Rotor warp and warranty

[mooneywa]

Any luck with getting the rotors replaced prior to 36k for warping under warranty? Had the truck in about 8k ago for warped rotors and new pads. They turned the rotors and now we're back to vibes again. I'm at 35,500 miles and would like to get this taken care of before I transition to the extended platinum which I know they're not covered under. Thanks

 

[Markuson]

Any luck with getting the rotors replaced prior to 36k for warping under warranty? Had the truck in about 8k ago for warped rotors and new pads. They turned the rotors and now we're back to vibes again. I'm at 35,500 miles and would like to get this taken care of before I transition to the extended platinum which I know they're not covered under. Thanks

New rotors are cheap...maybe $100 each.

Just my dumb 1.5 cents...but If they are warping that quickly, might need to start using S mode instead of drive on long, steep descents...to do more engine braking.

If you are NOT doing prolonged braking...maybe talk to them about a particular rotor that’s bad.

I can tell you that all four of my OEM rotors would still be in use right now after 120k...on my extremely heavy, hard wheeled truck. Only had to replace fronts because I totally screwed up on a 3.5 week wheeling trip and went metal to metal on fronts.

OEM rotors are pretty dang robust.

 

[cboyd]

I bought a used 2015 about a month or so ago with 70k on the clock. when I bought it it had a lot of tire balance issues, which I thought was from sitting on the lot... so I figured i'd drive it a bit and things would square out. A couple of days in it still had a good vibration, so I took it in and had them balance all 4 - which they did with no hesitation.

About 2 weeks later I noticed that I was getting pulsing in the brakes. it seemed to be coming from the rear, so I wanted to have a look at the pads and rotors. when I went to get the wheels off, I could not get the tire off the truck on either side! I got all of the lug nuts off, but the tire would not come loose from the axle. I immediately took it to the dealer and complained... they came back and said the rear rotors were after-market and that the rim/rotor were sticking together. As such they replaced the rotors directly... suspicious, I asked why and they said it was because they were aftermarket and the truck was sold certified pre-owned, so they should have been replaced.

what i really think (and said as much) is that they over-torqued the lugs after the balance job with an impact wrench, and warped the rotors. they didn't look aftermarket to me... the service advisor said that they "owned it" and just took care of it under the "certified pre-owned" statement -- to keep me happy. I'm glad they did all that, but I wished they would be more forthcoming if this is an actual problem with rotors being warped by over-torque.

IMHO, Anyone who puts on lugs nuts with an impact gun should be beaten with said device...


to add: so I am not sure if they did as they stated for CPO, as a customer-satisfaction 12moth warranty, or hit my extended platinum plan.. i didnt see the bill-out. they just handed me the keys.

 

[mooneywa]

$100 per corner may be "cheap", but I can think of a lot better things to do with $400 than pay for new rotors before the original warranty is up. This is a '17 and my '15 was traded at 66k with original rotors and nary an issue. Since my '99 Grand Cherokee I had back in the early 2000s, I've never gone less than 75k before doing anything brake related.

Houston doesn't exactly have gradients that would require downshifting, the 1 trip to ski country saw lots of use of the gears, I don't tow, and I don't tailgate, tires are stock, so on and so forth. I have the tires rot/bal at Discount Tire and I watch them use a torque wrench, so while that's a distinct possibility that they were hosed by an impact gun, it's not especially likely.

That all being said, back to the original question, has anyone had any luck with rotors replaced under warranty prior to 36k?

 

[Markuson]

I bought a used 2015 about a month or so ago with 70k on the clock. when I bought it it had a lot of tire balance issues, which I thought was from sitting on the lot... so I figured i'd drive it a bit and things would square out. A couple of days in it still had a good vibration, so I took it in and had them balance all 4 - which they did with no hesitation.

About 2 weeks later I noticed that I was getting pulsing in the brakes. it seemed to be coming from the rear, so I wanted to have a look at the pads and rotors. when I went to get the wheels off, I could not get the tire off the truck on either side! I got all of the lug nuts off, but the tire would not come loose from the axle. I immediately took it to the dealer and complained... they came back and said the rear rotors were after-market and that the rim/rotor were sticking together. As such they replaced the rotors directly... suspicious, I asked why and they said it was because they were aftermarket and the truck was sold certified pre-owned, so they should have been replaced.

what i really think (and said as much) is that they over-torqued the lugs after the balance job with an impact wrench, and warped the rotors. they didn't look aftermarket to me... the service advisor said that they "owned it" and just took care of it under the "certified pre-owned" statement -- to keep me happy. I'm glad they did all that, but I wished they would be more forthcoming if this is an actual problem with rotors being warped by over-torque.

