Brake vibration on a 2004 Maxima with only 25,000 km (i.e. 15,000 miles). Dealer says due to rust on inside edge of front brake rotors and rotors need to be turned (i.e. machined). Warranty does not cover rust on brake rotors even at 25,000 km! Has anybody else experienced this problem? Defective rotors? Thanks.
Hi
Turning the rotors is pretty standard on a good brake job. You didn't get great mileage out of your brakes at 15K, though.. Is this mostly city stop and go driving or something?
If the vibration was something that you noticed a while ago, think when the last time was when that tire was removed. It could be that whomever had your tire off last torqued your lugs nuts too much, causing eventual warping of the rotors (which causes vibration). If that tire removal was the same dealer, you can probably argue that point because 15K is too low for normal driving.
Years ago I had a dealer argue with me that the vibration I felt was ABS. The car was new and it didn't even have ABS - never mind that ABS doesn't work that way. Sometimes you have to argue with these guys.
Some rust on brakes is expected - they are made of steel. I could be wrong, but normal rust usually does not cause vibration, but warping does.
Others here probably also have some good ideas on this. Regards, Remco
Rust is not causing brake vibration. It is probably due to a slight warpage. It should be covered under warrantee. Find another dealer.
This happens on my '00 Acura TL and my '02 Pathfinder periodically - usually when I get them back after the wife drives them for a month or so. Its a buildup of material on the rotors that makes it start to vibrate. She brakes too gently.
Before you throw money at them, take it out on the road, run it up to about
60 mph (100 kph) and brake as hard as you can without activating the ABS. Don't completely stop, just bring it down to 10 KPH or so. Do this several times and I'll bet it scrapes off the rust all by itself and the brakes will smooth out. If that doesn't fix it, then its possible your rotor(s) might also be warped, in which case they do need to be turned or replaced.This is a known nissan rotor defect - warped rotors.
My dealer took care of it at 25K miles on my 2000 Maxima at no charge,,,,,
I am a bit worried that by 2004 Nissan still cant figure out how to make brake rotors,,,,?
snipped-for-privacy@nospam>Pierre M wrote:
On 12/30/2004 7:31 PM US(ET), snipped-for-privacy@netscape.com took fingers to keys, and typed the following:
Even the Japanese companies are outsourcing to China.
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