03 M45 Brake Grinding Felt Through Pedal

[eskay]

I have an 03 M45 with factory oem brakes, and one day I started to feel grinding while I braked. This happens somewhat frequently from that point thereafter. The only thing I can recall that may have caused this to happen is that one day I had 5 passengers (heavy guys) in my car, and I braked hard at an intersection, and the stock brakes made a VERY BAD sound I never heard before b/c I guess of the weight of the car with all the passengers in my car.

That's the only thing I can recall that may have caused this. I am well aware that the stock brakes are too weak for this large of a car as well as the size of the rotors, SO I assumed the grinding that was happening meant I needed new rotors and pads. (grind wear indicators for replacement)So I bought top of the line Hawk HPS pads w/ very nice aftermarket cross drilled and slotted rotors. (The unnerving part is I looked at the stock pads after the install and they had much more life in them and were very THICK, so they really didn't need replacing). The HPS's have now set in, BUT I STILL FEEL THE GRINDING somewhat frequently. It's kind of a minor grinding but still very unsettling, since it is a brake issue.

I plan to take it to the dealer and tell him my story. I have all the receipts from the professional install and parts. It HAS to be another issue with brakes. One moment it will brake fine, the next, I feel some grinding.

When I say grind, it doesn't really make a noise per say, I just can feel it in the brake pedal. And this happens NOT every single time I brake, but quite frequently. Does anybody have any issues like this or assistance? I'm assuming it is another part of the brake system, maybe caliper or such. Cuz at time the car brakes real smooth, then sometimes I feel minor grinding on the pedal. It is weird.

I appreciate any feedback anybody has.Thanks

[nmgoodthing]

I had the same problem when I bought my car. One day i was doing a about 100 and I had to brake pretty hard and then I heard the brakes kind of grind. This was caused by rotor warp from heat.

I took it into the dealer and they machined the rotors and cleaned up the brakes. Pads were still fine. 75% left. I thought it was teh pads for sure too.

Your better off using the OEM nissan pads for this car. Even though the car could use larger rotors and calipers, they put a lot of R&D into this stuff and the OEM stuff works the best. Also our cars are luxury sedans. they are meant to be driven for cruisin on the highways. Throw a big v8 and someone with a heavy foot and you can't help yourself sometimes.

Anyway my dealer fixed the problem for about 300 bucks.

[nmgoodthing]

Oh BTW!

Your issue sounds like an ABS problem.

Definitely get that checked.

[eskay]

I'll probably check that as well. Thanks for the heads up.