Who else has had warped rotors?

[Manaz]

I have experienced several "iterations" for various periods of time.
1) Stock rotors and stock pads for 7k miles.
2) Turned rotors and stock pads for 1k miles.
3) New OEM rotors and aftermarket pads for 2k miles.
4) Turned rotors and aftermarket pads for 2k miles (current configuration).

In normal city driving, to and from work, I thought the issue was getting (got) better. I just returned from a trip to the NC mountains and was going back and forth with a Land Rover Sport SVR through some mountain roads for about 45 minutes and was really disappointed in the brakes. They were very noisy. Not squeeky noisy, but just a lot of scraping/friction sounds (windows up) and then after about 30 minutes, the "thump thump thump" sound (that correlated with speed) when the brake pedal was pushed. I never had a lot of confidence in these brakes and this solidified my opinions. I guess it was brake fading, there were times where I just kept pushing the pedal without a real increase in stopping power, pushing all the way only triggered ABS once. Apparently, they were hot, but as I have said many times before, I have pushed 3800lb-4000lb cars this hard before in similar situations and never had the brakes let me down. It really affected the way I was driving and I had to leave myself a lot of room as a precaution. Still beat the Rover to the top though!

Not sure what is next. I can't justify pumping a lot of money into a car I am leasing for aftermarket rotors and pads on my dime, but I want to enjoy it while I have it. That is my dilemma now.

That sounds like a combination of issues. Not fun.

You mentioned not getting good brake pressure when the brakes were hot. This can be pads reaching their thermal limits (the pedal should feel roughly the same though) And the brake compound and binding starting to fail, or fluid boiling (pedal travel will generally be longer and "squidgier").

The former can absolutely result in masses of pad material deposited on the rotors, and given what you described regarding grinding noises and the vibrations you ended up getting, that is where I suspect you ended up. You may have had some fluid issues too - if you've had your fluid in the car for a while it may have absorbed sufficient water to have "gone off" - irrespective, after this event I'd recommend a flush with good DOT4 OR DOT5.1 fluid, because booked fluid is compromised in its ability to operate.

 

[4WDlifeform]

Just sent our Stinger GT to our local dealer for an evaluation on the brakes. Car has 22,000 miles and recently developed a nasty shudder during moderate braking. Worst is braking from highway speed when taking an off ramp.

I measured all 4 rotors with a dial indicator to check for variance on the surface of the brake while turning the brake disc by hand. Considering my method is not perfect (the car wobbles a bit when I push on the rotor to turn it) I can not measure with precision better then say .003". But, I can not say that I measured any significant (dare I say it...) "warp" on the rotors. So, I will be interested to see what the dealership finds out. Most of the posts seem to be agreeing that it is a deposit from the pads building up on the rotors causing this shudder. When I looked at the rotors, there is no sign of any build up, cracking, or unusual wear of any kind. In fact, the pads are thick and look new. Though, I did not pull the calipers off to get a better look at the friction surface of the pads..

I can not tell if this is a warranty covered problem? What is the consensus on that? At 22k, and 1.5 years, track proven Brembo brand brakes should not be going bad this early on a car that is never track driven. Hopefully this one doesn't BRAKE the bank...

 

[Kamauxx]

I can not tell if this is a warranty covered problem? What is the consensus on that? At 22k, and 1.5 years, track proven Brembo brand brakes should not be going bad this early on a car that is never track driven. Hopefully this one doesn't BRAKE the bank...

Warranty stops at 12k.

They covered mine under warranty at appx 12,500 after I explained to them it's been happening for a couple thousand miles but I couldn't get in to see them. I don't know if that excuse will work with you being so far over the warranty mileage.

 

[NS_Stinger]

The pad deposits on my rotors are evident:

 

[Helo58]

Warranty stops at 12k.

They covered mine under warranty at appx 12,500 after I explained to them it's been happening for a couple thousand miles but I couldn't get in to see them. I don't know if that excuse will work with you being so far over the warranty mileage.

There may be some room here for dealers to work in. When I inquired to my dealer about what happens to me if the "fix" doesn't work and then I return out of the warranty period, she replied that "adjustments" to the brakes are only what is limited to 12k miles. She went on to say that if the parts were faulty/defective, they would be covered under the full warranty. I didn't argue or inquire too far past this statement because it was certainly in my favor but it did leave me to believe that if the dealer wants to fix it, they have the latitude to do so. I am sure that not all dealerships are this gracious and that my experience may be limited to me, but at least some could be willing to acknowledge the issue and help owners out.

The pad deposits on my rotors are evident:

My rotors have looked very similar to these photos in the past! I got rid of my marks/vibration with some re-bedding. The new rotors/pads and have been issue free for a little over a month now.

 

[4WDlifeform]

Dealer called, they found that the front rotors are warped... which contradicts my inspection of the rotors, but like I said, my inspection method maybe isn't quite as good as what they do.

They priced each rotor at $150, which maybe for Brembo is not too bad?? So I might as well do that. They said the pads looked good, but if they are questionable anyway, what aftermarket options/upgrades exist??

 

[robz32]

There
Brakes

 

[MisterMac]

Dealer called, they found that the front rotors are warped... which contradicts my inspection of the rotors, but like I said, my inspection method maybe isn't quite as good as what they do.

