2001 Maxima GLE with 148,000 miles.

Not being an expert, I just want to confirm my guess-timation that I need to replace my brake rotors. When braking, I feel a "lumpiness". This is not the ABS system activating (plus, I'm not braking that hard). I can basically feel the "lump" on each revolution during braking. Very easily noticeable as you near a stop and the revolutions slow down.

Warped brake rotor is my guess? Note: Brake pads were replaced on all four corners about 18 months ago.

Thanks in advance.

 

upgrade to 6th gen fronts. rotors calipers and pads

 

Appreciate the response. Car has 148,000 on the odometer. I mostly drive it around the city (so say under 50mph). To my knowledge, unless you are suggesting otherwise, there is nothing wrong with the calipers. And I just replaced the pads around 18 months ago.

Curious what the cost delta would be if simply new rotors are needed vs upgrading to 6th gen?

 

Cost is cheap from a reasonable junkyard, but if you're not going fast, then it's pointless, especially since you got new pads. Get whatever on ebay and call it a day lol.

 

Thanks. Yeah, not a racer anymore. Car is my daily driver to and from work. I just want her to last until at least 200K miles (another 8-10 years for me) and then she can retire to car heaven.

 

Rotors are warped. Time for some new ones when you change the pads.

 

So a follow up. I am now feeling lumpiness again in when braking. Particular as the car slows into the stop sign/stop light. Are my front rotors warped again?
Timeline:

1. March 2022 - Brake pads replaced on all 4 corners.
2. October 2023 - There was bad vibration from initial pedal push until complete stop. Front rotors only replaced due to this "lumpiness/vibration" in brakes. Pads seem fine. Tons of meat on them.
3. June 2024 - "Lumpiness" has returned, but really only feel it as you get close to stopping (perhaps at 10mph and lower as you come to a stop).

Since March of 2022, the car has been driven less than 15,000 miles. Probably less than 500 miles on the highway. All of the mileage on local city streets with typical maximum speed limit 45-50mph.

Maybe I need to replace the rear rotors? Or are the front rotors warped again? I bought the "DURAGO BR31277" (https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...&pt=1896&jsn=1) at Rock Auto for the fronts. They were cheap (~$66 shipped for the pair) so perhaps I will have lived and learned a lesson and need to buy something of better quality.

 

do you feel the steering wheel shake while braking?

 

durago is fine for regular driving. hows your driving style? ride the brakes? long downhills and a stop sign at the end?

 

Yes, some shaking.

 

I baby the car. My crazy driving days are long gone. I don't ride the brakes. One downhill on the way home that is 1/4 mile long with stop sign at the end. Speed down that hill is 35-40mph.

 

Yeah, you're not stopping hard enough to warp them. But who knows what chinesium you got. I have original rotors that do that, but not worth replacing, b/c it's only at low speed and very little shake.


Rears could be trashed from frozen caliper. I've replaced every rear caliper on every nissan/infiniti I've had/bought for other people, but that wouldn't cause wheel shake, of course.

 

how do you lower control arm bushings look?

 

If you drive through heavy water while the brakes are hot, they can warp that way. I finally warped my passenger front for the first time while driving through a flooded part of a highway that has many bends so my rotors were hot when they hit that water.

First time it happened since I got the car in 2009.

 

it would be worse at higher speed

 

the scariest thing i ever encountered in my maxima was the day I realized my rear trail arm bushings were shot. I braked real hard on the highway and the rear of the car felt really instable. I'm glad E.S. makes the rear trail arm bushings.

 

Took at the lower control arm bushings last weekend. While 20+ years old, they are not disintegrated or anything like that.

I think I'll go with the "most likely reason" being the rotors are warped (again). Basically, the steering wheel shudders just like it did before I replaced the rotors. After replacement, that had gone away. As @Child_uv_KoRn said, may have got a hold of some bad chinesium.

Question:

1. I'm going to request warranty return from RockAuto on these rotors. Do I need to replace the pads as well? In other words, by not installing new pads when I did the rotors last Oct 2023, did this contribute to the rotor warping again?

I'll change the pads as well if it is recommended, but like many people, I prefer to not have to spend money if I don't have need to do so. Again, this car is babied. I'm just over 151,000 miles now on a 23+ year old car.

 

I would get pads. Maybe look into a pad and rotor kit on there. I personally stick with Centric and Power Stop brands for brakes.

 

You might consider fresh rotors and pads on all 4 corners if you really want the problem to be solved. If you increased your braking power with fresh parts only in the front, the front then starts doing even more work than normal leading to more heat. If you want the car to work as designed, you should have the same hardware on all 4 corners for even braking. It's also very important to consistently use the parking brake when parked as that ensures the rear brakes are kept adjusted at all times, also preventing the front from doing too much work. To answer the question, yes you're likely warped again up front. Also cheap rotors do warp more easily more often than not.

 

disc brakes are self "adjusting". parking brake has nothing to do with it.

 

I get what you're saying about a lot of disc brake systems, and I know what I said applies mostly to rear drums.

I tried and didn't find anything definitive, so I would be curious to know if you have more info on specifically these cars. I know the parking brake is part of the caliper and you can't simply depress the rear caliper piston back into the caliper (must screw it in), so I'll admit I was making a bit of an assumption on that part due to the construction of the rears.

In case it is ever useful to anyone on this topic, here is the service manual guideline for parking brake adjustment:
Adjustment =NFBR0047 Pay attention to the following points after adjustment.
1) There is no drag when control lever is being released.
2) Be sure that toggle lever returns to stopper when parking brake lever is released.

1. Loosen parking brake cable.
2. Depress brake pedal fully more than five times.
3. Operate control lever 10 times or more with a full stroke [203.5 mm (8.01 in)].
4. Adjust control lever or pedal by turning adjusting nut.
5. Pull control lever with specified amount of force. Check lever stroke and ensure smooth operation. Number of notches: 10 - 11 [196 N (20 kg, 44 lb)]
6. Bend warning lamp switch plate. Warning lamp should come on when lever is pulled “A” notches. It should go off when the lever is fully released. Number of “A” notches: 1

 

1. Yes, use the parking brake every single time it is parked no matter the slope. Mostly parked on flat surfaces or less than 1 degree slope where I am.
2. Yeah, replaced only the front rotors because I'm cheap and the car is just my daily driver that is babied. I've got the warranty replacement front rotors from RockAuto (same model) and will replace them and get new pads this weekend. If this does not work out, I'll be looking for a 1987-1991 Vanagon Westfalia.

 

OK, so I finally got around to changing the front rotors (and brake pads) this past weekend. Performed a good bedding of the brakes after install. Lumpy brakes no more.

I probably should check the rear rotors at some point and see if they have a "lip" on them.

Thanks for all your help.