I would. For what it’s worth, I highly recommend Raybestos rotors. While rotors in general are a crap shoot, the last three pairs of Raybestos rotors have been terrific out of the box. I have purchased the Advanced Technology, with the painted hat and tighter specs, and the Professional Grade, a little cheaper and quicker to rust. Both have been excellent. The Pro Grades are still on my wife’s Fusion and are smooth as silk after 25,000 miles. The AT’s are on my Mazda 6 now for 35,000 and are still smooth and great looking. The other AT’s are on my son’s Dodge Journey and they were just installed. If you want something cheaper that is less rusty I would recommend Centric. They have a mid-grade rotor that is priced less than the Raybestos AT’s and slightly higher then the Pro Grades but they are painted so they are not as quick to rust. Good luck!!!
First step is to properly re-install the wheels with all the lug nuts this time. It’s possible that will fix the problem. If not, then let us know.
The shop that told you nothing was wrong, yet didn’t notice missing lug nuts? hmmm … Probably good idea to find a new shop. Ask your friends/relatives/co-workers for recommendations who they use. Unless they didn’t charge you for that “advice”.
I think the bottom line here is that new thumping noises from the brakes are not normal, your shop doesn’t seem to want to do the work to find out why the noise is there, they didn’t even notice a missing lug nut, and you need a new shop.
I recommend finding an independently owned and operated local shop with a good reputation. Once the problem is resolved, make this shop your new provider.
Let us know how you make out. We do care, but from here there’s not much we can do except to offer advice.
They did not. I don’t know if you remember me. But I’m the guy who had the “hard to start after refueling” problem. This was the shop that found out the problem and fixed it. After the dealership’s mechanic and another mechanic by my house were unable to.
When I came to them with this problem, I had brought an estimate from another mechanic. They couldn’t tell me the issue, they suggested to replace the rotors, brake and axels. the whole she bang. When this shop saw the estimate, they laughed and said it’s too much. They lifted the car. Perhaps they didn’t see the lug nuts. and told me the only “issue” is the rotors. But again, they recommended me not to replace them just yet. I was ready to get everything replaced that day but they told me not to. This is why I kinda trust them but the sound does make me feel uneasy.
I left, without charge, not a cent.
Thanks. I’ll give them one more shot and bring the car back to them this weekend and I’ll let you guys know what they say
The second paragraph in the original post states that the thumping noise is caused by rust (pits) in the front rotors.
@toraben86 If you are not comfortable with the condition of the brakes you can have the rotors and pads replace now. It seems the shop was looking out for you financially in advising that you don’t need to replace your brake now.
On the other side of this, if they told you that you must replace the pads and rotors now and because of lack of funds you continued to drive without any further symptoms for perhaps a year you might think that shop was dishonest.
Yup. That’s why I posted here for 2nd opinion. I was ready to change rotors/axels/pads that day but they told me not to. and didn’t even charge me. They lifted the car and they did inspect the vehicle from underneath.
I’ll just have them replace just to be safe. Hopefully the rotors are the culprit
Read the post again. That isn’t what it says.
May as well get new front brakes now, they will be needed eventually and may last the life of the vehicle.
Get the pads and rotors replaced, there is no point in reusing the old pads even if only half worn, you don’t want to have to replace them in the near future.
+1
I would have no confidence whatsoever in a mechanic who was supposedly checking my brakes, but missed incredibly obvious things like missing lug nuts.
I had a car that sat for a while, rusted rortors, same symptoms, It took a 100 miles or so of stop and go and then they were fine.
As grandma used to say, even a broken clock is right twice a day. If you’re missing lug nuts, that makes me suspect the shop forgot to torque them down after the car was down off the lift. One went missing, but the others might be/have been loose, which allows the wheel to wiggle around, which can make a thump. Even if you then catch it and tighten it down, all that wiggling can damage the lug holes in the wheel. This can be the result of that:
which results in it being nearly impossible to install the wheel completely centered, which can result in thumping noises.
