doing the same thing since 7kmiles at the recent 15k check up I specifically told them to turn the rotors and they agreeed under warranty. The braking is perfect now and I have 17k on the GX. RX900 by the way I live in Vegas and Fletcher Jones is my dealership.

Rx900

oh wow. so how long do u think it would take if i have fletcher jones do my rotors??? i'm thinking about it, but it all really depends if i have time. do u think i need an appointment or can i just walk in????

Spyderman

If you are out of warantee, does anyone know approximately the price to correct front pulsing brake rotors on a GX 470 or all 4 warped brake rotors?

CivicFerio

I went through 5 pairs of front rotors in my civic since it is my track car. I bought heat treated rotors, cryogenically treated rotors, brembo rotors, ultra cheapo autozone rotors etc. most of them warp in the first event of use.

From my experience since the rotors are cast, the metal isn't relaxed or stress relieved thus they aren't dimensionally stable. When ever you heat the rotors up and cooling it down, the grain structure tends to rearange itself, therefore over a couple of hundred heat cycles the rotor will warped. From my experience after I turned my warp rotors they never seem to warp or warp as badly again.

Warping also occurs when heating or cooling the rotor rapidly. Like when you have to break hard on the freeway and then speed back up. on the contrary, I drove my GX on Willowsprings for 5 hard laps and the rotors didn't warp. I saw the disk rotor turning blue from the heat but they didn't warp, maybe because I let them cool slowly by taking a cool down lap. Warp rotors seems to be a random occurrence and it seems that we can't do anything to prevent it.

Regards,
Charleston

06 LX470
04 Scion Xa
03 GX470 (gone)
02 Odyssey EXL (gone)
99 Civic EX
90 CRX Si

koolaidman

most dealerships would charge 4 hours total. and what ever ur dealership charges u need to figure that out
my shops would charge 436

bgsntth

Are the GX's warped rotors actually warped metal or uneven pad deposits as a result of overheating the pads? Don't laugh, most of my experience with warped rotors has been the result of pad deposits-there is some good info on this topic at StopTech.com.

I too use to track my old WRX and Miata, and often got warped rotors. On the WRX OE rotors, they literally were warped (bent and cracked metal), but when I upgraded to the Stoptech BBK the pulsating brakes were always due to uneven pad deposits. Usually as a result of me being an idiot and using a street pad for track days and/or not letting the brakes cool down before parking after a session. You could actually see an exact print of the pad on the rotor. My solution was to rebed the brakes, usually with a race pad, or sand the rotors down with sand paper. Most knowledgeable folks would not recommend the latter, but it worked for me.

agasfer

interesting - I had the same problem (steering wheel vibration when breaking on high speed), it started showing after I had the car serviced at the dealership for maintenance - maybe they did overtorqued the wheel bolts?

Now, I brought the car to the dealer again, and they machined the rotors, it is breaking great now, no vibrations, but it cost me $376!

Come to think about it - it should have been done under warranty - the car is youger than 3 years, less the 50K miles. I was cought off guard and did not confront the guy when he called me to tell that I need the job done.

Do you guys think I can get it my money back?

BobsGX

WOW, for 376 bills, I would think they installed new rotors. Usually rotors are covered for the first 12 months, but its worth a try to get reimbursed. I would send a letter along with a copy of the repair bill to corporate Lexus HQ in California. Good luck.