Brake Rotor warping

[Gman]

I am a new Lexus LX 450 owner and have some concern of what appears to be a re-curring problem with the front brake rotors warping very frequently.

I own a 1997 LX 450 with 56k miles and the vehicle has always been serviced at a Lexus dealer. The service records I have inhereted show rotor resurfacing and eventual replacement over the last 15k miles. The vehicle has only had 4k miles put on it since the rotor and brake pads were replaced by Lexus and now the rotor is warped again. I am trying to resolve this with Lexus and was wondering if this is a problem with other Lexus LX 450 owners.

Thanks for any info. BTW, this is a very nice SUV to own and drive and look forward to many more years of service.

[steve r]

My 96 LX450 has just over 90K miles and I've replaced the front rotors twice, both times from wearing past the point of resurfacing rather than warping. The rotors wear down faster than any other car I've owned, but not as fast as what you're describing.

Also, my front pads need to be replaced every 10-15K miles, which seems excessive (I'm not an aggressive driver), but from what I've heard isn't unusual. Budget accordingly.

[PGHLexo]

I own a 97 LX450 with 74,000 miles on it. I live in a very hilly area and I go through brakes quite often. Changing my front brakes around 12,000 miles and my rear brakes around 15,000 miles seems like a must. My rotors have been shaved twice and replaced twice. I knew about the LX450's brake problems before I purchased it; it is still a fantastic vehicle. The 97 Landcruiser does not have similar brake problems due to less weight (sound deafening materials, different suspension, extra goodies, etc.) It is a normal experience for all LX450 owners. It does get very costly though. -- TIM

[JoeLane]

I too have had a terrible time with rotor warping and brake wear on my 1996 Lexus LX 450. Over the course of 70,000 miles, I have had to replace the rotors twice and had numerous brake pad replacements. The vehicle has had regular service throughout its life, and these problems have been consistent. I live in a relatively flat area and the driving environment does not require excessively large number of starts and stops. When I ask the local dealer about whether this wear is unusual, they indicate that it is normal. I find this hard to believe, but what can I do?

[Rodders]

Is there any possibility that someone could be overtightening the wheel lugs?? - perhaps your tire fitter maybe??

I had this problem - seem to get a lot better when I started carrying a torque wrench in the car and stopped the tire guys tightening the lugs with those hydraulic spanner things

[zeta]

how tight are the nuts supposed to be? i've tried to remove my lugnuts myself with the lug wrench in the back of the car. the lugs just won't budge. are these too tight?

[Rodders]

how tight are the nuts supposed to be? i've tried to remove my lugnuts myself with the lug wrench in the back of the car. the lugs just won't budge. are these too tight?

The manual will say - on my GS300 is 78 ft lbs, but it's prolly different on differnet models.

If you can't undo them without standing on the wrench, I'd say they are too tight. At 78 ft lbs, it's very easy to undo the nuts with a decent wrench (my wrench is about 2 feet long - I can undo the nuts easily with one hand)

[lx470]

A common cause of Rotor Warping is the result of long braking and then keeping your foot on the brakes when stopped.

As the Rotor cools, the heat does not disapate evenly as the pad is still being held against the rotor surface and the Rotor then warps.

Take you foot off the pedal, put it in park or use the handbrake.

[SKperformance]

one solution might be to get performace rotors

they will eat through the pads faster

but will use less force to stop you as the lx is huge

slotted rotors are probably best as it is less likely to crack or warp as the slots release heat and shave the pads

also you might want to adjust you braking style

by only useing enough brake pressure to keep the vehicle stopped and letting upo on the pedal lightly

as i have changed my way of brakeing in my es and now i almost never see any wear on the rotors

and tehy have gotten a nice almost chrome finish from the change

and yes overtightening can cause a problem but mainly it would be from not sequencing the bolts

in a star pattern to acheive a even amount of pressure from the wheel to the hub surface

[gslx4s]

I am a new Lexus LX 450 owner and have some concern of what appears to be a re-curring problem with the front brake rotors warping very frequently.

I own a 1997 LX 450 with 56k miles and the vehicle has always been serviced at a Lexus dealer. The service records I have inhereted show rotor resurfacing and eventual replacement over the last 15k miles. The vehicle has only had 4k miles put on it since the rotor and brake pads were replaced by Lexus and now the rotor is warped again. I am trying to resolve this with Lexus and was wondering if this is a problem with other Lexus LX 450 owners.

Thanks for any info. BTW, this is a very nice SUV to own and drive and look forward to many more years of service.

You may want to check out the following web site. I am thinking of putting a big brake upgrade kit on my LX. I know that the site does not state that a kit is made for the LX's, but i called them today and found out that there is no problem making one...hehe :D

http://www.statixbrakes.com/default.asp