LC200 Brakes - "Warping" Rotors every 10k

[dms]

When I had a 2013 Land Cruiser I had the same problem with warped rotors. Most of my driving is on the interstate between OKC and North Texas with very little city driving. No load except my German Shepherd and I went through rotors about every 20K miles or so. When I replaced my 13 (was bought by the service manager at a local Toyota dealership) I got a 2018 and whatever Toyota did with the brake upgrade has made a difference. My 18 now has about 37K miles (I quit driving it when they announced the end of the V8) and still has the original rotors. That said, I had a 2018 LX570 and went through a sets of rotors in a year (about 35K miles).
The brakes on the 300 series (LX600) are much firmer and it stops quicker. I only have about 7K miles on mine and it will be interesting to see how the rotors hold up.

 

[studawg]

As a couple others have stated, the rotors dont actually "warp". It is an uneven transfer of pad material to the rotor that causes high spots.

1. Start with OEM Pads and Rotors
2. Bed them in. Most shops dont do this.

Accelerate to 30, SLAM on brakes to almost a stop, but dont stop. Do that twice. Then accelerate to 50 MPH and do it, twice, then to 70 MPH, twice. Never coming to a stop, and then drive around letting the brakes cool before coming to a complete stop. Its hard to find a suitable place to do this, which is why most shops dont do it.

Do all that and if you are still having issues, well, I dont know what to tell you! Start experimenting with different rotor/pad combos I guess and/or adjust your driving style.

I used Hawk LTS pads on my Excursion diesel tow rig and they were great but I think OEM is probably fine for normal use on a 200.

Just my opinion.

 

[bloc]

Never coming to a stop, and then drive around letting the brakes cool before coming to a complete stop. Its hard to find a suitable place to do this, which is why most shops dont do it.

And don't underestimate how long you need to drive to let the rotors cool down after such a workout. Probably 10-15 minutes or more of no brake application if possible, depending on ambient temps.

Where I live there are a couple highway underpasses with U-turn lanes at each one.. I'm able to get the acceleration and braking done between these two, then jump onto an on-ramp for the highway and cruise for as long as I want, if it's not rush hour anyway.

 

[LX4x4]

It's all about managing heat and not allowing pad material to bake onto the rotor. If you have a hard stop (or a series of stops that would allow the brakes to get hot), never stand still with your foot on the brake. That will cook pad material onto the rotor. Friction coefficient at that spot will be higher and you'll feel the pulsation. One strategy to manage this is to stop short of your goal and allow the vehicle to slowly creep forward during the stoplight event. Or put the truck in neutral if on a slight slope that will allow minor movement.

I do this, on all my vehicles, mostly keeping the lightest pressure to keep it from creeping forward after a hard stop.

But if you share your vehicle with a spouse, you can't ask them to do that.

Mine received in car turn rotor at 28k that is still going good. Yes you loose a little bit of thickness, just to cut the deposit.. rotors runs very true with this method and should be good for a while more.

 

[skrypj]

I'd bet money the rotors are not warped. I bet they have deposits on them. Take it on a long straight road and do 4-5 hard repeated stops 60-10mph and see what happens. Dont come to a complete stop.

I had this happen on my stock F150 rotors at like 15k miles and so I eventually hard braked a few times and the pulsation went away and ran them out to 95k miles with no issues.

Also, engine brake. Then you are not asking the brakes to do so much.

 

[c4xplsv]

Akenbono yellow pads solved this problem for me. Had the same problem every 20k with OEM. I’ve had the above mentioned pads with OE rotors for 60k+ and no shudder or “warped” feeling. Driving habits didn’t change. They bite like metallic and wear like ceramic

Now that I’m building the truck I did switch to a Wilwood BBK, but previously that’s what I had.

 

[Boston Mangler]

I have had this issue too on my 2014 Tundra

Folks on here adamantly denied OEM rotor issue and claim its "driving style" etc...

Look at my list of prior yotas in my sig.

Never had a rotor issue with a single one of them other than the 2014 Tundra. FACTS

If i am not mistaken, there is a certain year's batch of Tundra's that actually had a recall on prematurely warping OEM rotors.

