my 4Runner with 45000 miles has warped discs. I get vibrations in the steering wheel when I brake and the dealer flagged that as warped discs. It’s been driven on a mix of city roads and highways with fairly mild, unaggressive driving style.
I had a heated discussion with the dealer on whether this is considered defective. They view it as a driving style issue.
I have never had warped discs on any cars that I own before. So I find it difficult to believe that this has anything to do with driving style.
Any idea on why this happens and how to deal with it with the dealer. Should I push the dealer to cover part or all of the cost?
thanks for any help
You cannot compare a previous vehicle to the current one as to the rotor problem. Rotors vary by manufacturer as to material, thickness, air cooled or not, etc.
Other than driving habits rotors can warp due to brake pads being squeezed onto the rotor while you’re sitting idle at a stop light. This influences the heat dissipation.
Rotors are a wear and tear item, warpage after 45k miles does not constitute a factory defect IMHO, and the dealer is under no obligation to repair this for you free, or even at a discount.
It’s certainly not the dealer’s fault the rotors are warped.
A driving technique which might help prevent brake rotor warp is: after coming to a stop after hard, or prolonged braking, let the vehicle creep for the last 5 to 10 feet. This will expose ALL of the rotor surface to cooling air, to allow more even cooling. Unequal cooling and heating plays a significant part in rotor warpage.
Honda has some pretty beefy rotors. Pulsing or shuddering brakes are not always warped rotors. Did the dealer do a runout test or is he just guessing?
How did this reply end up here? I was answering the post about the Honda Civic.
My bad, I had just read a post about a Civic and I guess it was still on my mind. But I still question whether the dealer was just guessing of did they actually take the wheel off and check. There are other causes of brake shudder.