1st scheduled service and they turned my rotors?

Hello everyone. I have been reading here for a long time and had to ask the question.

I went into my local dealer for my very first scheduled service (5K). Since I bought the truck new it had some vibrations on braking and I figured I would let them take a look at it while doing the scheduled maintenance. Well when they came back to me after all the work was complete they said there were hotspots on my rotors and had them turned. Should they not have just replaced them if they were warped from the factory? Or is it standard practice to cut the rotors and such low mileage? I explained to the rep that this is going to shorten the lifespan of the rotors and if they were covered under the 3 year 36k warranty. He told me that the rotors only have a 12K warranty.

 

That sucks bro. Sounds like your getting hosed. Are you riding your brakes like crazy? Yes turned rotors will shorten the life span on them as they most likely will not be able to be turned again. (depends)

 

Machining rotors under warranty is standard procedure. When they machine rotors it's usually to remove thousands of an inch of material, that's almost as thick as your hair. Rotors can usually be machined 3-4 times before they reach their minimum thickness so really not much for you to worry about

 

^^^

 

No not riding my brakes at all. It started pretty much off the lot.

 

Heh. My dealer told me they are aware that Tacoma brakes are under-powered and my (now) warped rotors aren't covered under warranty until it causes something else to fail.

Made sure to get that added into my paperwork, so when i smash into someone, I can go after toyota

 

Wrong answer. The Tacoma brakes are top rated brakes. How do you say they are " Under Powered "? What does that even mean?

Read this: http://www.mossmotors.com/SiteGraphics/Pages/brake_discs.html

Improper bedding of the brakes is the cause. Warped brake rotors are a rare thing.

Basic Bed-In Procedure:

1. After installing new disc rotors and/or brake pads, perform eight to 10 slowdowns applying moderate pressure from about 30 to 40 mph (50 to 60 kph) without coming to a stop.

2. Make an additional two or three slowdowns applying heavy pressure from about 40 to 45 mph (60 to 70 kph) without coming to a stop.

3. DO NOT DRAG THE BRAKES.

4. Allow at least 15 minutes for the brake system to cool down.

5. While the car is at rest during cool-down, DO NOT APPLY THE BRAKES. If you do, material will transfer from the pads to the rotor and probably give you braking vibration.

 

I think what he's getting at is the stopping power or force of the brakes are insufficient. A larger rotor surface and bigger pads coupled with larger pistons in the calipers would have a stronger braking force. I also feel the brakes could be a bit better on my truck. It's never had great stopping force, and I've had other trucks that have pretty good braking.

 

My 2009 came off the lot with bad rotors, they replaced them.

 

I used to work at a dealership and turned rotors all the time.(when in spec) Plus I got paid more to turn rotors then to slap on new ones. I grew up utilizing a brake lathe. Some of the new techs have no clue or inclination to use one.

 

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Well lets see here....the ABS has almost killed me a few times...I'll admit I was going a little too fast...but whatever that's neither here nor there...but honestly...there's been a few times when I've needed to stop the truck in a hurry and it just took sooooo long to stop it...plus...here's the thing...I picked up my truck with 90 miles on it "new"...so the breaks were "broken in" already...within 1000 miles my steering wheel was shaking a bit when I was going down a hill and riding the break a bit...now? My steering wheel shakes almost an inch or more if I ride the break. I know a warped rotor when I see one. I told my dealer about it...said hey man...I'm still covered under warranty, what can you do for me...he says "well, we know the Tacomas don't have the full stopping power that they should, but they meet the minimum standards...so honestly I know Toyota won't cover this under warranty until they pretty much fail and you wreck or something" and this guy has never once taken advantage of me...

 

I wonder if they have made adjustments to the Tacoma's brakes. If I apply even moderate pressure I stop on a dime. Same way with my dad's 04 PreRunner, which you just barely tap and you stop.

 

WTF I have a 2011 lol. They just seem super underpowered to me. My wife just got a new 2010 CRV...well...newish...and it stops on a dime lol...

I've heard of the mods you can do...merely puting new rotors and pads on is a night and day difference apparently...as well as some sort of Tundra brake mod...its just annoying to have to change stuff on a perfectly good truck that shouldnt need changing (cough leaf spring TSB cough)

 

my rotors warped at 25k miles

 

The car I had before my Taco was a 2002 Mustang GT, I DO drive fast and because of that (and seeing cops while doing 100 and slamming on the brakes lol) I went through multiple sets of "low end" rotors. I got crap from Auto Zone, Napa, O'Rielley (sp?) all em warped really quick and easy. I got to talking to one of the guys at Auto Zone once and he recommended upgrading them. So I went all out and bought Bear Decella drilled and slotted rotors. I put those on all 4 corners of the Mustang and freaking LOVED it. That BY FAR was the single best upgrade I did to that car.

With that said, I am just waiting (cause I know its coming) for my stock rotors to warp on me. I know I don't need the drilled and slotted like I used last time, but I definitely will be buying a high end slotted rotor, and wont even bother with turning or shaving the stock crap

 

The dealer is talking out of its ass. As long as the brakes can lock up the tires on dry pavement (most cars can) before ABS kicks in, it is sufficiently "powerful". The pedal feel is worse than cars (still better than the rental F150 and JK Wrangler I drove), but that doesn't hurt panic braking performance. In 2009+ trucks, Brake Assist automatically applies full braking power if the system senses you are attempting to panic brake.

The Taco 4WD already has 4-piston calipers and the max rotor size that can be stuffed into a 16" rim. Bigger rotors improve heat dissipation so there's less fade with repeated high-speed braking on the racetrack, but they don't improve braking in street driving.

I get my brakes serviced every two years due to all the winter salt in my region. In the process, the dealer turns the rotors. They also lube and adjust the rear drums.

 

Agree to Disagree man. There's been way to many times that I've needed to stop quicker, and in every other vehicle I've had, stopped just fine...with the (unloaded) Taco, I've had to really brush up on my evasive driving skills, as the brakes just dont stop quick enough. I understand, its a truck, not a race car...maybe for you the brakes are just fine, but for those of us that do use the brakes and gas pedal quite often enough, our already heated up brakes just don't do the job. Example- When I'm bringing the wife to work in the mornings, sit in stop and go traffic for 20 minutes, basically foot on the brake the whole time (automatic) and then my freeway offramp/onramp comes along so I get over into that lane and gas it and suddenly some Dbag decides he wants to come over into my lane with no blinker and taking his sweet ass time...I'm only doing about 40ish but I've got to go over into the breakdown lane to avoid hitting him because If I stomp my brakes either ABS is gonna kick in and I'm gonna hit him...or my whole steering wheel shakes like crazy and I still won't brake in time.
Majority of people that I've spoken with that have changed their brakes out for slotted/cross drilled rotors and different pads said it was the best choice they made.

PS- That dealer is not full of shit, he's about the only guy I actually trust, and that's after I was told by a sales guy at a different dealership that a stock Tacoma can run Baja. (when discussing aftermarket suspension)

 

No problems with warping here, but I will have to agree that the brakes on my Taco are wimpy. Nothing physically "wrong" with them, but I have been unpleasantly surprised on more than one occasion with how poorly they slowed me when I was expecting more. That sucks that you had to have them turned at only 5K OP.

 

The TRD Off Road has a bigger booster, IIRC. Mine stops great compared to my old 2009, so it can be improved.