Warped Rotors?

[isda65]

My brakes have started vibrating when I step on them when slowing down at high speeds. The vibration can also be felt on the steering wheel. It's not that noticeable at lower speeds (60kmh or less). Could this be a sign that the rotors are warped? I have logged 23K and will be coming in for the regular service. Is this something that I should complain about or is this expected/normal at this mileage?

Any advice and comments would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[MD5]

Could be warped rotors, unbalanced tires, or defective tires, but the first cause would be the only one that just shows up under braking.

Put the front up on jack stands and remove the wheels. Rotate the hubs by hand and see if you can notice any warpage.

[gone_fishin]

It's not the hubs. You have lateral runout on your rotors. Get them replaced-- the vibration won't get any better and you won't pass inspection the next time around.

[B1GHAM]

sounds like warped rotors... unbalanced wheels would show itself as vibration @ higher speeds (during acceleration and cruising).

the rotors need to be either turned (on a lathe machine) or replaced.

judging by how you described it, they sound like all they need is a turn on the lathe machine. Should get your smooth braking back.

but yes, say something when you go in for your service soon. Theyll check it out for you and let you know.

[zoomzoom mazda5]

(iagree)

[isda65]

OK, seems like it's the rotors then. Thank you all for your input. So I was checking on the internet for new rotors for the Mazda 5 just to get an idea of the cost and I found one at US$229.99 from R1Concepts. Ouch! But it looks real fancy so this must be one of the high-end ones (http://www.r1concepts.com/Items/combo%20rotors324?).

Anyway, I'm due for service. So I'll bring this up with the service center. A friend mentioned something about uneven caliper adjustment between the two front tires. He could also have a point because I also noticed times when the car would pull when I stepped on the brakes at stop lights. And I wouldn't even be driving fast, just getting from one stop light to the other.

Has anyone had any issues at all with anything that had something to do with rotors?

Thanks.

[AIMWO4]

at US$229.99 from R1Concepts. Ouch! But it looks real fancy so this must be one of the high-end ones

That's a great deal for all 4 rotors of that quality. I think I paid $290 for Zimmerman cross-drilled for my Saab 9-5.

You may be able to get away with a very minor rotor turn. All it takes to warp the suckers is one hard braking experience. You may be able to skim off the "hot" spot.

[mazdadude]

Have you had any of the wheels off of the car in the last month>?

[MD5]

That's a great deal for all 4 rotors of that quality. I think I paid $290 for Zimmerman cross-drilled for my Saab 9-5.

You may be able to get away with a very minor rotor turn. All it takes to warp the suckers is one hard braking experience. You may be able to skim off the "hot" spot.


Man, I'm bookmarking that deal! I've never seen 4 rotors for that price!(burnout)

[isda65]

Have you had any of the wheels off of the car in the last month>?

I believe they rotated the tires from the last service.

[isda65]

That's a great deal for all 4 rotors of that quality. I think I paid $290 for Zimmerman cross-drilled for my Saab 9-5.

You may be able to get away with a very minor rotor turn. All it takes to warp the suckers is one hard braking experience. You may be able to skim off the "hot" spot.

I've never had to deal with rotors before so maybe you're right. But I guess the "ouch" was more a reaction to the possibility of paying for another $150 or more for the regular service plus "possibly" new rotors plus the fact that 23K seems a bit too early to be replacing rotors (a friend told me that he has had to replace his forerunner's rotors only once in more than 15 years).

Anyway, I do hope it's just a minor turn. I really hate to part with hard earned money these days especially to a business that I don't really put too much trust on.

Thanks.

[07MZ5SA]

Perfect time for a set of cross-drilled/slotted rotors.

[paging_drburgos]

i just had my rotors turned too because of the same problem that you mentioned. It seemed odd to me too because i started feeling the pulsing @ 18k miles. $229 is a steal though maybe i'll buy them and let em sit in the garage until i need to turn these guys again

[jmcglynn]

The prices seem in line with my experience... new roters generally hit the wallet pretty hard... but if well cared for they can have a good long life. I have to agree... 23K on a set of roters is way too soon. Perhaps you need to look back at your driving/vehicle history. Excessive heating and cooling will warp a roter pretty quickly... any possibility that this happened?