I was eating OEM rotors on my 2014 Tundra every 15-20k, horrendous warping.

It was a warping issue, not a deposit issue, put them on lathe at friends shop and you could see it with the naked eye

I 100% know how to drive, use engine braking, etc... Tundra was ONLY vehicle i have ever had with rotor issues.

I put DBAs and Hawk LTS pads on it and when i sold it they had close to 50k on them and mic;'d almost new spec and zero signs of warpage. My 200 will be getting them also when i finally tear it all apart.

Some folks refuse to believe Toyota produced some flawed parts, but some of their rotors were flawed, and ill stand by that all day long.

My .04 (inflation)

 

[dnh1]

I have this exact same issue on my 200. I did not have this issue, then replaced the brakes and rotors at about 50,000 miles. It started shortly thereafter. It’s annoying.

 

[2014 LEX 570 GA]

DBA upgrade for the win!

 

[skrypj]

I have had this issue too on my 2014 Tundra

Folks on here adamantly denied OEM rotor issue and claim its "driving style" etc...

Look at my list of prior yotas in my sig.

Never had a rotor issue with a single one of them other than the 2014 Tundra. FACTS

If i am not mistaken, there is a certain year's batch of Tundra's that actually had a recall on prematurely warping OEM rotors.

I was eating OEM rotors on my 2014 Tundra every 15-20k, horrendous warping.

It was a warping issue, not a deposit issue, put them on lathe at friends shop and you could see it with the naked eye

I 100% know how to drive, use engine braking, etc... Tundra was ONLY vehicle i have ever had with rotor issues.

I put DBAs and Hawk LTS pads on it and when i sold it they had close to 50k on them and mic;'d almost new spec and zero signs of warpage. My 200 will be getting them also when i finally tear it all apart.

Some folks refuse to believe Toyota produced some flawed parts, but some of their rotors were flawed, and ill stand by that all day long.

My .04 (inflation)

Toyota can’t possibly make flawed parts. Not possible.

 

[gasman4u]

Toyota can’t possibly make flawed parts. Not possible.

 

[cboyd]

I had this problem on the rear for a number of rotor swaps - under CPO warranty - and each time, about 10k later I would get warping. I found out at least in a couple of cases, the rear wheel lugs were being tightened beyond torque spec, which here and otherwhere will indicate premature warping

I finally changed dealers, told them what was going on and they said they do not allow their techs to use impact wrenches to install wheels. I didn't see if for a while after that - even with towing.

I have also heard of cases where a damaged wheel (out of true) has caused some of vibrations in the system, which also can lead to a mis-diagnosis of rotor issues.

eventually on my truck, I reached the service life of my pads, and given a lot of issues I had on my 100 from the first day I owned it (and suffering a long time before I gutted the brake system) - I decided I needed better modulation on this truck for the next interval of it's life . Since I have 17' RW wheels the BBK or PowerStop brake kits don't fit... but PowerStop did come out with their "D-Line" kit which is the brake rotor and pads from their bigger kit - but use factory calipers. The rotors are far more robust than anything out there...

I swapped in all new rotors, pads from StopTech and also optioned in new OEM calipers all around - and the brake pedal feel, modulation and stopping power have been greatly improved!! highly recommended upgrade!

 

[M1911]

This may sound weird, but give it a try. Grease your front and rear driveshafts well. Make sure you hit all the zircs. It might have no effect, but it also might fix the lurching feeling as you come to a stop.

 

[smm3]

I have a 2014 with 136k miles on her and the original front and rear rotors. I haven’t had any of the issues described above. Guess I just got a lucky one. I do have a timing chain cover leak though and have been quoted 2500 to re seal so that’s my trade off…..

 

[ElJayBird]

This may sound weird, but give it a try. Grease your front and rear driveshafts well. Make sure you hit all the zircs. It might have no effect, but it also might fix the lurching feeling as you come to a stop.

Me: "Doc, my butthole itches something fierce!"
Doctor: "Have you tried brushing your teeth?"

LOL, yeah, it sounds weird - never heard of a drive shaft causing brake pulsing. Humming, grinding, deceleration, sure - but never pulsing. Who knows? I'm wrong a lot, so....