I once saw a wheel that had similar damage but far more severe- it was so far gone that the holes were nearly connected! There was only about 1/2 inch of material left between them. The owner had run so long on loose lug nuts it almost lost the wheel. He was complaining about a clunking sound on stops and starts. Now for the best part- he was in school for… mechanical engineering! 
Shadow’s theory is an excellent one. If it turns out to be accurate, you may want to check the other wheels too.
The OP says that shop didn’t charge them a fee. It wasn’t a paid for service in other words, instead it was a free-bee, a quick look-see, an educated guess speculation. Since the shop didn’t charge the OP, then I’d give the shop the benefit of the doubt. They were probably trying to give the OP a little free guidance is all. I doubt they removed the wheels or even – if so equipped – the hubcaps.
I dunno George. Part of that checkover would be to get the car on a lift so you could at least see the rotors from the back side. While it’s up there, since you’re diagnosing thumping, you’re probably gonna do the wiggle test on the wheel to check for play, because if it’s that you’ve just invested all of 10 seconds of your time into making a sale.
And if you’re doing the wiggle test and your face is right up at the wheel and you fail to notice that a lug nut is missing?
I’m inclined to agree with George. I don’t think the shop should have simply done an on-the-ground look-see for a brake problem.
Having said that, I do respect their having not charged the OP and had I been there and heard the driver’s description I probably would feel differently. It ain’t always black & white.
I understand the skepticism of some people here. But I’m gonna explain a bit more why I’m willing to give this shop the benefit of the doubt.
I bought this vehicle from a dealership about 2 months ago. The next day after i purchased it, I brought the car to this shop for an oil change. I asked them to do a quick inspection. They did that and they lifted the car and spent about 20 minutes or so inspecting things. They also did one of those computer diagnose thing. They gave me a list of the issues (oil leaking/steering wheel etc) with the car, knowing full well that I wouldn’t be doing any of these fixes at their shop. They knew I would be bringing the car back to the dealership to fix the issues. I only paid for the oil change, no charge for the inspection.
I came back for the second time to this shop because one of the issues (car hard to start after refueling) was unresolved by the dealership (brought it to them 4 times) and local mechanic by my house was not able to figure out the problem. Here’s a thread I made a while ago [SOLVED] Code P0455 - Car is hard to start after filling up gas tank . They spent about half an hour or so and they charged me $150 + tax which I thought was reasonable. They also verified the fixes made by the dealership (steering wheel/leaking)
The third time I brought the car when I noticed the car started making this thumping noise. They drove it a few blocks with me. Everything feels good to them. They told me the brake is good, the car runs good etc. and they lifted the car and told me the rotor is rusted and probably that’s what causing the sound but they assured me it’s safe and told me to replace the rotors when I change the brake pads. They spent at least 20 minutes on the car. Again, they did not charge me for this. They did not take off the wheels to do a proper brake inspection. Also, during this visit, I brought them an estimate from another mechanic where they told me the change the rotors/pads/axels everything. I was willing to have everything replaced with them that day but they told me none of the suggestion by other mechanic were necessary. They told me it’s too much. The only thing they agreed with them was the rotors.
I will come back this Saturday and I will ask them to do a proper brake inspection to make sure everything is right. I will update.
UPDATE
It was the rotors. They changed the front rotors and the thumping disappeared.
One last question as I do not want to create another thread for this. I’m looking for drain floor plugs (?) for my vehicle… the ones used to prevent water from getting into my vehicle/carpet area. I have been searching for the plugs but can’t seem to find it.
Can anyone give me the proper term for the plugs?
attached
the holes
Thanks!
Floorboard drain plugs.
You can buy plugs at any parts store or even big-box hardware store. However I urge you to check with the dealer’s parts window to be sure they’re supposed to be there. You do not want to plug up holes designed to allow water to drain out of the cabin, or ones that are there for ventilation to allow drying.
It being a Mitsu, you may want to check with a body shop or order a Mitsu body manual over the internet. I don’t think Mitsu is selling in the U.S. anymore.