Rotors warranted? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

rwsinky · 02-02-2012, 08:29 AM

I have an '09 Avalon with 34K miles. On braking we get a shudder. It's especially noticeable on gentle braking. I am pretty sure this is due to the brake rotors being warped or whatever the correct term is. Are these covered under warranty? I'm a skeptic and I feel sure the dealer will try and blame the tires but they are wearing evenly and are rotated every 5K. The ride is smooth when not braking so tire balance should not be an issue.
Thks,
Russ

Minus (-) · 02-02-2012, 11:46 AM

Check This Out Brakes And Rotors i had the same problem...well i still have the same problem....i just recently gathered all my information....when i first complained about this they blamed it on the brakes and rotors...but it matches the tsb problems to a T....print off that tsb and talk to the service manager...I think the problem is calipers and suspension....your rotors shouldnt warp at 34k

rwsinky · 02-02-2012, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minus (-)

Check This Out Brakes And Rotors i had the same problem...well i still have the same problem....i just recently gathered all my information....when i first complained about this they blamed it on the brakes and rotors...but it matches the tsb problems to a T....print off that tsb and talk to the service manager...I think the problem is calipers and suspension....your rotors shouldnt warp at 34k

Thanks for the information. I did as you suggested and have a copy of the TSB. Is there one for Avalons? I can hear the service dude now, "Why this ain't fer yer car!".
Thanks again, Russ

Grammar Police · 02-02-2012, 02:25 PM

Only one way to tell if the rotors are warped. Pull them and bring them to a shop that turns them. Ask them to do a surface check and spec. them to see if they are still within tolerance limits.

This will isolate whether or not the rotors are warped.

Taking it in for an inspection, they will just look at pad wear and if you complain of shudder they will test drive and confirm and most likely jump to the conclusion that you need pads turned. Then they will insist on using new pads. If Minus is right and it is not pad/rotor related, you will have new pads and rotors sooner than you really needed.

it is fast and easy to pull these rotors. Both sides can be done within 45mins. you'll just need a ride down to the shop. Good luck and let us know what you find.

Minus (-) · 02-02-2012, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwsinky

Thanks for the information. I did as you suggested and have a copy of the TSB. Is there one for Avalons? I can hear the service dude now, "Why this ain't fer yer car!".
Thanks again, Russ

No Prob....That is for the avalon tho (gotta find the link for avys) the TSB number for the avalons are T-SB 0106-08

Mike Murrell · 02-04-2012, 03:39 PM

The most common cause for brake rotor warp is improper torquing of wheel lugnuts.

Your car has close to 35K - tires rotated every 5K - so I'm guesstimating you've had your tires rotated at least 6 times.

That's 6 opportunities for a tire tech to improperly torque your lugnuts.

***TrailDust*** · 02-04-2012, 04:35 PM

Another cause is hard braking when the brakes are cold, especially under cold weather conditions. A friend of mine who's owned a tire and brakes store for over twenty years recommends that to prevent this type of rotor warping that when you start out with cold brakes to ride them just a little before hitting more open, high-speed roads. By heating them up ahead of time you can often prevent warping that occurs when making a sudden, high-energy stop that dumps heat into the rotors, whereby inconsistencies in the metal causes them to improperly conduct heat and thus warp. I've used this technique since he first told me twenty years ago and I've never warped a set of rotors since. Food for thought.

rwsinky · 02-10-2012, 01:15 PM

OK, took the car to the dealer with the suggested TSB for Camry in hand. They would cover a resurface on the rotors but not the pads. I thought it would have been a good idea to replace those also but that would be too logical. The resurfacing seems to have resolved the problem. The best part is that they called me that morning and said they had done an inspection on my car and found 1.) Corrosion on battery terminals 2.) Dirty air cleaner element 3.) Dirty cabin filter. I asked and the cost for all this was to be $128 dollars. I have not had experience with the cabin filter so I let them do that and it was $53. What a rip-off that was as I read the owners manual later and it's a breeze to change. In fact, the owners manual says to blow it off and does not really say you need to change it. The next day I went out to clean my corroded terminal and found it was not all that bad and that they had not replaced the red plastic cap but left it dangling. I had a new air cleaner element and when I went to replace it I found that they had lefft the 3 spring clamps off that hold the top of the air cleaner in place. Gotta love that Toyota quality! This is why when it's out of warranty next month they will never see that car again.