[tiger66]

I took my '08 with 20,500 miles to the dealer for an oil change on May 22

They told me that my brake pads are 70 % worn, and that the rotors are slightly out of round. Even though they are usually booked on Saturday's for service, they would have been able to repair the brakes for about $100.00 a wheel. Suddenly they had the time to do the repair.

I had a 2002 Ford Taurus, (very good car), whose brakes I overheated on Route 30 in Southeastern PA. (4 wheel discs). I did feel brake throbbing with the Ford when I applied the brakes at 60 mph. I do not feel any brake throbbing with the Outlook.

I do not drive the car 'hard'. I do not like to buy gasoline, tires or brakes. I accelerate gently and brake gently. I don't wait until the last 30 yards to stop the car for a red light at 40mph. I usually get 50,000 - 70,000 miles on a set of brakes.

Has anyone else heard of such premature brake wear??

 

[medicrxdoc]

70% worn still has some life left in them. Did they give you a mm reading? Bonded need replacement at 1mm while riveted need at 2mm. I have 33K and mine are at 4mm (maybe 50%), but don't do a lot of city stop and go driving.

As for warped rotors (better term that out of round) has been reported on the lambdas. You can get them turned if they aren't too bad. I do have a slight pulsation when I brake so my MAY be a little warped, but pad wear is even per my private mechanic, he said to pay attention and if it gets worse then we will do something. $100 per wheel sounds like they were going to replace the rotors. If that is the cost for pads and a resurfacing, go elsewhere. Some will choose to replace and not resurface them because resurfacing them make the rotor thinner and less heat tolerant. To each his own....

In all the GM vehicles I have owned, brake pads don't last very long at all. I think they undersize their braking components.

 

[tiger66]

You are correct - Warped is a better term than 'out of round'. I could not think of the word 'warped'.

I believe that undersizing the brake components is relatively new - 10-12 years or so - saves weight, supposedly, for a slight increase in fuel mileage. However, new rotors will cost much more than what I may have saved in fuel expense. The old slight of hand trick. GM should not skimp on brakes when engineering a car that weighs 4400 pounds.

I am not happy. I will go to see a reputable private repair shop today. I will see what he says. I do not feel any throbbing in the brake pedal if I apply the brakes at 60-65. If there is any warping, it seems that it could be ignored as far as replacing the rotors. I believe that this shop will turn rotors. (not all shops have these machines). I dont tow a trailer, thus machining the rotors one time should be acceptable.

I appreciate your reply.

 

[rbarrios]

Are you a do it yourself person?
YOu may be able to take the rotors off yourself- and take them to a shop...

my 2003 Trailblazer (at the time it had about 145,000) was getting a slight pulsation...
I took off the 2 fronts- drove the rotors to a parts store and they turned the rotors for $10 Each.
They said they barely shaved anything off...
I bought new AC DELCO pads and put them on- quite easy.
I would suspect removing the Lambdas is just as easy...

 

[vindeezl]

I took my '08 with 20,500 miles to the dealer for an oil change on May 22

They told me that my brake pads are 70 % worn, and that the rotors are slightly out of round. Even though they are usually booked on Saturday's for service, they would have been able to repair the brakes for about $100.00 a wheel. Suddenly they had the time to do the repair.

I had a 2002 Ford Taurus, (very good car), whose brakes I overheated on Route 30 in Southeastern PA. (4 wheel discs). I did feel brake throbbing with the Ford when I applied the brakes at 60 mph. I do not feel any brake throbbing with the Outlook.

I do not drive the car 'hard'. I do not like to buy gasoline, tires or brakes. I accelerate gently and brake gently. I don't wait until the last 30 yards to stop the car for a red light at 40mph. I usually get 50,000 - 70,000 miles on a set of brakes.

Has anyone else heard of such premature brake wear??

