Brakes/rotors replacement

[aft981]

I know I do put more than average miles on my cars, but I am a little disappointed how quickly I've had to replace certain parts. I'm currently at 33,000, after 14 months of ownership.

At 28,000 miles I got 4 new tires.At 32,000 miles the other week the rear brakes were replaced.

My prior vehicle was an 04 Murano, which was subject to identical driving patterns, and after 3 1/2 years and 125,000 I had replaced the tires twice, and the brakes twice.

Also, back in Feb of this year, I had taken the EX in for a service, and complained that at hwy speeds the car was vibrating. They retooled the front rotors, and that seemed to fix the problem. That was at 20,000 miles. Again, when I took it in for service a few weeks ago, I mentioned it was vibrating at hwy speeds again. I was told the rotors needed retooling again, and it wouldn't be covered under warranty this time.

Obviously not what I wanted to hear, so I complained, and told them to check when I had last had it done, in Feb, and told them I shouldn't have to have the rotors retooled every 10,000 miles, which is ridiculous. I asked what circumstances would lead to the rotors becoming warped like this so frequently, and he told me its often heavy braking when the brakes are hot, which I knew anyway. He said they had had no reports from Infiniti of faulty rotors on the EX, but as a courtesy would install new rotors at the front, under warranty.

The vast majority of my driving is on the hwy, and my route to-from work avoids rush hour and avoids traffic. It's an easy 30 miles on the hwy each way, where I normally pop on cruise control. I don't do any heavy braking, no more than I have in prior vehicles I've owned.

This got me thinking, I have the ICC and the LDP, which I frequently use. Both those systems use the brakes at hwy speeds. Steve, do you know if the LDP uses just the front brakes to keep you from drifting, or does it use front and rear? The ICC also uses the brakes more often than I would if I was just cruising the hwy. Even though it can 'see' the car infront from quite a distance away, it doesn't seem to simply let up on the throttle and gradually bring you closer to the car infront, it carries on at your set speed and then hits the brakes when you get to the set distance.

1. Forgive me for being cynical, but Infiniti must have thought of this when designing the systems, and knew both systems would prematurely wear down the brakes and force you to replace them more frequently...more $$$ for them.2. Could frequent use of the two systems be causing premature warping of the front rotors, and if so, is this a design flaw?

Thoughts anyone? Anybody else use ICC and LDP frequently and have many miles on their EX yet?

[MagicMan2000]

I too had my rotors replaced -- a week after I purchased the EX. I noticed right after I purchased the EX that when I got it up to highway speeds, the vehicle would vibrate (the passenger seat was doing the salsa dance if nobody was in it). Needless to say, I took it in and was told that the car was sitting on the dealer lot for about a year and that if the rotors aren't used for an extended period, they could warp as a matter of metal heating in the summer and cooling in winter; and without the application of the brake, they naturally warp. Long story short, they replaced the front rotors under warranty and all four tires (they replaced the tires because they too had been sitting for approximately a year without rotating and more than likely developed a flat spot). Well, all that fixed 99% of the vibration. The other 1% I assume is because of tire balance, perhaps a flat spot on tires from parking on a cool surface over night, etc.

This does not answer your concern directly, but thought you'd want to know that you're not the only one who's had to replace the rotors and tires on a relatively young car...

Oh, and my EX doesn't have ICC or LDP...

[sxgt]

I had my rotors turned by Infiniti under warranty at 14k miles. I was told due to highway off ramp braking.

I also had my tires forced balanced - due to vibration.

My EX35 had set for months on the lot.

[npeckio]

i had my wheels rotated and then the rotors vibrated at speeds > 60mph. my car is an 08 journey awd w 8000 miles. i think the rotors may be too weak....maybe.

[jmess]

i had my wheels rotated and then the rotors vibrated at speeds > 60mph. my car is an 08 journey awd w 8000 miles. i think the rotors may be too weak....maybe.

This sound more like they may have over torqued your lug nuts during the rotation which can warp rotors.

[jmess]

I had my rotors turned by Infiniti under warranty at 14k miles. I was told due to highway off ramp braking.

I also had my tires forced balanced - due to vibration.

My EX35 had set for months on the lot.

Next time don't brake for off ramps. Sounds like BS to me.

The traction and stability control systems put additional wear on the brakes and more so on the rears. So in theory the more winter driving you do the faster your rear brake pads will wear out.

[mcube3]

Recently I've noticed that the brakes are "pulsing" ocassionally during braking. It feels like the rotors are warped. Has anyone notice this?

[aft981]

I think I know what you mean, and yes, I had had that, together with the vibrating at hwy speeds. The retooling (first time) and then replacement (10,000 miles later) of the rotors fixed it....for now. It would be interesting to know just how many people have had their rotors turned, or how many need it doing. Are they too weak?

[jmess]

Another question would be how many people who rotate their own tires have had premature rotor replacement or resurfacing? My problems with warping rotors seemed to have stopped 15 years ago when I bought a good jack and a torque wrench. Hondas used to be famous for warped rotors due to mechanics not following the proper torquing procedure.

To do it right you follow a star pattern and torque to all the lug nuts to 70-80% factory recommended torque. Then you follow a star pattern and take them up to factory recommended torque. Not too many mechanics will bother doing it right, it takes too long. So they bang them on with an air gun and if you are lucky they check them with a torque wrench. The same torque wrench has probably been dropped a 100 times and hasn't been calibrated since it was new.

