Brakes Pulsating

[denslexusgx470]

ok. when i went to the dealer to complain about the rim, didn't work. then he asked me if I had any other questions and I decided I wanted to tell him this. Ok. At first, when driving at high speeds and braking really hard, you feel the brakes pulsating, not very smooth braking. Now few weeks back, it was only when ur at high speeds and braking, usually braking hard. Now sometimes I can feel it, even at slow speeds. I told the service advisor (same guy who said he didn't scratch my rim) and he said that "Oh, it's normal. Rotors are warping because of the heat that is produced by brakinga a lot. It's normal, no problem". WHAT????? NO PROBLEM???? :o If he's right, aren't warping rotors a bad thing???? He tells me that there is no need for me to take it in and have it checked. Anyone really know what the problem is with my brakes???

[dchan865]

ok. when i went to the dealer to complain about the rim, didn't work. then he asked me if I had any other questions and I decided I wanted to tell him this. Ok. At first, when driving at high speeds and braking really hard, you feel the brakes pulsating, not very smooth braking. Now few weeks back, it was only when ur at high speeds and braking, usually braking hard. Now sometimes I can feel it, even at slow speeds. I told the service advisor (same guy who said he didn't scratch my rim) and he said that "Oh, it's normal. Rotors are warping because of the heat that is produced by brakinga a lot. It's normal, no problem". WHAT????? NO PROBLEM????  :o    If he's right, aren't warping rotors a bad thing????   He tells me that there is no need for me to take it in and have it checked.    Anyone really know what the problem is with my brakes???

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That sounds like a problem I had with my Honda Accord. I don't recall exactly. I had my brakes checked out and was told that I still had brakes left. I sold the car before I find out the root cause.

Could it be that your rotor needs resurfacing? or may be someone tighten the wheel too tight. I was told my a dealer that tighten it too much could cause the rotor to warp so not sure if it is valid.

[denslexusgx470]

ok. when i went to the dealer to complain about the rim, didn't work. then he asked me if I had any other questions and I decided I wanted to tell him this. Ok. At first, when driving at high speeds and braking really hard, you feel the brakes pulsating, not very smooth braking. Now few weeks back, it was only when ur at high speeds and braking, usually braking hard. Now sometimes I can feel it, even at slow speeds. I told the service advisor (same guy who said he didn't scratch my rim) and he said that "Oh, it's normal. Rotors are warping because of the heat that is produced by brakinga a lot. It's normal, no problem". WHAT????? NO PROBLEM????  :o    If he's right, aren't warping rotors a bad thing????   He tells me that there is no need for me to take it in and have it checked.    Anyone really know what the problem is with my brakes???

←

That sounds like a problem I had with my Honda Accord. I don't recall exactly. I had my brakes checked out and was told that I still had brakes left. I sold the car before I find out the root cause.

Could it be that your rotor needs resurfacing? or may be someone tighten the wheel too tight. I was told my a dealer that tighten it too much could cause the rotor to warp so not sure if it is valid.

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see, i have no clue also. but the bad part is, the service guy doesn't want me to leave the car at the dealer for them to take a look to find out what is the root of the problem. :chairshot: :chairshot:

[SKperformance]

Well you know the basics, rotors warp from heat.

You have a big truck so it makes them heat more than most vehicles.

Is it a problem ,not really if it is only at high speed braking.

When it gets to the point of everytime you hit the brakes at 30mph and over is it something to really worry about as it will cause balancing problems with the whole corner .

Also when a rotor gets warped it heats the pads up more as it is always pushing and pulling the pads on the calipers back and forth al the time now. So the pads heat and wear faster and may tend to squeel.

BTW never bother cutting your rotors, it only makes the surface even but the actual thickness of the rotor changes and it gives you high and low spots causing the warping to increase and happen again faster.

[denslexusgx470]

Well you know the basics, rotors warp from heat.

You have a big truck so it makes them heat more than most vehicles.

Is it a problem ,not really if it is only at high speed braking.

When it gets to the point of everytime you hit the brakes at 30mph and over is it something to really worry about as it will cause balancing problems with the whole corner .

Also when a rotor gets warped it heats the pads up more as it is always pushing and pulling the pads on the calipers back and forth al the time now. So the pads heat and wear faster and may tend to squeel.

BTW never bother cutting your rotors, it only makes the surface even but the actual thickness of the rotor changes and it gives you high and low spots causing the warping to increase and happen again faster.

