djarovsky

Did any of you with this issue find out that something else was wrong and caused your rotors to warp?

I am on my fourth set of front rotors and they warped instantly. There must be another problem somewhere that the delaership "experts" cannot find.

Any help?

anothercls

Nothing more than the fact that the OEM rotors were junk.

Have all four sets been the same? different brands, all oem? Also, what kind of pads are you using and are you breaking in the brakes properly?

djarovsky

All sets have been OEM. I even have the updated OEM pads per the service bulletin.

As far as braking them in goes, I don't even get a chance to do this, as they get warped from the initial braking. I am not joking or doing anything wrong here.

The minute they heat up they warp. It makes no sense. The only thing I can think of is that they are not true out of the box. I doubt Acura checks them before installation. My independent mechanic told me that he checks every rotor out of the box to make sure they are good before he installs them. He said that even the best rotors from leading manufacturers may not be perfect.

p911wb

Try the next set of rotors not OEM try a different name, search around the forums because people have stated how they feel about aftermarket rotors. Good luck!!!

dgracer

The bad news is that the Brembo OEM blanks also warp. Short of going to a big brake kit, I havent read anything about a replacement rotor that wont warp.

03 CL TypeS

Your lug nuts must all be torqued to 80lb-ft, or it may cause the rotors to warp. My mechanic agrees! But there may be other reasons why they warp!

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Were the pads replaced each time the rotors were replaced/resurfaced? If not that will cause the rotors to warp very quickly. Were the rotors actually replaced or were they just turned?

m&b6speed

try going to a different dealer, maybe they are jerking you around or dont know what they are doing

even if its out of the way, if it solves the problem, you save "down time". whats the worst that could happen, more warped rotors

m&b6speed

do all cl-cls have the problem?
i have 55k on mine and the bakes are fine-do need new pads though

also know 3-4 others with cl's and tl's aren't having problems

03CLSMT6

i have heard that its a good idea to get your new rotors turned for better grip..I know it sounds weird... Dont really know why yours is warping so much tho.. I would just buy some aftermarket ones and toss the stock in the trash..

sgmotoring

Yup, Torque your lugs it seem to help. I even tried TSX rotors which are made in Japan with same warping result.

djarovsky

Yup, Torque your lugs it seem to help. I even tried TSX rotors which are made in Japan with same warping result.

It's so funny you were talking about the TSX rotors warping also.....

My dealer loaner car is a TSX and it has the same warped rotor symptoms as my car. WTF!!

My service advisor said he's never heard of an issue with warped rotors on a TSX. Gee that's funny.......I guess you'll find out when you get the car back.

TampaBayCLS

ROTORS DO NOT WARP.........
The cause of all our problems are bad brake friction. Read Acura's TSB. It is a pad issue. Even the new upgraded OEM pads do not solve the problem. The brake pads are depositing material on the rotor and causing a uneven braking surface. That is why all the different brands of rotors eventually have this problem. The simplest solution is to install new blank rotors and then have your old rotors machined and save them for when it happens again, and then just change them. My Vigor has the same problem. The steering wheel would start its shaking and I would have them cut around 5 thousandths (.005) off the rotor and problem solved.

sgmotoring

How sure are you on this problem? Are you telling me brake vibrations are cause buy brake pads leaving pads material on rotors to create uneven surfaces? Hey try this, heat your brake rotors. Stop and use your garden hose to cool it down quickly on one side. Drive it again and you should feel your Rotor Warp, it may return to normal once every thing cools down but I am just making a point that rotors will warp.

TampaBayCLS

Where would that happen in everyday driving? Read this and let me know what you think: http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/...otors_myth.htm

djarovsky

I've read that article and it seems plausible.

Given that Acura has not issued any recalls or TSBs on the rotors themselves, is the answer to my problem the old and new pads?? maybe the rotors are OK?

Has anyone tried the OEM rotors with aftermarket pads? What resulted?

anothercls

If I would have taken a top down view of the rotors I took off my car, you'd have been able to see the rotors were warped. The shop where I did my rotors/pads didn't believe me till he saw the physical evidence showing the warped rotors.

carquest

if your's are warpping very quickly i'd suspect a bad caliper. this will cause the pads to ride against the rotors constantly, heating them up whenever the wheels turn. before all the rotors on the planet were made from the cheapest steel alloys available stuck calipers were the primary cause of rotor warping. i'd say this is probably your problem. see if you can nag the acura dis-service manager into replacing the calipers next time you have the rotors turned.

good luck.

djarovsky

Car is still at McGrath Acura. I told them to look into every related system with a fine toothed comb and not rule anything out until it can be verified that each part is not the problem. I told them I do not want the car back until it is fixed. I'll let you all know what happens.

I am hoping to talk with the dealership owner directly tomorrow and tell him about my vehicle history and bad experiences with them. This is unacceptable!!

djarovsky

So, I got a copy of the service bulletin dated May 12, 2003, read it, and questioned the dealership about it and the service done on my car.

It turns out that McGrath does not even follow the TSB correctly. It says in the TSB that if new rotors are needed then install them and resurface them on the car. It also says to do the same thing for the rears if the problem is still there. They never did any of this. They would just install the front rotors out of the box and put them on. They never bothered to check the runout of the new rotors, thinking that they are always perfect out of the box. Bad idea guys! Obviously throwing crappy parts at the problem will not fix it.