I read about a guy who wondered why he kept having to replace his warped roters (on a Volvo)... turns out it was because he was washing his car right after pulling in from a long trip. Water on hot roters will kill them pretty fast. Those big open wheels look nice, but can be a problem when trying to keep your breaks dry. Normal driving with the normal swings in weather aren't usually a problem, so you might try to think back if there was anything that happened that might have hastened this warping...

[Benfolio]

Yeah, that's why I don't slow down much for deep water if I don't have to. Did that once in my Neon because I didn't see the LAKE forming across the road and stomped the brake before I went 'in'. came out the other side steaming, and needed to be cut to take out the massive warp I caused.
Just ford the stream!

[Bern]

I had the same problem with my front rotors and had to replace them @ 23k miles. I inquired with the folks at Mazda and they said this was abnormal, but I see some others have had the same problems.. I'm sure this is an issue with more than a few others out there too. My driving is mixed So-California highway/street driving.

-Bern
2006 Strato Blue

[07MZ5SA]

Yeah, that's why I don't slow down much for deep water if I don't have to. Did that once in my Neon because I didn't see the LAKE forming across the road and stomped the brake before I went 'in'. came out the other side steaming, and needed to be cut to take out the massive warp I caused.
Just ford the stream!

Either way your vehicle will slow down drastically except without braking.

[AIMWO4]

All you need to do is slam on the brakes once, and you can mess up your rotors. I had this happen to me once on a Saab... I had to replace them as they are made too thin to turn.

[theweev]

you're not alone. ours is doing the same @ 30k km. pretty weak if you ask me. i've never had a problem w/ the discs on my 218k km 1992 Jetta. i'm going to raise a little shit on this one. me thinks given the weight of the vehicle more heavy duty rotors would have been obvious. add in the weight of 6 passengers and it becomes as obvious as a shot in the nuts. that said is there a way to retrofit bigger and more durable discs.

[Bern]

you're not alone. ours is doing the same @ 30k km. pretty weak if you ask me... i'm going to raise a little shit on this one....Please do so, as this is the only way we get heard at the manufacturer.

Shoot I just got the front rotors on my ALTIMA turned at 140k miles... and they should be ready for at least 50k miles more!

-Bern

[monsta]

Warped rotors are a myth. Most causes of that warped feeling stem from not properly breaking in the pad and rotor & poor pad quality (high dust). Mazda, like most Ford derived products, suffer from very dusty pad material.

Have a read. Very informative . I've used this link to help get my point across in the past. :) Typing it takes too long.

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

Cross drilled &/or slotted rotors are very hard to get resurfaced should the need ever arise. Best (and least expensive) bet is to use the stock rotor and a higher quality pad.

[AIMWO4]

I have never seen a warped rotor either. They aren't truly warped. They just feel warped. The link to the article (posted by Monsta) is correct about hot spots and deposits. I think the term warped is just used incorrectly.

NOTE: If you get cross-drilled rotors, you reduce the likelihood of needing a resurfacing. And FWIW, they can cost less than OEM rotors.

[kyoshiro]

i think i should buy some endless brakepads from japan back in hong kong when my pair wears out lol

[meackerman]

warped or whatever its called. Our 5 also has the problem. I've just been ignoring it so far, since I only notice it with hard braking at freeway speeds.

[meackerman]

So we when up to South Lake Tahoe this weekend and the vibration under braking is very noticeable and seems to be getting worse.

Plan on taking it in for front brake work...so what should I have them do? replace the pads and new aftermarket cross-drilled rotors, just have them turn the rotors, high quality pads, something else? not made of money here so I can't afford to spend a ton of money.

[07MZ5SA]

Is it front or rear that's vibration?

[meackerman]

pretty sure its the front. makes the steering wheel dance all over the place.

[mazdadude]

Bring the car back to the place that last touched your wheels.

If the lugs are installed and torqued incorrectly, the rotors will warp.

Have you had a shop take a wheel off of the car lately for a flat, rotation, etc?

[meackerman]

we had new tires put on not too long ago, but the brakes were having the problem before that. We bought it used so who knows what happened in those first 6k miles, though it didn't seem to have any problems for the first 20-25k miles, I don't remember exactly when we first noticed the problem.

[Zenderfall]

i think i should buy some endless brakepads from japan back in hong kong when my pair wears out lol

I have tried those before with little success-what ended up happening was my rotors got chewed up extremely quickly and I ended up replacing rotors more often. Endless brake pads (or lifetime warranty pads) come at a cost of rotor wear (headshake

I'd rather change pads often than change rotors.