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really?? strange that I never got a report from the Honda dealer that the rotors warp. at least with the odyssey (at 128k miles) the brakes don't feel like they're pulsating. ok. i guess they heat up more cuz it's a big SUV. I get the concept that you just explained, but does that still mean I should get that checked and fixed or just let it go???

[SKperformance]

Like i said if it is only over 30mph then don't worry if it becomes more annoying or always doing it or squeeling ,then take it in.

[denslexusgx470]

ok. i guess so :D . Hope these two trips of mine that are coming up, won't affect the rotors because I'm driving 360 miles round trip to the Bay Area tomorrow, then a 800-1k mile round trip vacation to Vegas. Now we all know the heat in Vegas so hope that the 4 nights I'm there won't warp up the rotors that much... :whistles:

[MajorHavoc]

I had the same problem.

The dealer replaced the rotors under warranty!

[3JBS]

Has anyone had an issue with their brakes? Mine feel like the rotors are warped when driving at very low speeds such as under slow braking do ease up to a stop at the intersection. I have 20,000 miles now. I also have a tap, tap sensation in the brake pedal while at a complete stop. It is intermittent and the dealer cannot replicate the tapping. Anyone have that issue?

[denslexusgx470]

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...0&hl=brakes

;)

[studlee]

I had the same problem.

The dealer replaced the rotors under warranty!

how many miles did u have?

i'm experiencing the samething in my gx...i have 28000...my audi a4 did the samething and was replaced under warranty...but i think lexus warranty does not cover brakes.

[denslexusgx470]

Merged these two topics.....

[Lexus Master Tech]

What kind of a dealer do you guys have?? It sounds like your rotors are definatly warped. Any reputable Lexus dealer should replace the front rotors and pads under warranty. At the dealer I work for, we replace front rotors and pads, and even the rears once in a while, some of these dealers are really making Lexus look REALLY bad....

[denslexusgx470]

geez. Good thing I had mine checked out. 8 days before warranty expires I decided to have it checked. turns out that both the front and rear rotors were warped, and they replaced all the pads and fixed the rotors. Warranty paid for the front rotors and pads (even though I just got pads like 1 year ago) and I had to pay for the rear. Bonus bonus, yes the front pads were a bonus but what was weird that the rotors weren't corrected the first time when I had the front pads replaced.

[stroked4.6]

Good thing they replace your rotors you wouldn’t want to do new rotors and pads out of your pocket, especially from a dealership. Well my family has a Suburban and the brakes don’t pulsate at all under hard braking or at slow speeds unless the ABS is activated. This isnt normal and the dealership did the right thing. Rotors dont begin to warp from going through a puddle unless the rotors are very hot and you go through a cold / almost freezing puddle. The main reason for warping rotors are mis-torqued wheel lugs. Almost all the time rotors are warped either from applying the wrong torque or tightening them in the wrong sequence.

For the person with the warped rotors at 20K your wheels were most likely torqued down im-properly.

[denslexusgx470]

Well I don't know about the Suburban, but it's almost obvious as to why these rotors may warp on a vehicle like the GX. Size and weight is a big contributing factor. I mean come on, I had to replace the rear pads already, when I think my dad mentioned that it's possible that our 97 Ody with 144k miles hasn't had the rear pads replaced yet (or maybe just once the most)

[92Lex]

Good thing they replace your rotors you wouldn’t want to do new rotors and pads out of your pocket, especially from a dealership. Well my family has a Suburban and the brakes don’t pulsate at all under hard braking or at slow speeds unless the ABS is activated. This isnt normal and the dealership did the right thing. Rotors dont begin to warp from going through a puddle unless the rotors are very hot and you go through a cold / almost freezing puddle. The main reason for warping rotors are mis-torqued wheel lugs. Almost all the time rotors are warped either from applying the wrong torque or tightening them in the wrong sequence.

For the person with the warped rotors at 20K your wheels were most likely torqued down im-properly.

Lugs being torqued in the wrong sequence may cause the rotors to be warped? Are you sure? It's possible that the face that meets the hub gets warped but I just can't see how the actual braking surface to brake pad face can become warped because of an improper torque sequence. Care to explain?

[GayleY]

So my 2004 GX is doing this. I have replaced all rotors and all brake pads and it’s still doing it. Any suggestions??