poohlikeshunny

OK..here's my dilemma, when I drive on the highway (or anywhere for that matter) and I brake lightly, it's fine. It's normal. But when I hit the brakes harder (not to the point where ABS kicks in, because I know what THAT is like...) I feel the car vibrate and I feel the virbation the most in the steering wheel. At first I thought it could be that the brakes are pumping to slow me down, but after reading all these threads on rotors warping and shitty brakes, I want to know, does anyone know about this? Does this sound normal? Because I don't necessarily do anything like 80mph to 15 mph stops in 30 feet...more like I'm cruising at 80 or so with the flow of traffic, and someone cuts me off 50 feet ahead and I have to apply more pressure to my brakes than when say...coming to a stop light....ideas anyone?

batting_cleanup

Your brake rotors are warped. It nornally happens after unqualified mechanics run your lug nuts on with an air gun and do not use a torque wrench. Have you recently had tires put on? Possibly a saftey inspection, flat fixed, tire rotation? The rotors can usually be turned and the problem fixed but nake sure the grease monkey uses a torque wrench or at least has the proper torque stick set to the correct foot pound measurements specified by Acura.

poohlikeshunny

Well, i got the car in January ths year...it went into inspection the week i got it and it was perfect...as far as i can remember there hasn't been that problem at all. I haven't gotten a roatation yet or new tires or anything. But I AM due for new tires. At least new front ones. So you really think it's warped? What can i do to fix it? How much will it be? Can i do it myself? Will it hurt my car anymore if I keep driving it like this for another few weeks? I just moved and am all kinds of hectic...won't have time to do anything to the car that needs to be done (new tires, springs, shocks, alignment), so I want to make sure if I drie it for the next few weeks it will still last...

batting_cleanup

Can't do them yourself. It requires a cutting tool to shave them back into shape and must be done on the car. Unfortunately it is a good idea to put new pads on at the same time so they can all "break-in" together. Probably about a $200 job unless you know somebody. I am basing this on Northern Virginia labor rates which are pretty high. Might be a little less or a little more. I would like to tell you something more positive. If you can do brakes yourself it would be just as cheap to put on new rotors and pads. Possibly get one of those high performance drilled set of rotors fot the front or just the stock replacements.

poohlikeshunny

oh man....so i guess it's not going to be safe driving it around for a few weeks, huh? I'm not looking to spend too much...how much you think some new brake pads and cross drilled rotors will cost? That's all I'm going to need, right? and if i get new rotors, all i do is slap them on myself? I can do brakes myself...

batting_cleanup

My Avalon had warped rotors for three months before I had them fixed. Shouldn't be a problem if you wait a while on them. Some of the parts places that get kudos on these threads would be a good place to look for the drilled rotors and new pads. I don't know your level of expertise, but brakes are fairly straight forward just make sure you know what you are doing and are confident in your abilities.

poohlikeshunny

Yeah...well I've changed brake pads on my camry, rx-7 and 3 series...and it was all pretty much the same, so I'm assuming this is too. Thanx for the advice batting cleanup! Now,when i get new pads and rotors, do I have to get the rotors surfaced first or can I just remove the old ones and slap these mofos on?

Also, anyone out there from the Philly/King of Prussia area know of any places that I can get these parts from? Andjust in case I need help with the rotors, anywhere trustworthy to go?

ejsn

I just purchased an 03 TL-S. I had the same problem. When I braked at high speed the car vibrated. It was warped rotors. You will have to remove them and take them to an auto parts store to have them turned. I paid $16 total for this. You will also need to use a special screwdriver to remove the rotors. They are held on by two philips panhead screws. The factory puts thread goop on them. I had to use an impact screwdriver to remove them.

Good luck.

poohlikeshunny

ejsn: It only cost you 16 bucks to have the rotors turned? cool! Maybe I'll just look into that. What do they do when they "turn" them? Do they resurface too? Or do they just remove the wheels and turn the rotor and put the wheel back on?

69ssrscam

Turning rotors is the same thing as resurfacing them. They "turn" them on a lathe to true up the surface level of the rotor. You would need to take your rotors off to have them turned at a shop. The trouble and cost is in removing and putting back on the rotors. If you have them in your hand you can get them turned for 16 - 25 dollars for both, If you pay a shop to take them off and put them back on, you ar looking at 100-200 dollars. This is where you can save the money by doing the labor yourself. Here are your choices:

Leave it and drive with a vibration -$0
Take your car and have your rotors done & add new pads - $100 -$200
Do it your self and drop your rotors at a shop to be turned $50 (for new pads & rotor turn)
Buy new drilled rotors for $150+++ (depending on what you get) & pads $30 - $100 (depending on level of performance) and really do it right.

The choice is yours.....

spl1011

I opted for D myself.
So far, I am glad I did, and hopefully will save me $$ since I wont have to worry too much about my Rotoras warping and needing to repeat myself *again*

ejsn

I do most things myself. FYI - of course remove the tires, remove the brake calipers, hang the calipers from the front springs with wire (coat hanger works too), you do not want to let them hang by the brake lines. Also, you may need a breaker bar to remove the bolts from the calipers (leverage problem). The last step is to remove the two philips screws from the rotors. You will need an impact screwdriver for this (a screwdriver you hit with a hammer). You local autoparts store should have one of these to borrow.

I did not replace my pads when I had the rotors turned. I had about 75% of the brake material left. I suggest replacing your pads with ceramic pads. Ceramic pads will eliminate the black brake dust that mucks up your wheels.

Good luck

poohlikeshunny

Thanx everyone for the great advice...I think for now, I'm going to remove my rotors this weekend and get them turned and get some new brake pads...we'll see how well this takes care of the problem, if not then I will most likelye be getting those cross drilled rotaras...they're pretty sweet...also...EJSN: What is this breaker bar you are talking about? The one about having a leverage problem removing bolts from the calipers? Thnx again!

LiQiCE

Are you under warranty? ... I had the exact same problem as you did, brakes were vibrating only at high speed stops and I took the car into the dealership. They resurfaced the rotors for free.

There's a TSB on the rotors warping from Acura too, so you may be able to get the dealership to do it for free even if you are out of warranty under goodwill. Might want to try that.

Rotor warping is pretty common on the TLs. Unfortunately the car is way too heavy for the small brakes they put on the car. You'll notice with the 2004 TLs, they have much bigger brakes. Even the TSX which is lighter than the TL has bigger brakes. With the tiny brakes we have, the rotors tend to heat up a lot more and faster which causes some of the uneven wear on the rotor leading to warping ... Just my 2 cents. I think bigger brakes like the Rotoras or the Brembo would tend to help out the TL quite a bit.

I tend to think that the rotor warping issue has more to do with that then it does with people putting on your wheels improperly (although that can be a cause of rotor warping).

Oh, I wouldn't worry about the rotors being warped and not having them fixed right away. A couple of weeks won't matter, you'll just have to deal with a shaky steering wheel.

Anyways, good luck.. hopefully you'll be able to get the rotors fixed up!

2002TL31k

I agress... I had my rotors resurfaced and pads replaced by the dealer for free on my '02 TL

poohlikeshunny

You know what fellas, that's a great idea. I am no longer under warranty though, so I can only hope they will do them. I have 84k on my 2000. What's the link to this TSB on rotors? I would like to print it out and bring it into a dealership...