I got my oil change and tires rotated about a month ago. last week i drove to delaware and i got a pulsing when i put on my brakes. i went a got the tires rotated again just to see if that made a difference. not much. from the sound of it, i may need to get my rotors turned. i have 28,000 plus miles on my '08. i have to do something as i will be going to illinois at the end of the month. i can't take a chance on going that far (i live in SC) with that vibration. it seems like it is only in the front. not knowing much about brakes, is it possible to change only the front and not the back or is this wear even on all four?

 

[medicrxdoc]

The wear may not be spread evenly across the axles. If you find the warped rotor and/or uneven wear, you can only do that axle. If they do find a warped rotor and need to turn it, I would have them put new pads on as well, even if they aren't needed because they have everything apart.

 

[jsimms]

When the tires were rotated; the technician may have over torqued the wheel lug nuts which can cause the rotors to warp. I would break the lug nuts loose; apply the proper amount of torque with a torque wrench. All of this after you have your rotors turned and hopefully you don't need to replace them

 

[rbarrios]

yes- you can only do the fronts- or the rears...

you dont have to do all 4.

chances are the fronts are more worn out than the rears- fronts tend to wear out much faster.
But yes- its recommended that if you turn your rotors- that you get new pads.
Its also recommended that you 'break' in your pads.
Theres some procedure where you go to an empty road and get up to speed- and do several 'panic' stops. (ill try to find the procedure).
But- this is what Ive done with my Trailblazer. I once tightened the lug nuts without a torque wrench- and it started to vibrate about 5000 miles later.
I removed the rotors- and a local parts store turned them for $10 each. They said they shaved off very little....
I put new brake pads on- and then 'broke' them in.

just like AA-78U said...
loosen the lug nuts (use a breaker bar- socket, ratchet wrench, and a long metal tube)...
and retighten the lug nuts using a torque wrench.

 

[BigTallV]

RBarrios, that driveway is CLEAN dude!

Something to be said for patience, proper care and driveway protection!

 

[rbarrios]

thanks.

for oil changes- I put down plastic- and cardboard.
and every few weeks- Ill go out- and scrub the cement with ajax and a stiff brush (where tires have left black marks) (like turning the tires while not moving much....
these are mostly at the driveway entrance- but seeing those black marks gets on my nerves.

 

[6Sixathome]

There is a fine line to getting rotors cut, if they are really bad get new ones if there is a little wobble only a little bit may have to be shaved off, too much and they will heat up quicker and warp. I'm giong through this now on my 05 VUE, before I bought it "at a Ford Dealer" the turned the rotors and installed new pads, well now they wobble hno: so new rotors and ceramic pads are in order.

 

[XRDreamliner]

Another thing to keep in mind is the stock pads are low-dust. Low-dust pads typically are less grippy - and IMO abuse the rotor with long contact time to get the equivalent stopping power. Thus, the rotor gets more wear, thinning them out, and making them more susceptible to warping.

My rotors have a slight warp to them at 26K miles. I'm going to replace the rotors and use a more effective pad, such as EBC "Green" pads.

 

[vindeezl]

The wear may not be spread evenly across the axles. If you find the warped rotor and/or uneven wear, you can only do that axle. If they do find a warped rotor and need to turn it, I would have them put new pads on as well, even if they aren't needed because they have everything apart.

just had my rotors turned and new pads put on my '08 XE. cost me almost 90 bucks. got my mechanic to do it. sad thing is that i went to the chevy dealer that does my warranty work and they were going to charge me 90 bucks just to inspect them. Bang Head made a big difference and my "baby" drives like the day i bought her, brand new! big difference. and much more cheaper. thumbs up

 

[Lookout]

ouch...actually i hear that happens a lot. don't understand it. they really should make stronger brakes.

 

[mntnpeak]

I replaced my front brakes at 50K miles and my rear at 60K miles. I placed ceramic pads. This was a very easy job. If you have a bit of time and knowledge, it will save a lot of money to DIY. There is so much improvement in driving with this style of pad. In addition, when I did have the standard on the rear and ceramic on the front, there was a marked difference in the temperature of the wheel after driving on the expressway. (lower temp, lower wear on the tires)