I have a 2004 LS430 w 137k on it. My goal....a difficult one, is to have the car up to 100%. To me this means nothing is broken...everything works as it should..and she runs like a champ. Well, one door actuator repair has beaten me 3 times so I bit the bullet and have a new one arriving in the mail. That leaves one more nagging issue......I have a slight rotor warp feel in my pedal which does play up to the steering wheel feel or wobble. It is slight...but ruins my smooth , quiet , cruise.......If I do the repair my self it wont cost much and the issue is resolved. My issue is that while I was at the dealer doing a test drive with a technician he felt the warping ....he said I need to replace front and rear rotors for proper repair. Being that the steering wheel does wobble when brake is applied ( slightly ) I believe the warp is in the front. Why cant I just change the front rotors?

Thanks

 

I had a pretty bad wobble and it went away with resurfacing rotors but then it back again. I replaced all 4 rotors and brakes and now it is all good.
You can try just the front first and see how it goes. Most probably it will do the trick.
If not, replace the rear ones too.

 

Ya I cant remember the techs reasoning for me to do front and rear at the same time but seemed to do the trick for you. But it also takes a cheap DIY and turns it into a $400 job. The shame of it all is that my car brakes very strong.....what a waste to replace a bunch of parts with lots of wear left on them. Did you use OEM all the way?
They have OEM rotors and pads on ebay for approx 250 includes shipping ...thats front only. Then Brembo has just rotors for like $119.00 front only

 

I did not use OEM.
I have Wagner ceramic brakes all around, wagner rotors in the front, and generic cheapo rotors in the back.

 

huh......OEM rules......but your success makes me think I could possibly get away with the Brembo rotors......For $119 no wobble....I would take that any day all day......hate the wobble. Here I am worried about going all OEM....watch when I go to remove the old stuff.....its prob el cheapo and thats why it el warped o....

 

I had the steering wheel wobble, took a chance and replaced the front rotors with OEM, and it fixed my issue.

 

Parts geek. Centric Coated. Not plain not slotted and drilled. I drove on my last LS for 50 k miles and traded in still wobble free 60 front 40 back. Watch shipping costs. I Used Lexus pads. Others have used them also no complaints

 

$52 each rear rotor with free shipping.

$38 free shipping

$38 free shipping

$28 free shipping

 

The remaining unanswered question is...........can I only do the front rotors without doing the rear? As stated in original post.....a Lexus technician told me I am supposed to do front and back at same time but I cant remember his reasoning.

 

I only replaced the front rotors and the wobble went away. It sounds like the technician wants to save you the hassle if replacing only the front or rear doesn't fix the wobble.

 

If it was me I would do one axle at a time.

 

Yes you can change the front only. Not an issue. When replacing rotors remember to replace the caliper bolts. They are spec'd to be replaced after removal.... Non-reusable part as listed in the repair manual.

I purchased a set of OEM rotors, pads and caliper bolts for ~$250 shipped from Amazon- Bell Lexus Scottsdale AZ.

The year prior I purchased a set of Duralast rear rotors. They are rusted and look like **** now. The OEMs do not. The Duralast must not have a protective coating like OEM... lesson learned.

 

Thanks all.......I have decided to go OEM. Shame to pay 3x more....but if I am going through the process I want it to be done correctly the first time. I didnt know about the caliper bolts...I dont see them listed as part of a kit on ebay. I will check Amazon as u suggested.

 

They usually are not included but I contacted the seller and added them to my order. I also ordered a couple of filters and had them ship everything at once.

Good luck!

 

Centric offers a high quality premium rotor with e-coating to inhibit rust.


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