Well the Maxine is about to turn 2-years old in June with only 55K and I'm betting I will be turning the rotors again soon.

I drive my Maxima a lot for school and work, I love it but these brakes are killing me!!! By the way aprox. 85% of my driving is highway and I haven't yet replaced my rear rotors or pads!

Here's some of the history:

Day 4 (June 2001) the vehicle was 1st returned to nissan for warped rotors, brake judder at high speeds, etc. Dealer installed new pads, clips, and cut rotors, (This was a brand new car, aprox 175 miles)!

I notice very shortly after the judder came back but I held out untill February 2002 (19,500 miles) I called the dealer and was completely annoyed with them and decided to not go back, had the rotors cut again by a local mechanic, he sanded down the pads and lubed stuff, etc.

And again in June 2002 (aprox. 26K) and bought new Stillen cross-drilled rotors, Metal Matrix pads, and new motul fluid. Just the front which have been giving me alot of problems. Installed by same local mechanic and have been fine untill...

February 2003...50K, brake judder has returned.. X-drilled rotors were cut; Mechanic also pushed the caliper pistons in to make sure they move smoothly and he said they did.

Present Day aprox. 56K and I feel it comming soon. What do I do?


Sorry about the long post but I am here to try to put an end to this madness!

I'm tossing around the idea of a bad caliper, possible, Why? Because number 1 twice this past winter I experience brake failure, well kinda, both instances were identical, I started the car, very cold morning and both quick starts, both slight inclines. Different locations, I started and went, when I applied the brakes the pedal went to the floor and the car kept moving, after this inital failure, the next time I braked was fine. Well the mechanic said initially said It could be a stuck piston in one of the calipers which would explain the warped rotors? OR it could be the signs of the master cyclinder failing, the seals in the cold temp.

Well what do you guys think? Is it the driver? (I have never experienced such brake problems) The calipers, but how can I tell which one? And if it is, what should I replace it with, I will never buy any more nissan brake products! Or possible a master cyclinder, which would have nothing to do with my warped rotors.


Please any input/ideas are welcome!

Thanks in advance,
Robert

 

Upgrade to stillen drilled rotors, they'll disapate heat alot easier and cool faster for less wraping or no warping at all.

 

I know its long but if you read my post I've already done this last year, and have had them cut this past February!

I think it might be something other than the rotors that's why I'm asking for help!

Thanx

Robert

 

This could be .an explanation http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/...otors_myth.htm

Also a few friends have experienced similar fates to their rotors. Found out they were washing their cars while the brakes were still hot/warm. Seems Nissan rotors are very sensitive to this type of thing

 

I think when you replace calipers you are supposed to replace them in pairs like shocks/struts. So, if you were to go this route I think that is what you would have to do anyway.

Your mechanic should be able to tell if there is a problem with the master cylinder. If not, take it somewhere else and have them diagnose it.

 

Yeah I know what you mean.
I had rotors resurfaced twice on my 2000 SE, and then the 3rd time they replaced them completely including the brake pads.

Now on my 2002 SE, they just got warped recently. Need to go get them done.

Nissan is using crappy material for rotors, it just plain sucks.

 

As far as the master cyclinder is concerned I probably will go somewhere else to check it but those problems only happened those two times.

But in regards to the calipers has anyone (besides the big brakes upgraders) replaced them on a 5th gen? Where can I get a good upgrade for the stock calipers?

Oh by the way has anyone with the big brake kits experienced warped rotors?

 

Do you usually use torque wrench to tighten your lug nuts?
This is a known cause of judder problem...

 

Yeah, but I don't think it is the cause of problem with Maxima rotors. They just crappy, simple as that.

 

Here's what I'm tring to figure out...

Stock Nissan Rotors= ~30K & 2 cuts
Stillen X-Drilled= so far ~26K & 1 cut (They will need to be done)


Im using a different brand rotors/pads but still having similar problems?

Like I said I drive alot but am over careful when braking, i.e. advoiding if possible puddles, braking early/gradually, rolling when stopped at lights, etc.

 

Yes I learned about the Torque wrench from Nissan after my second warped rotor experience. I went out to Sears and bought a nice one and I insist on making sure the mechanics use them.

I've been reading posts on the ORG for a long time now tring to figure out why this keeps happening.

 

Since we have sliding calipers (piston on one side, other side slides on guide pins) check to make sure these pins move freely. Sometimes they get stuck or move very slowly and will cause problems similar to a sticking caliper piston. This could explain your problem when it was cold as well since the grease on the pins (or lack thereof) could cause the caliper to react slow. An easy way to check which side may be sticking is, see which wheel gets more brake dust on it faster. This may indicate the pad is in contact with the rotor all the time causing the excessive dust.

 

Hmmm, that sucks. So your aftermarket rotors warped too. Not sure what causing this. Maybe brake pads?

 

When I changed the stock rotors I also went with new metal matrix pads, so that's why I'm thinking there might be a bad caliper, maybe one of the pistons might not be retracting all the way (if possible) and warping the rotor?

What are my stock caliper replacement options if any?

 

This kind of crap really iritates the hell out of me. I just unloaded a POS Toyota Tundra because they couldn't fix the brake vibrations and now I'm hearing that the Maxima I just freakin' bought isn't any better? Something is really wrong here and Nissan needs to fix it!!! I really like this car but I don't want to spend the next 2 years and 30k miles trying to figure out why the steering wheel shakes my hand off everytime I exit a freeway!!! ****!!! My wife's 9 year old BMW doesn't do this!!! And, we have over 100k miles on it for **** sake!!!

 

I personally think it has something to do with the actual caliper actuation. At least on my Max, the brakes seem to grab initially. You have to really sneak-up on the braking in order to make a nice smooth deceleration. Anything else results in an initial GRAB...then normal modulation.

 

The first cut @ 175 miles was needed becuase the car sat on the lot a long time and the rotors rusted up. It's a very common occurance with new cars. Look at the build date on the b pillar sticker / driver's door area and compare that to the day you bought it. I bet it was 3 months +. The problem there technically isn't a warped rotor, the surface is just uneven since it didn't rust out under the pad area, only the exposed area rusted up, obviously affecting dimensions enough to cause judder.

The second set of cuts aren't all that abnormal, expesially if your front tires were never torqued on. If you allowed a shop to put your tires back on with an air gun that would have contributed.

Also contributing is no making sure the rotor hat mating surfaces are free of any imperfections, i.e. rust.

The warping you are getting with cross drilled rotors is completely expected. Cross drilled rotors warp easy due to the material removed from drilling. Honestly, cross drilled rotors are plain dumb on a street driven car.

 

55k on 2kSE i got front warped twice ( ~every 17k) and rear ones warped for the first time.
Anyway, read this article - it's long, but gives you a good understanding of the problem.
As far as I understand - biggest contributor of this problem is the combination of rotors and breaks.
So, if you get softer break pads, you probably will avoid this problem. I think I'm gonna get porterfield R4S for the front and put stock on the rear. And don't forget proper break in.

Good luck.