Rusted Brakes

[acrylucs]

I left thr country for about ten weeks and stored my car in my garage while i was gone. The car was stored when the weather was dry and it went in with crisp powerful brakes.

I've come back and there is a severe lack of power. I was going for a scheduled maintenance anyhow and had them look at the brakes in detail and they said they were rusted. There is a chance it'll come out, but a chance it wont. I took some pictures of the brakes too and the wear pattern on the disc is uneven. My car is a 2005 Matrix XRS. So, two questions: number 1: Will it go away with time? Number 2: Is this covered under warranty?

Note: This has occured on all four disc brakes.

Thanks!

This is what my left front rotor looks like:

[Pineapple]

They'll come out. Hose them down then go for a ride, somewhere with lots of stop signs. Don't do hard braking at first. Drag the brake a bit to stop. Keep going for 5 mins so the brakes warm up. Now start to brake harder with less dragging, for another 5 min. Now do a few hard braking. Brake should be good with no shaking when brake hard. Keep driving for another 5 min with normal braking to cool the brake down slowly. You can wash the car ONLY after the brakes are cold.
The above procedure (start with hose it down) will remove brake vibration most of the time.

[TRXR4KDS]

My discs look like that the morning after a rainfall. I've painted my calipers and rotor hat to take away the ruted brake look. After a short drive the rotors become polished except for that tiny bead at each edge of the disc.

[acrylucs]

yeah im ysed to rusted rotors, but you're looking at pictures of my rotors after about 15 miles of countryside driving....

[Pineapple]

You got a stuck caliper. Take it apart, grease up the slider pins.

[mistamatrix]

The pins do have a tendency to seize. My left rear did during the winter. It's actually a common problem w/ the Matrix.

[Whelan]

Looks normal, My brother went away for a week left his Jetta GLS outside and when he came back we had a good rainfall and he had rusty brakes. It's pretty common for it to occur naturally over periods of time. Take the suggestion from above, hose them down, and go for a ride with lots of stops, or find a long stretch of road and do the 20,40,60 test. I do mine up to 80. Start at 20 then come to almost a stop, then go to 40, repeat, then 60, and 80 if you choose. The rust will go away eventually but that should get your braking power back to where it was previously.

I have Powerslot rotors that are cadmium coated so I am lucky to be rust free, plus the slotted rotor allows the brake pad itself to be constantly cleaned thus making clearing if it occured easier.

If I was storing the car for a month I would have done a few extra steps, just like I do with my gf's mother's 2004 Honda S2000. I disconnected the battery, and parked the car over soft mats so the tires dont lose too much pressure. You might actually see some dealerships where cars parked inside are on mats, same thing. If you were storing for more than a month, having an oil change before the storage and after is a good idea too. I change her oil before she stores it to clean it out, then again after we take it out so nothing settles and it stays fresh.

Also let the car idle for a good 10-15 solid minutes before just jumping in and driving.


Oh and P.S. - Oxygen can corrode over time, moisture and humidity helps but it still can do it on its own.