I'd try the bedding process before doing anything else. As others have described - drive fast (65-70), brake hard, do this until you start to smell the rotors and then drive around without touching the brakes for a bit to let them cool down.

 

[M1911]

Me: "Doc, my butthole itches something fierce!"
Doctor: "Have you tried brushing your teeth?"

LOL, yeah, it sounds weird - never heard of a drive shaft causing brake pulsing. Humming, grinding, deceleration, sure - but never pulsing. Who knows? I'm wrong a lot, so....

I'd try the bedding process before doing anything else. As others have described - drive fast (65-70), brake hard, do this until you start to smell the rotors and then drive around without touching the brakes for a bit to let them cool down.

The lurching when you come to a stop can come from the driveshafts. They need to slip as the nose dips under braking and the driveshafts change length. If they aren't greased, then they won't slip smoothly.

It may not have anything to do with what you are feeling, but it might, it costs very little to do, and a lot of mechanics who change your oil don't bother greasing the driveshaft.

I've noticed times when I thought my brakes were bad, but then got an oil change and driveshafts greased and that feeling went away.

 

[RangerPepe]

Just want to add to conversation. I just replaced front rotors, pads and pins with springs on my 2017 LX570. There reason been excessive vibration in steering wheel while braking off the highway speeds. Another symptom was a sporadic brake squeal before brakes warm up. Old rotors have been previously turned by the dealer 22k miles ago with new brake pads installed. Old pads had 45%-50% life left.

Replaced with OEM everything. Noticed that new brake pads looked funny with non-uniform lining material look. Probably would go with Akebono ceramics next time. After initial bed in everything feels and sounds good. Let’s see how long that is going to last. Will update if any issues.

BTW for OEM rotors it takes M8 X 1.25 bolts to use in service holes for detachment off the knuckle.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Just an example -
Top photo is my wife's RX330. We live at the top of a hill. She speeds down the hill, brakes hard at the bottom, and comes to a full stop on a regular basis. Perfect behavior for building up pad deposits on the rotor. Her car pulses bad when braking. Notes the vertical pad prints (ignore the finger smudge on the rotor).

Bottom photo is my LC200. I consciously try to never ever come to a complete stop when the brakes are hot.

Re: Akebono pads - I've been a big fan of Akebono for years. However, there is some chatter on the Internet that Akebonos can be more likely to leave pad deposits. I also noticed a rather significant improvement in pedal firmness when I switched from fairly new Akebonos to OE pads on my 200, with no other changes. (Maybe due to the anti-vibration liner built into the Akebono pads?) I know Akebono makes different product lines, and I'm not sure which one I had used on my Cruiser. However, I'll be swapping my wife's car over from Akebono to OE later this summer.

 

[jrmiv]

All, just following up. Took my LC back into the shop and tried to give a good description of what I had been experiencing (and mentioned some of the tips y'all pointed out -- like driveshaft greasing etc.). They said they looked at everything they could think of, and nothing stood out as being messed up with the calipers, but the front rotors were warped.

First 2 sets they gave me were Duralast Gold, the last set that warped were Akebonos. They're ordering OEM from Toyota and putting them on tomorrow. They're submitting the akebono set for warranty, so not sure how much they're going to charge me out the door for this ordeal.

I guess I'll give another update in 5-10k miles to see if the problem is solved. I'll definitely work on my braking habits to try and avoid build-up during stops.

 

[M1911]

All, just following up. Took my LC back into the shop and tried to give a good description of what I had been experiencing (and mentioned some of the tips y'all pointed out -- like driveshaft greasing etc.). They said they looked at everything they could think of, and nothing stood out as being messed up with the calipers, but the front rotors were warped.

First 2 sets they gave me were Duralast Gold, the last set that warped were Akebonos. They're ordering OEM from Toyota and putting them on tomorrow. They're submitting the akebono set for warranty, so not sure how much they're going to charge me out the door for this ordeal.

I guess I'll give another update in 5-10k miles to see if the problem is solved. I'll definitely work on my braking habits to try and avoid build-up during stops.

Could your calipers be sticking? The next time you go for a decent drive, when you stop put your hand on the wheel. If the wheel is hot to the touch, then your caliper is probably sticking.