IMHO, Anyone who puts on lugs nuts with an impact gun should be beaten with said device...


to add: so I am not sure if they did as they stated for CPO, as a customer-satisfaction 12moth warranty, or hit my extended platinum plan.. i didnt see the bill-out. they just handed me the keys.

There’s a good possibility they did simply stick.

My RW wheels used to require a huge pry bar to get them in-stuck from my rotors because the aluminum would react with the metal...and build its own bond to it. Not unusual at all, actually. Do very likely not a case of them being weird... It happens.

 

[Markuson]

$100 per corner may be "cheap", but I can think of a lot better things to do with $400 than pay for new rotors before the original warranty is up. This is a '17 and my '15 was traded at 66k with original rotors and nary an issue. Since my '99 Grand Cherokee I had back in the early 2000s, I've never gone less than 75k before doing anything brake related.

Houston doesn't exactly have gradients that would require downshifting, the 1 trip to ski country saw lots of use of the gears, I don't tow, and I don't tailgate, tires are stock, so on and so forth. I have the tires rot/bal at Discount Tire and I watch them use a torque wrench, so while that's a distinct possibility that they were hosed by an impact gun, it's not especially likely.

That all being said, back to the original question, has anyone had any luck with rotors replaced under warranty prior to 36k?

What I meant was....if you think it could possibly have been related to heavy, superheated braking...and you are teetering between turning them (being thinner makes them even more prone to warping), you might decide to consider replacing rather than turning next time. Also...in the chance it’s a heavy brake foot...wouldn’t really be their fault. Not saying that’s it. Just thinking of possible causes other that screwy rotors.

 

[bloc]

“Warped” rotors are almost always uneven pad deposits and the biggest contributor to this is sitting with your foot on the brake after coming to a stop from high speeds. You can get brakes VERY hot to the point of boiling the fluid and killing the pads and as long as the wheels keep turning til the rotors are largely cooled they won’t get “warped”.

As for the dealer fixing.. I can’t help. But if it continues to be a problem you might look at how your drive cycle is impacting the brakes. These are heavy vehicles and while the brakes are excellent considering that, a case could be made for treating them differently than a camry

 

[Markuson]

“Warped” rotors are almost always uneven pad deposits and the biggest contributor to this is sitting with your foot on the brake after coming to a stop from high speeds. You can get brakes VERY hot to the point of boiling the fluid and killing the pads and as long as the wheels keep turning til the rotors are largely cooled they won’t get “warped”.

As for the dealer fixing.. I can’t help. But if it continues to be a problem you might look at how your drive cycle is impacting the brakes. These are heavy vehicles and while the brakes are excellent considering that, a case could be made for treating them differently than a camry

Yep. If I’m not using S mode to engine brake on i70 East into Denver out of the mountains...and there is traffic? Brakes will SUPER-heat every single time.

And...what he said after coming to a stop. Let your pads move a bit around spots on the rotor...not just boiling in place.

 

[bloc]

And if you can’t move at all, put the transmission in neutral to reduce the Brake clamping force needed to keep the truck stationary. Or use the parking brake which uses a secondary drum inside the rear rotors. Still not great to have the hot main disk pads sitting in the same spot on a hot rotor, but little-no clamping force helps prevent pad transfer.

My process is usually leaving a 2-3 car gap in front of me and letting the truck creep forward, if I’m getting off the freeway or something.

I haven’t had a warped rotor in years despite driving all of my cars quite hard. On my 200 I did cause some really strange looking wear marks on my front rotors likely from overheating the factory pads.. but they drove perfectly.

 

[mooneywa]

Fellas - I appreciate the replies, but in 20 years of driving, I've never had a vehicle have brake issues like this. I promise I didn't, when I bought it in September, suddenly decide to do panic stops and hold the brakes for 15 minutes or ride them from the top of the Eisenhower Tunnel all the way to Arvada or tailgate or two foot or any of the other stuff discussed here. In fact the miles are probably close to 85% highway miles where most of the stops are cancel cruise and coast off an exit ramp.

 

[mooneywa]

And as I mentioned, my 2015 200 had 66k trouble free miles on the brakes.

 

[Markuson]

Fellas - I appreciate the replies, but in 20 years of driving, I've never had a vehicle have brake issues like this. I promise I didn't, when I bought it in September, suddenly decide to do panic stops and hold the brakes for 15 minutes or ride them from the top of the Eisenhower Tunnel all the way to Arvada or tailgate or two foot or any of the other stuff discussed here. In fact the miles are probably close to 85% highway miles where most of the stops are cancel cruise and coast off an exit ramp.

Don’t take it as aimed at you...or doubting your skills. It’s just a common mistake, so just trying to rule that out.

