Originally Posted By: barlowc
So I visited my friendly Nissan dealer this evening and spoke with the Service Advisor. He said that they see A LOT of Altimas, both coupes and sedans, with brake vibration/pulsing issues. Turning the rotors will resolve the issue for a while, but then it comes back.
He told me that the Genuine Nissan replacement rotors and pads are NOT the same parts as those put on in the factory. He also said that after a brake job using the Genuine Nissan replacement parts, customers don't experience the recurring brake vibration/pulsing issues.
Whether or not they can do anything for me is above his pay grade, so I need to call and talk with the head of the service department and see if he has any pull with corporate Nissan. If not, which I'm assuming is going to be the case, I'll just do my own brake job. The price the dealer quoted me this evening for new rotors and pads, front and year, was around $850.
There are Nissan Value line pads (which is probably what he is referring to) and Genuine Nissan. Those are two very different grades.
Measure the rotor runout, use a brake align plate if needed, and install a set of more aggressive pads such as Stoptech 309 Street Performance.
You will likely never fix the problem entirely, but this may make it go away for a bit longer.