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Took my car to the dealer about 5 months ago to get an alignment (two enormous potholes to thank for that) and the warped front rotors re-finished.
Fast-forward to two weeks ago, and the shuddering on braking is back, leading me to believe that it's warped rotors yet again. I'm taking it to the shop this Thursday to get it fixed, but in the meantime I have two questions:
1. What can I do to prevent warped rotors? I might be hard on the brakes, so maybe different driving habits would help...
2. How much would you expect to pay for new rotors/pads and labor? This is a shop with a good reputation, recommended by more than one person.
Rotors rarely warp but they can build deposits of friction material from the pads that causes vibration that feels like a warp. Usually fixed by a light turn of the rotors to clean them off but you may want to consider different pads.
Depending on what kind of car it is, rotors can warp extremely easy. Jeep Grand Cherokees are notorious for it, I have no idea about a Chevy Sonic. On the Jeep, they are simply sized too small for the mass of the vehicle.
Will be another thread like "Amsoil" or "seafoam" ones.
Mc knows his stuff, but I'll have to disagree with him on rotors. Considering I had my share of the so called warped rotors. And some do. Cheap metal, prone to temperature related volume fluctuations, due to uneven composition and casting. Multiplied times wrong pad material for the metal times lead footed brake jobs, "rip from the start/s;am on brakes at the last moment" driving style so typical for American drivers.
Also, ever since Chevy forums became a reputable source of information?
So, going back to reputable sources, OP, whoever does your rotors, MUST bed them in immediately after install. Period. THEY won't do it, as why would THEY shoot THEMSELVES into THEIR foot, providing customers with rotors that do not need to be serviced for years?
Here's reputable article for you, backed up by my personal experience from ever since I started doing this:
in more than 40 years of professional racing, including the Shelby/Ford GT 40s – one of the most intense brake development program in history - I have never seen a warped brake disc.
In fact every case of "warped brake disc" that I have investigated, whether on a racing car or a street car, has turned out to be friction pad material transferred unevenly to the surface of the disc. This uneven deposition results in thickness variation (TV) or run-out due to hot spotting that occurred at elevated temperatures.
UKR, that is good information you posted. You are correct that most problems are not warped rotors but are in fact tied to improper pad bedding procedure.
But, warped rotors DO occur in a lot of cases. Jeeps simply have too small (too thin, really) a rotor for that heavy of a vehicle. Too many hard stops will warp them in short order.
On other cars, a sticking caliper can heat up a rotor to the point of warpage as well. (I remember a popular mod for Corvette guys back in the day was to take their C4's and bolt TWO calipers on each front rotor. Some company made a kit to do this, but with two calipers on the same stock sized rotor, you can imagine they didn't last long under those conditions. Ran way too hot.)
My Dodge Dakota came with warped rotors as a factory option. The brake system was way too small for that truck. Of course in 2002 they had a bigger brake and rotor. In fact its a pretty common swap for 97-2001 Dakotas.
My wife's car? I jus put the first set of pads on it. My Ford is on its first set of rotors at 125k. I just hit 156k on those factory replacements.
Do you go through puddles and splash water? If you brake late. Or ride the brakes you could warp them. Sometimes a enthusiastic tire guy will crank those lug nuts on. I usually request a torque wrench tightening of wheel lugs
Be aware that the more rotors are corrected by turning, the more likely they will warp later. If yours have been turned many times, it might be best to just replace them. If you DIY, it won't really cost much for two rotors.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We had to replace them every 10-12,000 with warped rotors on a 1996 4Runner with the big V6 and automatic there was just too much weight for the thin rotors and we can't go anywhere without going down several steep hills. We also had 2 Cherokees, that would go maybe 15-20,000. A light car like a Sonic should not have such a problem. If not on warranty, be careful and shop around Last time I needed brakes and rotors for my Ranger 4x4 several places quoted me $400-500, but the local Firestone store did them for $248 and they have been great since. With such a difference I asked about their mechanic, thinking maybe it was a high school kid, but he is a certified Toyota mechanic that got laid off in the recession.
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