It’s amazibg how many times I smell guys frying their brakes on trails where even pretty decent drivers are forgetting not to ride their brakes all day on super steep, 4Lo stuff. :-0

No clue as to whether they’ll cover that under warranty...

 

[mooneywa]

Ha - no skills, but I'd like to think a little sense here and there. Just an annoying problem to deal with and not one I want to waste money on.

 

[cboyd]

There’s a good possibility they did simply stick.

My RW wheels used to require a huge pry bar to get them in-stuck from my rotors because the aluminum would react with the metal...and build its own bond to it. Not unusual at all, actually. Do very likely not a case of them being weird... It happens.

yea, I thought of that - but in 2 weeks since they balanced the tires all the way around?? i doubt that it had time to bi-metal galvanic corrosion, but maybe.

so what you're saying is there is no correlation of warping and excess lug nut torque? Agree with the other points made on uneven pad and hot rotors... i try to avoid that always.

FWIW, Im hyper sensitive to LC braking issues, having had a constant stream on them on my '99 100 (emanating from an intermittent accumulator) from my very early ownership of it -- until I recently gutted the entire system except the hard lines - now it's absolutely awesome! (and no - I doubt it is me -- i have 2 other vehicles that get partially DD that have no brake issues whatsoever)

 

[Markuson]

yea, I thought of that - but in 2 weeks since they balanced the tires all the way around?? i doubt that it had time to bi-metal galvanic corrosion, but maybe.

so what you're saying is there is no correlation of warping and excess lug nut torque? Agree with the other points made on uneven pad and hot rotors... i try to avoid that always.

FWIW, Im hyper sensitive to LC braking issues, having had a constant stream on them on my '99 100 (emanating from an intermittent accumulator) from my very early ownership of it -- until I recently gutted the entire system except the hard lines - now it's absolutely awesome! (and no - I doubt it is me -- i have 2 other vehicles that get partially DD that have no brake issues whatsoever)

Oh... You were doubting the two week time frame. I understand.

Ya, honestly don’t k ow how long mine took to stick...

If they really balanced two weeks prior, you’d probably see some “clean spots” where they recently removed prior balance weights on inner rim...?

 

[cboyd]

Oh... You were doubting the two week time frame. I understand.

Ya, honestly don’t k ow how long mine took to stick...

If they really balanced two weeks prior, you’d probably see some “clean spots” where they recently removed prior balance weights on inner rim...?

it's no doubt they balanced them... the tires were basically square from sitting for a month or so on the lot in our coldest stretch... no doubt they had them off... so yes, I am questioning how they got stuck on in 2 weeks. Trust me I know they were cranked on, since I had to use an impact wrench to get the lug nuts off.

 

[Markuson]

it's no doubt they balanced them... the tires were basically square from sitting for a month or so on the lot in our coldest stretch... no doubt they had them off... so yes, I am questioning how they got stuck on in 2 weeks. Trust me I know they were cranked on, since I had to use an impact wrench to get the lug nuts off.

Wow. Should have been 97ft#...
If you couldn’t loosen them with the iron, they’re lucky they didn’t break a lug!

 

[Sandroad]

Back to the original question......I think they should replace the rotors and pads again under the 3/36 warranty if they "warped" a second time in only 8K miles. Brake defects are covered under the OEM warranty and vibration while braking is not normal.

 

[bloc]

I’m not doubting anyone’s driving abilities, just pointing out the ending part of my message earlier.. these are heavy trucks and IMO that can make them more sensitive to some of the things that other vehicles might shrug off.

Back to the original question......I think they should replace the rotors and pads again under the 3/36 warranty if they "warped" a second time in only 8K miles. Brake defects are covered under the OEM warranty and vibration while braking is not normal.

I agree. And they probably won’t want to replace until the rotors get below the minimum thickness, but if they have been turned, mass which acts as a heat sink is also gone, and they will be more prone to heat related issues in the future.

The front rotors on my cruiser had apparently been turned a number of times before I got it by the PO. I eventually replaced because of the odd wear pattern I mentioned earlier.. and yes they were above the min thickness but IIRC 10% of the width had been removed.. considering there is a big void in the middle for cooling that’s a significant percentage of the total mass of the disk.

Anyway maybe see if the service advisor will see things from that perspective. Otherwise you might be on the hook for new rotors if it’s that important to you.

 

[mooneywa]

So the final answer is that the rotors are covered (but not the pads) until 36k. They re-turned the rotors. They said the based on their thickness the last turn was probably a very very light turn and did little more than take some stuff off the surface. They said the thickness was akin to essentially not having them turned at all. The did a much more thorough job and I can tell the difference certainly just in driving off the lot.

That pads were replaced when I first "turned" the rotors so they were not an issue.

As always, thanks all for the help.