PMGCamaro

One of my rear rotors is warped and it's going "tssst tssst tssst" against the pads when the car is in motion. The rotors and pads only have about 13k on them so there's a LOT of meat left on the pads. It's a 6-speed so my brakes are used much less frequently than ones on an automatic.

Can I only replace the warped rotor or do I need to replace both of them?
Are they any safety risks posed by replacing one rotor?

pits200

Well think about it, if you change just one rotor, the thickness will be slightly more than the other rotor. So when your braking, contact will be made with the new rotor before the old one because of the slight rotor thickness difference.

Also, if the brakes are wearing uneven because of you hearing the "tssst" that is going to make it even worse.

For the cost, you can get a set of front slotted rotors on evay for about $100 bucks. Its not worth changing just one in my opinion.

But no, there is no safety risk, your car will still stop and you won't break anything but you might be asking for more of a headache down the road.

fsttyms1

If one rotor is wearing worse than others its Highly possible you need to replace your caliper/calipers. Its starting to show up more and more frequently on the TL side.

Its possible you can have the rotors just turned if they arent worn that bad. Pads though i would look into new.

mclarenf3387

Pads and/or rotors get replaced in sets, not one at a time.

Zippee

No problem to replace one rotor. Remember that disc brakes will retract a set amount from the rotor and really don't care what the thickness is.

Worn pads are replaced in sets.

ljmushock

that tst tst tst noise your hearing is the pad wear indicator scraping up against your rotor indicating its time to change the pads... rotors might be warped too, but you could always take them to a machinist and see if they are still in spec to be turned. Definately take care of both sides at the same time.

PMGCamaro

doesn't seem to be much of a consensus on the topic...
I'm either going get both rear rotors turned-down or replace both of them at the same time.

pits200

Yes there is, you never typically change one of anything when it comes to worn tires, rotors, brakes, shocks, etc...

You should change both instead of getting them turned, not worth it to turn them because you will be having the same problem 10k miles from now.