Cruiter

We bought our RX new spring of '03 and it's been one of the best cars I've ever owned. But I've already had the rotors turned once and now it feels like (less noticeable in humid weather) one of the rear rotors, probably right side needs it again. It doesn't come through the steering wheel like a front rotor would. The car just turned 60,000 miles and without abusive driving this seems unusual to me.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this???
Thanks in advance.

thomas1

very unusual, I have 164k miles and I have the original rotors on the rear. They are not vented like the fronts, but I have never turned them. They are very thin, and wonder if turning them might have made them very susceptable early failure. I will tell you that the rear pads wore out first before the fronts....

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

I've had my front rotors turned twice, 96,000 miles and again at 120,000 miles, because of shimmying on braking (warped rotors). I think Lexus rotors are like BMW rotors - they are designed for long life (like the pads) and should probably be changed when the pads are changed (in my case, the first pad change was at 96,000 miles).

bob2200

I subscribe to the theory that warped rotors are commonly caused by excessive/uneven lug-nut tightening. Once the rotors are machined down, warping is more likely.

Even Lexus dealers can't be counted on to torque the lug-nuts to the 76 ft-lb specification. Many tire stores don't even have a torque wrench available! Costco tire stores are an exception.

habeeb89

iTrader: (3)

I've only had to change the rotors (front/rear) at around 90k, I could have turned them, but decided on getting new ones. It's def. weird that they would need to be turned again that quickly, but then again we don't know your driving style...

thomas1

Though dont trust Costco either, I have seen them not use torque wrench. And I have seen them use air gun to tighten lugs also, than go thru the motion of torque wrench. Hopefully the air gun wasnt set to highest setting.

salimshah

Brake shops want customers to drive out and feel very pleased and thus they opt for turning the rotors (they make money on that too). Unfortunately for the owners, the rotors become more susceptible to future warping.

Other than grooves that get get if the pads are not replaced at the right time.

The warping happens due to:
1. Improper force due to incorrect torquing of wheel lugs.
2. How the metal of the rotors respond to heat stress (un-even expansion) and more so when hot rotors get splashed with cold(er) water (uneven contraction). [This factor gets lot worse as the metal is shaved off].

Some of the things you can help and some you cant. I have been doing my own pad replacement and have not had a need to turn or replace the rotors [I will opt to replace than turn but I have enough miles to justify a replacement].

Even if the rotors can be turned twice, I would suggest getting a new rotor.

Salim

john0123

What does it mean to turn a rotor?

salimshah

The rotor is removed and placed on lathe machine. "turning" is the actual term, where the lathe machine spins the rotor and cutting tool remove material off the rotor and makes it smooth. The procedure is done on both sides and any uneveness is removed. After installation, when the brake is applied the pads contact the smooth surface and even braking is achieved.

It is much easier to think of a warped rotor (not smooth) .. when the brake is applied the pads make contact with the sticking out surface and make no contact for the valleys. Due to spining rotors you get brake and no brake .. which you feel as pulsations. The front wheels due to steering linkages has mechanical coupling and you feel the pulsation through the steering wheel. [also the contact/braking pressure and the surface area is more .... making the front end brake pulsations more noticeable].

Salim

Lexmex

See this thread I did when I turned my rotors in Mexico,

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ng-rotors.html

colenzae

Anyone know the price of new rotors?? Opinions on Lexus vs aftermarket??
I have a 2002 RX with 157,000 miles on it. Rotors are just now starting to vibrate the steering wheel while driving. May have them turned vs replacing if possible depending on cost. We do 90% highway driving.

Cruiter

I sold the RX300 I had when I started this link and took delivery on my new RX450h so I didn't have anything done. It's very rare that it's needed with the few miles I had on mine, it was abnormal to say the least. If you've never had your rotors turned, then that would be a very acceptable way to go and much less expensive. Unless you know your mechanic well, I'd use a Lexus store to turn them. They are very high quality rotors manufactured to Lexus standards and you don't want to remove more than is necessary. And do new pads all around at the same time (that will be the cheap part).

Good luck

carguy07

I have Autozone rotors on front & back and they have been fine.

The Brembo blanks are a good deal too. I think you can get them from Tirerack.

UNOHOO

iTrader: (3)

i replaced mine with ones made by centric, they were 65 bucks and had a non rust coating on all non-friction parts, seem to work just fine

also just fyi, I went about 215k miles on the original rotors for the front, the rear rotors are still going at 228k miles

JohnLX300

iTrader: (2)

Same here I bought the Centric Rotors for the front and rear on my '99 RX300, I thought that the black coating was a great idea.