Did a search but didn't find what I wanted.

So about 11,000 miles ago with the held of a buddy (who knows a lot about cars and does many tuneups on his own) we replaced my front and rear brake pads and front rotors. We also bled the brake system (he had this pump thing that sucked in the fluid/air bubbles).

The car was braking fine til about 1k miles ago. Now when I press the brakes, usually at 30mph+, the steering wheel rattles a little bit as well as the brake pedal. I wasn't too sure what was causing it... pads worn already? Are the rotors warped already?? Air in the brake lines? Well, I went to my Acura dealer this morning to get something unrelated done but he came in and mentioned that the brake system needs to be bled and they found small traces of oil and air in the system. If what he said is indeed the case, could this be causing the light rattling when I brake? If so, I definitely need to bleed the brakes, and this time I will go to the dealer...

 

Usually means that the rotors are warped.

Did you grease the caliper pins and reinstall the stuff right? If not, then the calipers can stick, pads can drag, cause extra heat and premature wear and warp your new rotors. Perhaps the rotors are just low quality. Do you remember what kind of rotors you used?

How does oil enter the brake lines? There are always traces of rust, water, air, etc... that is why you change the fluid every few years.

It sounds like the install was not perfect, but it also sounds like the dealer is BSing you a bit.

Ask him how the pads look. If one is worn significantly more than the others, then there is your issue.

 

Yeah, probably warped rotor/s. What spec did you use when tightening your lug nuts? What type/brand of rotor?

Ask you dealer to explain how they are able to detect trace amounts air/oil in your brake system. I'm dying to hear this one....

 

I got a report back and the pads look just fine. As far as the oil in the lines.. well I called the dealer back and the one guy who told me this was unavailable so the other guy on the line said he could explain it to me but all he did was tell me what a brake bleed is and when it is needed . I know what it is and when it is needed; but he mentioned nothing about air or oil in MY brake lines. Maybe he was BSing me, maybe I misheard the guy .

I was also thinking it must be warped rotors.

And my buddy helped install the them and tighten the nuts so dunno that.

Here is what I got:
https://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/C...RecType%3aA%29

https://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/C...RecType%3aA%29

I was also thinking it must be warped rotors. There rotor warranty looks like a pain in the ass to go through but if it must be done...

 

Well, if your buddy used the TFAR (that feels about right) method of tightening the lug nuts, he could have over tightened them which led to the warped rotor/rotors.

It's important to use a torque wrench to tighten lug nuts to spec (80 ft-lbs) (actually I think it's 79.6 to be exact).

Did the dealer do a run out test to confirm warpage? Both rotors may not be warped.

 

Na the dealer never even mentioned the rotors. They just mentions the brake lines/fluid.

 

Anyways... it got really bad so I couldn't take it anymore. I tested the brakes and rotors with a buddy and we determined it was the right front that was causing the problem.

I returned the right front rotor with the pads to NAPA and first the guy says the rotors only have a 1 year warranty. I'm like...riiight, so why does the paper I have in my hand say it has a limited lifetime warranty? Good thing I printed it from their website..

So they replaced my front right rotor and all front pads under warranty, I just got my front left rotor resurfaced at O'Reillys for $15 and put them all back on and now it is back to perfect.

And it only took about 6 hours...phew... don't ask..

 

If the problem was only in the right front then why did you have the left front turned? If the left front needed turned then you should have had them replace both. Glad you got it fixed though

 

I technically didn't HAVE to but they said it was best since I was putting on brand new pads and instead of having one new rotor and one rotor that's been used for a year, have two freshly surfaced rotors. Makes sense...