[npeckio]

it happened to me @rotation at dealer. i informed them of the problem but i cant get to dealer just yet. maybe i could do it this week. the longer i wait the less they wll associate it w the tire rotation.

[SteveTheTech]

There are many things that can cause irregularities in the braking surfaces. The most common complaint is the pulsation. This can be caused by many things, as MagicMan mentioned long periods of inactivity cause uneven rust buildup. Improper cooling also is a common concern with these brakes. One thing I have noticed recently is that wheel acid has a significant impact on the rotors. If you drive to the carwash and spray acid on the wheels some of it usually burns off on the rotors. Uneven torque is one of those things that we (as technicians) are taught from the earliest stages of our career, some heed the advise and use it...others have their own views.

When it comes time to replace them for one reason or another I would consider ( http://www.frozenrotors.com/se...dex=1 ) the treatment process these rotors go through should resolve a good majority of the parallelism related concerns you are experiencing.

The brakes on the EX are some of the best non sport brakes that Infiniti has used. They are typically very contientious about mass brakes concerns. As any of you who had an early G35 can attest. The early QX56 also went through a few upgrades throughout its first year on the market. For some reason these types of concerns become more common in the summer months. I do not know if this has anything to do with the increased road and tire temperatures and/or increased traffic (low air movement through the fins) or maybe you are like me and enjoy rolling the windows down after work and speeding around.

The ICC and LDW/LDP do have control in braking operation but I significantly doubt they will increase the chance of prematurely wearing the brakes on your car. Infiniti has been using ICC since early 2002 and I have personally seen no consistancy in brake related concerns even in the older models that were not nearly as refined in their brake application. In either case premature wear or rotor runout

[npeckio]

There are many things that can cause irregularities in the braking surfaces. The most common complaint is the pulsation. This can be caused by many things, as MagicMan mentioned long periods of inactivity cause uneven rust buildup. Improper cooling also is a common concern with these brakes. One thing I have noticed recently is that wheel acid has a significant impact on the rotors. If you drive to the carwash and spray acid on the wheels some of it usually burns off on the rotors. Uneven torque is one of those things that we (as technicians) are taught from the earliest stages of our career, some heed the advise and use it...others have their own views.

When it comes time to replace them for one reason or another I would consider ( http://www.frozenrotors.com/se...dex=1 ) the treatment process these rotors go through should resolve a good majority of the parallelism related concerns you are experiencing.

The brakes on the EX are some of the best non sport brakes that Infiniti has used. They are typically very contientious about mass brakes concerns. As any of you who had an early G35 can attest. The early QX56 also went through a few upgrades throughout its first year on the market. For some reason these types of concerns become more common in the summer months. I do not know if this has anything to do with the increased road and tire temperatures and/or increased traffic (low air movement through the fins) or maybe you are like me and enjoy rolling the windows down after work and speeding around.

The ICC and LDW/LDP do have control in braking operation but I significantly doubt they will increase the chance of prematurely wearing the brakes on your car. Infiniti has been using ICC since early 2002 and I have personally seen no consistancy in brake related concerns even in the older models that were not nearly as refined in their brake application. In either case premature wear or rotor runout

nice thatnks, i notice though an increased amt of "skid light " action, is this car real sensitive with that light or is it the way i drive, i hear a thud sometimes ? is the awd? sometimes the car gets wierd i swear. i still like it though. thanks

[SteveTheTech]

The activation of the Slip light will be noticed more as the tires start to wear.

The awd system in the G35 and EX is actually pretty intuitive when the vdc and abs are all working correctly. Many of you may think it tends to be a little intrusive but for the majority of people rarely if ever have an issue with the system. The slip light will activate when wheel speed varies in conjunction with several other input. This in addition to the solenoid activation (but not necessarily application) and throttle cut are the main signs the system is in normal operating mode.

When do you notice the system operating?

If your tires are worn or uneven in wear overall diameter will be different enough to cause a potential issue. The tolerance for wear is only 3mm, this may not seem like much to you but to the computer needs the tires to be the same size when calculating the torque split. The Nissan system doesn't use wheel to wheel control on the same axle so that is where the ABS activation come in. Fuel and throttle cut are done when the computer thinks traction may be compromised, this prevents the car from stalling or continuing not having traction.

As new models come out the technology becomes more refined and even since the first FM platform awd the advancements in the new system allow most drivers to forget that it is there.

One of the things I personally like about this system is that the torque split is continuously varied. It is really interesting that no two accelerations are the same from the awd systems point of view. The cars are designed as rwd for performance and awd whenever the wheel is anything but dead straight or within 2 degrees of dead center.

I personally wish the system had a little more adaptable control. A varied stability control would be pretty useful for S model vehicles. Something like a real world version of the switches in the GT-R. Maybe someday that and cool seats will make their way into the rest of the models.

Sorry to rant on this subject this is an often overlooked and under appreciated system many of you have.

[npeckio]

thanks steve. i dont know alot but i do like the rear wheel drive feel, and then to awd. i explain this to alot of people that have awd, today i drove all around in the rain, car i 15 months old, 9000 miles, and the slip light went on everytime i left frm a standstil, occ i felt throtle cut off. i had a lexus rx 300 /2000, toyo rav 06 and never saw this much skid light activity. thats all i can say inteligently. when they do the rotors i will have them chk it, if there is a way.i have checked the tire pressure, that much i can do. thanks for your info, i appreciate it. regards, nick