I wish I knew
Last edited:
Brakes and rotors replaced, vibration over 50miles/h or 80km/h
- Thread starter tookien
- Start date
I wish I knew
Did you properly bed the new pads per the manufacturer's instructions? New pads - especially ceramics - should be thoroughly bedded in prior to normal operation. This process effectively mates the pads and rotors through a series of hard brake applications (without actually coming to a stop). I do 10-15 applications from about 50 mph down to about 5 mph...never allowing the car to fully stop. Sometimes it's a smoke show with an obnoxious burning odor, but that's the way it's done. When finished, just drive normally for a few minutes to cool the brakes and you're all set.
Been doing this for 30+ years, and have never, ever had "warped" rotors. There's a school of thought out there that heavy iron rotors don't actually warp; rather, the all-too-common vibrations frequently come from uneven distribution of pad material that gets "baked" onto the rotor(s). For example, if you just come off a freeway and brake hard from 70-to-0, then sit at a red light with your foot mashed on the pedal, the super-heated brake pad material can cook onto the rotor surface. This is just a theory, but again, I always bed my new pads and haven't ever had a warped rotor.
I understand it can be a pain to find a long, quiet stretch of road.
Been doing this for 30+ years, and have never, ever had "warped" rotors. There's a school of thought out there that heavy iron rotors don't actually warp; rather, the all-too-common vibrations frequently come from uneven distribution of pad material that gets "baked" onto the rotor(s). For example, if you just come off a freeway and brake hard from 70-to-0, then sit at a red light with your foot mashed on the pedal, the super-heated brake pad material can cook onto the rotor surface. This is just a theory, but again, I always bed my new pads and haven't ever had a warped rotor.
I understand it can be a pain to find a long, quiet stretch of road.
Can't always assume this anymore. My 2014 Town and Country was heavily rear-biased. When I did my first brake job on that van at about 90K miles, the rear pads were at the minimum allowable thickness while the fronts were over 80% of original thickness. Both front and rear rotors were well above minimums as well, with zero run-out.
Thanks.
Yes I always do hard braking after installing new brakes.
The braking itself is actually excellent, it doesn't vibrate at all.
The only thing that makes sense is that the warped rear rotors are causing the vibrations at greater than 80km/h,
I can actually feel them from the back going downwards to the front.
It's that centrifugal force.
One of the rear warped rotors, wobbles on a flat surface. Pressing finger on one side makes the other side jump almost 1/8th of an inch.
This is a new rotor, you can't say that's normal.
As far warped rotors in general, I definitely think it's more common with the cheaper rotors.
I know licensed mechanics who had these issues plenty of times.
Thanks. honestly it's good info but I just want to the wheels not to vibrate.
I triple checked everything and the only thing that is off is those rear rotors, but one in particular is much worse than the other.
I looked at whether it could be a wheel balance issue, but I highly doubt I knocked off any of the weights.
I could not find anything.
I just made the mistake of throwing out the old rotors, that way I could have tested this 100% by now.
I'm going to swap out one of the bad rotors with another new rotor and see if that helps with the vibrations.
I could not find anything.
I just made the mistake of throwing out the old rotors, that way I could have tested this 100% by now.
I'm going to swap out one of the bad rotors with another new rotor and see if that helps with the vibrations.
I got some new brake drums from RA for My 1990 Ranger. I put them on and the truck shook driving over 50mph. Took them off and put them on a bubble balancer and they were way off. Checked the ones I took off and they were perfect. Put them back on the truck with the new shoes and all is great now.
The OEM Toyotas should never be replaced with aftermarket unless it's a brand designed for tasks heavier than OEM, i.e EBC racing rotors. It's absurd to assume that a company operating on razor thin margins trying to sell cast iron that their tooling and specs are equivalent to what Toyota puts into their rotors. Advics is the aftermarket manufacturer of the OEM Toyota part.
Heck, my mom's Matrix's original rotors were 1mm below the 23mm min spec and they still were true at room temp and having to deal with a failed brake hose that limited the driving range of the car to 3 miles or so.
While hard to believe at such a young vehicle age, do check for the possibility of a failed brake hose. If the caliper is hard to squeeze back but does so upon opening the bleeder, you have bad brake hose.
Heck, my mom's Matrix's original rotors were 1mm below the 23mm min spec and they still were true at room temp and having to deal with a failed brake hose that limited the driving range of the car to 3 miles or so.
While hard to believe at such a young vehicle age, do check for the possibility of a failed brake hose. If the caliper is hard to squeeze back but does so upon opening the bleeder, you have bad brake hose.
