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?

Re: Warped rotors on 02 Sonata - any ideas?
 

> southluke wrote:
> 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?

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.

Re: Warped rotors on 02 Sonata - any ideas?
 

"southluke" <luke.l.talley@boeing-dot-com.no-spam.invalid> wrote in message
>
> 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.

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

Re: Warped rotors on 02 Sonata - any ideas?
 

Stop turning your rotors! Thinner rotors means warped rotors. Never
turned a rotor in my life, and that includes the ones that got scraped
up form worn out brake shoes. Rotors last forever.

Re: Warped rotors on 02 Sonata - any ideas?
 

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.

Re: Warped rotors on 02 Sonata - any ideas?
 

> southluke wrote:
> 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?

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.

Re: Warped rotors on 02 Sonata - any ideas?
 

>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.

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.
http://www.carpartswholesale.com/cpw...4&make_code=HY

- Thee Chicago Wolf

Re: Warped rotors on 02 Sonata - any ideas?
 

"Thee Chicago Wolf" <.@.> wrote in message
news:n10r93lb07opl66ltlnpdflo5qh3f77fed@4ax.com...

>
> 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.
>

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.

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE@alltel.net

Re: Warped rotors on 02 Sonata - any ideas?
 

>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.

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

Re: Warped rotors on 02 Sonata - any ideas?
 

"Thee Chicago Wolf" <.@.> wrote in message
news:174s939bs3sjqibhl2726bubdcc7htvp3r@4ax.com...

>
> 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.

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.

>
> 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.

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.

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE@alltel.net