jkozlow3

So I brought my car into the dealer today for an oil change and some other stuff and I asked them about all the rust on my rotors and the corrosion/pitting on the inside of the wheels. I'm assuming this is from the 1.5 winters my car spent in Cleveland (road salt), but the rust/corrosion is well outside the "normal" range IMO. I'm not talking about a thin layer of rust on the rotors like what you see after they get wet. I'm talking about a THICk ring of rust around the outside edge as well as near the center of the rotor.

I have friends who own IS300's & 3 series' back in Cleveland and their rotors/rims don't look anywhere near as bad as this after a winter or two.

The dealer basically told me that it was normal and that all rotors rust. When I told them that I've seen plenty of 3 series' and IS300's without this amount of rust & corrosion, he said "I own a 3 series and it has rust on the rotors too." Bullsh!t...not like this!!

When I asked if there was any way they could replace them or at least talk to the factory rep about it, he basically blew me off and said "I'll leave him a voicemail." I doubt he'll even do that.

I left the dealer pi$$ed and called Acura's corporate offices where I got the runaround for 20 more minutes. Long story short, they told me that they go by the dealer's assesment and that I was free to "get a second opinion" if I liked. Well, no sh!t. I'm "free" to get a second opinion. How nice of them!! The guy at the corporate office didn't feel that it was poor customer service to make me drive all over town trying to find a dealer who agreed with me. At least when I asked him how he would feel if he had to do the same or if he'd be angry himself after spending 30k on a car, he kept changing the subject.

Bottom line, I got nowhere and I don't know what to do. I don't see this on BMWs or Lexus's of comparable price, yet my Acura's wheels and rotors looks like crap. I had a Mitsubishi Galant a couple of years ago and the dealer noticed a VERY SLIGHT pitting around the center cap of the wheels and replaced ALL OF THEM for me. I hadn't even noticed it. Now that's service!!

Why am I getting such a hard time from Acura? What does the dealer have to lose by replacing the rotors/wheels for me? It doesn't cost them anything.

This will probably be the last Acura I own.

Sorry this is so long, but I needed to vent!!

fla-tls

Yes - the front rotors on the TL are crap IMHO. I'm going to replace them with Brembo OEM type rotors at my next service.

As I recall, you leased your TL. It may not be worth changing out the rotors (they're +/-$50 each from the tire rack) in order to get you more piece of mind.

Maybe you could negotiate a discount on your next brake service to offset the cost of the new rotors.

As far as the Mitsubishi goes, there may have been another reason that they were able to replace them (i.e. TSB, Warranty Policy, etc).

BTW - Hi again!

ICEBLE-S

those rotors warp damn quick too. i thought it was imagination that the rotors seemrd to have an excessive amount of rust on them

fla-tls

Have you used Brembo OEM rotors before on a TL? (or another car?)

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Instead of comparing to cars of other brands, it's probably more persuasive to compare to other TL's. I mean, this is basically saying "my orange is more yellow than my friend's apple."

If your car indeed does have problems with the excessive rust compared to other TL's, compare it to other TL's at the dealership. It'll get your further.

Hokie D

Both of my cars had rust on the rotors - basically anywhere the brake pads didn't rub. I got the Acura rotors replaced recently under warranty (warpage) and had the Stang rotors resurfaced so both are clean now.

Yes, these Acura rotors warp way too easily! Let me know how it works out if you go aftermarket rotors. The cross-drilled ones for my Stang still rust even though they are aftermarket.

r10apple

I've got rust on mine and it's been there since day one (and on the new set installed at 15k miles as well)...I've seen a few others at the dealer for service in Jax as I was curious about this but they all look that way...

jkozlow3

Acura obviously used an inferior rotor on our cars. I look at Lexus IS300s and BMW 3 series in the parking lot where I work every day, and their rotors do not look anywhere near as bad as mine. Hell, one of my co-workers has a 2 year old Mazda protege and the rotors look BRAND NEW.

slick88

Mine look rusty as well, but is it more of a cosmetic problem?

jkozlow3

Yes, it's a cosmetic problem, but I didn't buy a $30,000+ car for it to look like sh!t because the rotors are all rusty...especially when I see cheaper cars that do not have this problem.

Hokie D

Wait, you're in Tampa, FL? That could explain why your problem is so much worse than mine. You've got the Bay, the Gulf, etc.

I can tell you that I've had rust on rotors on just about every car I've ever owned. Never owned a Mazda, BMW, or Lexus, but I guarantee they have the same problem. Aren't their rotors made of steel too?

Here's some pics of a BMW M3's rotors. Tell me those don't have rust.

http://www.racepad.com/tech/bmw/chan...brake_pads.htm

jkozlow3

Those DO look rusty, but mine are worse. The BMWs that I've been looking at are all late model 3 series (2001-2002), and I haven't seen hardly any rust at all.

Anyway, the problem isn't Tampa...it's that I spent 1.5 winters in Cleveland (road salt).

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

My '03 TL-S also has rust on it, I just noticed it the other day.

My '97 Tahoe has rust, as well. However, the '01 Eclipse GT doesn't. It has a 5 double-thin spoke rims, and you can the rotors very well -- no rust.

Oh, well. It doesn't really bother me much. It's purely cosmetic, and up here in Michigan, humidity and salt on steel is bound to get rusty. It's chemistry, you can't deny it.