97max5spd

I am getting a vibration under braking. It first showed up around 25k miles. The dealer resurfaced the front rotors under warranty and commented pad life was still very good. It went away for about 7k miles and came back, this time a little worse. When I push the brake pedal, it vibrates the steering wheel at highway speeds and vibrates the whole car when just coming to a stop. However, this only happens when the rotors are hot from some stop and go driving. If I get in the car when the car has been sitting for a while the brakes are perfectly smooth at any speed. So now I am beginning to question if resurfacing the rotors again will help, since the rotors are fine when cool and they would be cool when being resurfaced. Any ideas?

vmok

you can only resurface so much before you run out of material to take out to make the surface smooth again.

it seems like the rotors might be defective somehow... another question is this. do you do a lot of hard braking up to complete stops? one of the things that causes warped rotors is hard braking generating large amounts of heat. then when you're at a stop light stepping on the brake, the brake disc cools, except for the part right underneat the pads which don't cool. the pads themselves are also hot and keeping that section of the disc hot. the uneven cooling can warp a rotor.

-V

dch95

It is usually good practice to replace the pads after resurfacing because the original pads will have wear grooves/wear characterisitics that would match the rotor before it was resurfaced. Braking performance would improve some with new pads at the time of resurface.

Do you by chance torque your wheels or do you get the tight and possibly uneven? This could be another factor in reducing vibration.

Perhaps it is the pads that are causing this rather than the rotors. I would be more inclined to beleive the heat would be a factor to your pads rather than the rotor.

I would have them checked to see if they are warped and check the surface for any abnormalities. If you do resurface the rotors, install new pads.

Naughty

I was having the EXACT same problem with the car...My wheel to shake and "shimmy" everytime I would hit the brakes, esp @ high speeds and make a grinding nosie @ low speed. So i took it to the shop got a Barke Job (Front and rear) and the problem is gone. .........seems like you neeed to get a brake job aslo

JohnnyMax

I've found that resurfacing rotors on newer cars is a waste of time. The rotors are thin to begin with and after resurfacing they are thinner still and just warp sooner. Replace them, just don't buy the cheap ones, you won't be satisfied.
Try not to make constant hard stops,a good workout is fun, but constant workouts break things. Also remember if you treat your car like a race car, you will have to maintain it like a race car.
Also if you don't have one, buy a torque wrench. Any time the wheels are removed they should be retightened in a chris cross pattern to no more than 125 Ft/Lbs. If you have a shop work on the car specify this.
Overtightening the lug nuts will cause the rotors and sometimes the wheels to warp. A lesson learned over many years.
Good luck

Daniel B. Martin

It is a good idea to use a torque wrench to tighten wheel nuts. However, the factory spec is 72-87 foot-pounds.

97max5spd

I know from how I described my problem it sounds like I somewhat abuse the brakes. But I think I know many of the things that cause warped rotors, and I have tried to avoid all of them since the car was new (even more careful after the resurfacing). I have always let the brakes cool before washing the car and spraying water on the car, which is also something that could cause the rotors to warp. This issue of the over/uneven tightening of the wheels is new to me, so I will try to keep an eye on it from now on. Also, someone mentioned that the pads should be replaced when the rotors are resurfaced. I also throught this was standard practice but my trusty Nissan dealer only did half the job (but did temporarily fix the problem). I won't take the car back there. Thanks for the posts guys.

Daniel B. Martin

I can't explain why the symptom is evident only when the brakes are hot. A careful inspection is needed to uncover more clues to this mystery.

You report "a vibration under braking". Is this felt as a pusation in the brake pedal? A shake in the steering wheel? A sensation of grab-slip-grab-slip from the brakes? Something else? Please elaborate.

Does your Maxima have Anti-Lock Brakes? Has it ever been in an accident? Have you rotated the tires as a diagnostic measure?

The rotors may be measured with a dial indicator gauge to determine if they have excessive runout (warpage). They may be measured with a micrometer to determine if they have excessive thickness variation. For further information, please refer to the Chilton repair manual, page 9-11.

ny96max

i had the exact problem with my brakes. All i had to do was have all 4 of my rotors cut and the problem has been gone since! I also reccomend ceramic brake pads for up front, they produce 1/2 as much dust and seem to bite better on the rotor. hope this helps!

jerzeeMax

My brakes are like that too, they start to sqeak and slip after they heat up. That grab-slip-grap-slip describes my brake performance perfectly when I am stopping the car at slow speeds. At highway speeds, my steering wheel doesn't shake or shimmy when I brake, but I get a LOUD groaning noise (similar to a downshift sound) that I am sure is coming from the brakes because I can feel the rumble in the pedal. I am riding on 18" alloy fyi. The brakes went out pretty quick after I got the car (new) in about 30k or so, with moderate breaking (hard stops not too often). Rotors warped? I'm thinking of getting a set of Brembos/Metalmasters. What is a good brand of ceramic?