Warped rotors on 02 Sonata - any ideas?

Have 02 Sonata with 70,000 miles. Have turned rotors twice and replaced once, all at dealer. They need fixing again. It seems they last around 10,000 to

15,000 before warping. It appears other owners are not having this problem. Does anyone have any ideas for a reason or solution to this very annoying problem?
Reply to
southluke
Loading thread data ...

The lug nuts have been tightened by Sam's Club or me except when the dealer installed the new rotors. Each time I have watched Sam's, they use a torque stick and I use a torque wrench to hand tighten. I suppose this could still be the cause.

Reply to
southluke

Or you just have tough driving habits and heat up the rotors when braking.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

There are two main issues that cause brake vibration:

  1. Rotor warpage from overheating.
  2. Friction variation due to pad etching on rotor.

Case #2 is the more frequent, and tends to occur if the vehicle sits for more than one day (several times) without being driven. Over time, this leads to different areas of the rotor having different degrees of oxidation, leading to the friction variation. Usually, when this occurs, you can see the imprint of the pad edges on the rotor.

Both Edwin and Xiaoding have good points. Watch your driving habits and try to hold steady speed with minimal brake application. Also, if you don't have a problem with your rotors, do not resurface them.

Reply to
hyundaitech

I really appreaciate everyone's input for this issue. Another interesting point is that after 70,000 miles, the brake original pads still have 25% thickness. I plan to spend the extra money and get performance rotors and ceramic pads soon. Do you think this is a waste of money? Will cost around $250.

Reply to
southluke

Don't waste your time on performance rotors. All the stock or OEM replacements are made in China so you're throwing money out the window. Ceramic pads will be a step up in terms of getting some performance out of your brakes.

I just replaced all four of my rotors (75k) on my 02 Sonata because of warping. My family mechanic put in Wagner ceramic pads and my rotors. I am amazed at the ceramics versus the crap composite junk that had been slapped in my car.

I bought Centric rotors from one of the many parts places online (secretly, they're all the same company) and so far so good.

formatting link

- Thee Chicago Wolf

Reply to
Thee Chicago Wolf

Just a minor nit with your comments. While I do agree not to waste money on performance rotors, that's because the Hyundai rotors are very high quality in the first place. It is common not to have to replace the rotors for two sets of pads. That said, there are differences in rotors, in a more general sense. Products coming from China come in ever variation of quality. Simply because all of the possible rotors one could buy come from China, does not imply that they are all the same. That is purely a function of the manufacturing spec. There are indeed grades of rotors that come out of China. Some are pure junk, and some are a very high quality like what comes on the Hyundai from the factory.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

To some extent, there may be some slightly higher quality control of a certain brand that might have a reputation to maintain. My family mechanic explained the whole story of when all rotor manufacturing went to China. He used to work for a US company that made them until they shut down. He's been a professional mechanic for over 30 years and has seen the quality of rotors go down firsthand. Same for a lot of brake pads he tells me.

Seeing as how rotors are probably the MOST important part of a car's features with respect to safety, it HAS to meet a certain standard of quality for the US even if it is made in China. If there were rotors coming out of China with high failure rates or were lasting a year, people would be filing class action lawsuits or vendors would stop carrying them. Manufacturing spec and grades aside, it's splitting hairs as far as I see it.

- Thee Chicago Wolf

Reply to
Thee Chicago Wolf

Well - he only tells you what he wants to see. I don't care if you believe him or believe the evidence that contradicts his stories. Like I said, there is some pure junk out there and there is some very high quality stuff. Believe it or not.

There are indeed rotors and pads coming out of China that only last a year. And - there are no class action suits as you claim there would be. As well, while rotors were being manufactured here, there was junk out there. Rotors that only lasted a year, etc. I'm no big fan of our manufacturing moving off shore, but if you believe that the American manufacturers did not produce their fair share of junk, you're mistaken.

Look around your life. What do you consider to be a quality item? Where is it manufactured? There's a good chance - almost a guarantee that some of the things you consider to be quality items came here from China. You just can't make those broad brush statements like your mechanic does. They sound good over a couple of beers, but they just don't hold water.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.