They also never did anything to the rears at any point in time even under warranty, even though my problems were exactly what is listed in the bulletin. I finally paid for new pads and resurfacing of the rear rotors myself at 75K hoping that it may fix this issue but it didn't. This should have been covered at some point along the way.

So, basically if you think the so called experts are doing what they are supposed to be doing then you are wrong. In this case they did some shortcuts to save time and money and all it did was cause problems for me. The ironic thing is that by doing this they sure wasted a lot of time, parts, and money. My faith in the McGrath service dept is gone.

djarovsky

Oh and I forgot to mention....after the rear brake job at my independent mechanic and after McGrath resurfacing the front rotors the car seems to be doing OK. It's been in the 90s here lately and I've been taking it easy on the braking and trying to break them in, so maybe they'll last longer this time. So far so good, although my confidence level is not high in the long run.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Did you replace them with OEM rotors and pads? You can get a GOOD set of rotors that won't warp nearly as easily for under $400. Also, are all 4 rotors warping?

japan-air

Mine has the same problem on highway speed.

Should I get it repaired asap? what is the drawback for having repaired later in the near future?

I was thinking of going brembo cross drilled all 4 corners with axxis metal master. Anybody running this set?

civicking

hey guys first time poster on the is board long time poster on the premedia boards. well we have owned our acura for 2 years and right now its on its 3rd set of pads and rotors, it had originals warped, then i went with after market from napa warped in about 2 weeks now its on brembo rotors and wagner pads cost 150 for just the front pads warped in about 3 weeks. i am a certified mechanic and when i did the install last every bolt got torqued to spec and the cliper was greased and everything. what i think is happens is a brake cooling problem, i have an idea how to fix this, what i think is happening is that there is no air flow in the wheel well, what i'm going to try sometime is to cut some slots in the splash shield that is twords the fire wall what that will do is give the air a way out and create an air flow that way the brakes will get propper cooling. its something that nasa foudn out, if you creat a low pressure zone you can draw more air in and also what that will do is give the car more stability at high speeds because it will keep the wheel wells from filling up with air and lifting the car.

efx

Got the same problem, warped rotors on 2nd set of pads. Since this is a common issue, could it either the-pads,rotors,or calipers causing the disc to wear prematurely.
I tend to downshift and use the brakes after slowing down so there shouldn't be that much heat buildup.

civicking

if its not heat, and i think it pays some part in it, i have been through so many pads and rotors i think its the calipers, something is going on. and its not that they are not lubed because mine move freely, i think its got to do with how its pushing the pads in the rotor.

4pumpedCL

My stock rotors were great...but my rotoras are warped.

jgscott

The Rotor and Brakes are to Small for the car Period. Other comparable cars have Rears rotors the size or bigger than the front Rotors on the CL's. Next time you park next to a 3 Serires BMW, or anything else close to the CL weight and HP compare the Brake and Rotor sizes. Bpttom line is we have rears Brakes on the front !

sgmotoring

Hey tell djarovsky as a Cerfified Mechanic, if you resurface your new rotors after installing them on your car! .

sgmotoring

Oh, I see what you are saying. Uneven surface cause by heat and not warp rotors! Yeah, if you want to put it that way I guess you are right. We just call them warp when surfaces of the rotors are uneven. I still think warp rotors exist, during my 15 year as a automotive tech. I have machine countless "warp" uneven surface rotors, yes some are just uneven surfaces but I could have sworn warp rotors exist. Should have taken some pictures of the badly warp rotors and show them to stoptech! Wonder what they would say

civicking

i don't at first i check them, if they are good i don't becasue i would like to have as thick a rotor as possible for heast dissipation. if they are off them i do it. also i am a certified mechanic too and i'm going into automotive engineering.

1killercls

I have Brembos now...I like um.

alyss

Hello Cl owners. First time user. My '98 3.0 Cl driver side front wheel shakes after driving for a few miles (5+-). I feel it when applying the brake and releasing the braking. It does not do it all the time but appears to be occuring more often.
The wheel is hot to the touch after I park it. I suspect a sticky caliper.
Any analysis and suggestions would be appreciated.
Does anyone know if there are special tools or procedure needed to relieve the brake fluid pressure from the system prior to disconnecting fluid lines?

Thanks

japan-air

I installed brembo cross drilled and pbr organic for my front.
I rode it for about 5000 miles now and it is great!!!
no more wheel shakes, not much dust and very little squeels.
braking power is improved and looks great too !!
I am very satisfied with this setup.

Got it for $150 from my friends shop, if anybody interested let me know at hkartolo@csulb.edu

goredcar

I think that there is a lot of Acura BS to cover a design defect. My wife has a TL and we have never had a rotor warping problem... and yes I do drive her car, so it is not babied. I have the CL type S with larger rotors and had three sets replaced on the front under warranty on my previous 5AT. When I got my 6MT this summer I didn't even bother with the OEM shit and replaced them with performance cross drilled rotors and new ceramic pads. Three months later I am starting to get a mild steering wheel vibration when braking. If this isn't a design problem I don't know WTF is.