When I brake, the car shakes like crazy. My front brakes have been a problem since i got my 2002 maxima brand new. Everything is great when the brakes are new, but after 6 months to 1 year they just shake like crazy and are about 1/2 worn.

No idea what's going on. I have had the dealer change my pads/rotors, independent shops, and have done them myself. Same issue after 6month-1year. The rear brakes are always fine. I think I've changed those once or twice in the past 7 years and the fronts I have changed a dozen times.

Does anyone else have this problem? My most recent set is durlast brand from autozone about 1 year ago (~15k mile).

 

Rotors are probably warped. Theres a lot of threads about this the front brakes were under engineered for the maximas. Most people upgrade brakes to sixth gen or with big brake kits.

 

once again.....there is nothing wrong with the stock rotors...its poor pads that transfer material to the rotors...the result is the same as warped rotors...best way to fix the problem is to replace the pads with something better (Hawk HPS) and new OEM replacement rotors.

 

Soonerfan is right. Try bedding in your brakes before spending money on new rotors and/or pads.

 

*EDIT* unless they truely did heat up and/or torqued wrong to actually cause the warp.

 

There was a TSB for my car when I first bought it new at the steelership replaced them under warrenty! fronts since then I have replaced them with Brembo that i purchased online no problems yet!

 

I'll say +1 on hawk HPS pads and decent rotors (OEM or Brembo Blanks). Just be sure you bed the pads properly.

S

 

You really believe that crap apparently!!!! So the transfered material looks like iron as well? Cause I don't remember seeing any brake pad material stuck to my rotors when they were warped 5 times on the 00 and 1 time o my 2003..till I upgraded to 6th gen X-drilled rotor with Hawk Pads on the 5.5! On the 00 I tried 5 different pads and 5 different rotor brands as well! The truth is those 11.0" rotor are missing alot of material on the inboard side to accomadate that larger spindle assembly on the 5th and 5.5 gen when compared to the 3rd and 4th gen 11.0" rotors. It can't dissipate the heat fast enough due the the lack of mass and the rotor therefore warps....an inefficient heat sink.....

 

I had the same exact problem and replaced mine with those ebay drilled and slotted rotors... No shaking now.

 

i believe it because it was tested...not because people just say it

me and another member tested it with 10 different rotors and several different pads...5K with each combo...no matter the rotor type, if stock pads were used, we got the shudder problem...then inspected the rotors and had the material tested...same as the pad material...yet when better pads were used on stock rotors, there wasnt a problem...guess the heat dissipated just fine

 

Just bed in the brakes and re-asses the situation afterward. If the shudder is still there, then no harm done and you purchase better quality brake components. If it's gone... then it's gone and no money spent.

 

Best choice for the fronts seem to be Brembo plain vented rotors (25642) and Hawk HPS pads (HB268F.665)?

 

Do the rear rotors ever warp??

 

I tried searching for those brembo blanks, but that part # didn't show up. Are there more than one brembo blanks for the 5 gen maxima? I have been looking for better rotors for a while.

 

They won't get warm enough to, but if the tires are put on incorrectly, over torqued, then yes they could be warped by the lug nuts. However I believe it would be almost un-noticeable if the rears were warped.

 

Wow...that seems pretty far-fetched to me. You mind showing examples of this?

 

what seems so far fetched to you?

 

My rear rotors were warped....but that was after almost 120k miles on them...and a previous owner who didn't change the pads.

 

Being able to warp a brake rotor by simply over tightening your lug nuts. That's why I'm asking for an example. I personally never had something like that happen to me...or of someone that's had it happen to them.

 

Not unless the emergengy brake is left engaged for a while....Rear brakes are only doing 20-25% of the overall braking!

 

this one may or not be it as well but my front brakes shake when stopping.. more so from higher speeds and i have the 6th gen fronts. I keep my tires at 37 psi and notice when the pressure goes down say to 34 33 i feel the shake andonce i get the psi back to 37 it is not very noticeable. could be a bad tire or broken belt in the tire. i think thats what i have.

 

It is not over tightening of lug nuts but rather uneven torquing of the lug nuts which causes them to warp.

 

how do you like the ebay drilled and slotted rotors? i was close of buying them but i wasn't to sure about them.

 

I put new 6th gen rotors(blanks) / calipers and new Hawk HPS pads on my '02 1.5yrs & 15k miles ago....and I JUST had to turn my rotors -- AGAIN.

