I have a 2010 Honda Odyssey with 71,000 miles on it. It was vibrating while breaking at about 60 mph so we went to a Sears Auto shop on August 30, 2013. They did a disc rotor refinishing and installed new brake hardware for $160.08. The vibration continued and I went to Sears again and he assessed the problem and he said that rear brake rotors had to be installed for a total of $253.75. He asked me to bring it in tomorrow as he did not have the part. What is wrong with this picture. are they being honest?
Please advise. Thank you.
Those prices seem very reasonable to me. I’ve used Sears Auto years ago to fix the brakes on my early 70’s Ford truck and they did a good job then. And I use them for battery load checks and alternator checks. They do a good job on those kind of things. The Sears Auto techs seem well trained and well supervised. But they do work on any almost make/model/year brought to them, so that dilutes their experience and training on Hondas. You might get better results on a perplexing brake problem like this at a local inde shop, someone who specializes in Hondas or Asian cars. First suggestion, maybe ask coworkers, friends, etc for recommendations for an inde shop and get their assessment. (I wouldn’t use a Honda dealer unless it is for warranty work,. better bang for the buck an an inde.)
What else? This symptom can occur – and frequently does on newer cars due to the lighter weight rotors used – if the wheels are ever installed incorrectly. There is an order the wheel lug nuts have to be tightened, in rounds, and a spec’d amount of torque increase each round of tightening. If this isn’t followed – if the tech simply mounts the wheel and tightens the lug nuts as tight as his impact hammer is set – this can warp the rotors. The symptom is usually that the owner has had new tires put on, or rotated, and then everything seems ok, but after a few thousand miles, a pulsing sensation is noticed. If this sequence of events sounds familiar, that may be the cause. In that case, new rotors are probably needed. Sometimes the flange can get warped too during this incorrect tightening sequence, and that would require the flange be replaced, otherwise it will just warp the new rotors too. Any mechanic has a tool to measure if the flange is warped. Suggest to have that test done before installing new rotors. Best of luck.
Thank you very much.
Which rotors were resurfaced? Fronts only? And u still have vibration? So tech says do the rears than? Genius!