I will freely admit, that I did mostly CITY miles, and I just did 850miles of towing a trailer with my motorcycle in it -- so that could have been the straw that broke the camel's back!
I have to say though....Hawk pads ARE NOT a SOLUTION for pad material transfer. Nor are bigger rotors for improved heat dissapation.
Oh - and YES I torque my own wheel lugs WITH a torque wrench! :-P

i was HOPING this setup would help this constant issue with my car....but alas I think it's down to one thing: my driving/braking style.

I don't really THINK i'm that hard on my brakes, but apparently I am.

I was able to take my rotors off myself, and have them turned at a local shop for a VERY reasonable $10 each!
Pads were still @ 50%, and I gave them a light burnishing with a palm sander and 50grit paper to ensure they weren't glazed or contaminated on the surfaces.
Reassembled again - and all is well!

This is just ONE of those things that I have come to accept about my Maxima: replace / service front brakes EVERY 15-20k miles.

gr

 

Alright, that makes a little more sense to me.

S

 

On my 2KSE, I upgraded the fronts to 5.5gen equipment, with ATE rotors and Advance Auto Parts ceramic pads. I have over 40K miles on them right now, with many a panic stop from 80+ mph in interstate traffic, and they exhibit NO signs of warpage and NO fade. The 5gen stuff was undersized from the factory, but the 5.5gen stuff works fine for me. I wouldn't recommend putting any kind of AutoZone brake hard parts on your car - they're crapola from the get-go.

 

well, i thought that is what i said... re-reading a few days later i could see how you misunderstood. uneven torque, or as i refer to as over torqued, would be "a" cause for warped rears.

 

i recommend against drilled or slotted rotors. They have a tendency to crack.

you haven't been using those cheap "1 year" brake pads from autozone have you? try hawk HPS, and upgrade your rotors or buy brand new OEM rotors. Its up to you.

 

....and just so I can reiterate my point:

I've had to change/turn my rotors every 10-15k miles since I've had the car new off the lot in 02!

No exaggeration. And, I've been on Hawk HPS pads for MOST of my 75k miles!

gr

 

Invest in some Powerslot Frozen Rotors or DBA 3000 or 4000 series front 6th Gen rotors. Powerslot guarantees your FROZEN rotors not to warp ever again. The Aussies are also well known for thier brake products so I would suggest thier 3000 series or 4000 series line...the 4000 are combo use street or track! I'll be swapping my Xdrilled Stillen 6th gen front rotors over to my 3rd gen soon and I'll upgrade the front and rear rotor to DBA's slotted heavy duty hardware very soon!

 

Dude...stop drinking the kool-aid.

I tried Frozen Rotors on my 2nd set -- same thing.
Cryogenically treating rotors, again, is NOT a way to thwart pad material trasfer to the rotor surface.

Cryo-dipping MAY help in LITERAL WARPAGE, that is, EXTREME HEAT application where the metal DOES actually warp....but not for PMT.

I've tried ALL of these methodologies -- none worked for me.

gr

 

 

Fronts are ****.

I warped mine (old '02) with ONE STOP getting off the interstate (and yes I kept driving but they already got too hot).
Brembos never did that (old '00), even after many, many, intentional hard brakings. I did it for fun b/c they were so awesome.


Stock fronts are crap, deal with it, people, I mean sooner

 

So I'm curious since your kinda not to specific...Your warped your 02's rotors every 10-15K? Did you try 6th gen (12.6") frozen rotors that was my statement that you snapped at so quickly....I don't think you really read my statement or fully understand! I've had no problems nor issues with the Stillen Xdrilled 6th Gen front rotors I'm running for the last 6 years and their 2nd set of pads (Hawk as well). So I'm pretty sure you're running those puny 11.75", 5.5 Gen, Oem trash onyour whored out "02"...

 

I upgraded mine to EBC slotted roters from TheTireRack.com.
End of story. They have never warped and that was 5 years ago. I have been through 3 sets of factory pads since then. I personally dont mess with non stealership pads as I dont race but if I were to, I might try the EBC greens or reds. Regardless, a nice set of quality aftermarket slotted rotors should suffice for anyone that typically stands on their brakes but isnt racing. I dont personally recommend crossdrilled rotors due to their history of cracks and failure, but to each their own....