They priced each rotor at $150, which maybe for Brembo is not too bad?? So I might as well do that. They said the pads looked good, but if they are questionable anyway, what aftermarket options/upgrades exist??

Call the Stinger VIP LINE to get those rotors replaced for free.

855.454.2847

 

[SilverNitr8]

I just started hearing high pitch squeal on my brakes this past weekend. It's intermittent but is starting to annoy me. I am getting some vibration feel to my car when stopping at times too. Car is just over a year old and has less than 8k miles. smh What's the warranty on the brakes? 1 yr/12k miles?

 

[robz32]

Yes

 

[Aurelian]

Late to opine in this thread but...

My experience after 9 months is consistent with the brake pad deposit diagnosis. I will often go 3-4 days without driving the Stinger, and the first drive I take after that hiatus will frequently encounter shuddering when braking with moderate pressure on the highway, or when coming to a stop. If I drive the car several days in a row (good weather periods), I'm much more likely to get clean braking with normal driving. However if I brake hard several times consecutively in the same trip, after the first or second time the shuddering does start (built up heat causing pad material to begin shedding?)

Given what we already know - I feel it's a waste of time getting into a back-and-forth with my dealer on this. It's irritating given the intended performance level of the car, but not a critical issue for me - yet. Will probably just have the tune shop replace the rotors and pads entirely, while they're working on all the other end-of-year mods.

 

[Gordon D.]

I have 1800+ miles and brought my car in today because the rotors were so horribly warped.. dealer said they resurfaced all 4, and if it occurs again everything would be replaced.

Mine starting showing signs around 4,500 miles. My dealer said the same thing, all we can do for now is resurface them. Really? Ultimately, my service manager said I should buy a set of drilled/slotted aftermarket rotors. Then, during a future inspection he would install them in stead of reinstalling the factory models.

 

[4WDlifeform]

Got the car back from the dealer. Talked to one of the technicians. Turns out they DIDNT EVEN PULL A WHEEL OFF.... Paid $22 for them to take the car for a joy ride... wow. No way am I giving them more money buying rotors from them. I'll find another dealer.

With all the comments about pad deposits and non-existence of warped rotors I may just try new pads and the bedding technique. But first, I'll try calling that magic phone number, can't hurt to ask! If I can get rotors off Kia, I'll hold off on the pads until the rotors are installed, and bed them in together. I'll keep posted.

 

[Manaz]

Dealer called, they found that the front rotors are warped... which contradicts my inspection of the rotors, but like I said, my inspection method maybe isn't quite as good as what they do.

<soap-box mode=on>

I hate when they say this, "warped" is a term they're using incorrectly - yes, it's commonly used, but it's just flat-out wrong, because it implies that the problem is that the rotor has somehow deformed or changed shape, and it has not - the fault is not with the rotor itself.

What they really mean is that the measured thickness of the rotor varied around the rotor, and this has unbalanced it (at 60mph, your wheel is rotating around 800 rpm, plenty for even a small imbalance to show up) - and this will be because there are uneven pad deposits or cementite build-ups on the rotor surface.

Why do they say it's a warped rotor? To start with, because it's a commonly used phrase that everyone "understands" (even if most people actually don't, they just think they do. It "sounds bad" and that's good enough - the service dept are the experts right? The service manager isn't going to lie to them, right?).

Also, because it's a quick "win" for them - if the car's under warranty, Kia pay them for labour to replace the rotors - I doubt there's any margin on the rotors at that stage. If it's not under warranty, then they get a double payout - you pay margin on the rotors, and you pay for the labour (and probably at a higher hourly rate than Kia pay them under warranty).

I'm not saying that there isn't a problem. There clearly is - and out of balance rotors due to uneven deposits are a problem, as are rotors with deposits on them that cause them to vibrate when applying the brakes.

But this is *not* warped rotors. The standard method of "fixing" the issue does't actuall fix it - it only masks it or delays re-occurrence.

I also do not think it's reasonable that Kia throws an arbitary 12,000 mile limitation on the warranty if the problem is endemic to the selected components (as it appears to be). The fact that the same issue is apparently starting to occur on G70s (and G80s, but I'm not sure if they share brake components) only makes this worse).

Does anyone know what the brake bias front to rear on the Stinger/G70/G80 are? I wonder if this is an input into the problem...

 

[eflyguy]

I may just try new pads and the bedding technique.

This won't do you any good if you have pad material that has been baked on for a while. You have to catch it as soon as you notice it.

 

[cranman]

OK wanted to post what i had done after KIA dailed to offer any option that i felt was fair. Replace front 2 rotors with Centric rotors and new Stoptech street pads. I now feel like i have my original car back- the shuddering was so bad recently i changed the way i was driving to avoid it. Followed stoptechs bedding process and so far car is back to amazing!

 

[4WDlifeform]

Well, I tired the Kia Stinger hotline (thank you @MisterMac for the number), they stuck firm to the 1 year, 12,000 mile warranty, which I am far outside that range. They did not offer me any assistance other than suggesting that I take it to a dealer for replacement. So, I guess I'll be replacing rotors and pads. Just sucks, 1.5 year old track ready car, I have to replace brakes from DD use... not right.

 

[eflyguy]

You don't have to replace the rotors, any brake shop can turn them to remove the deposits. If the pads aren't worn, you don't have to replace those either.

Just be aware of the conditions that cause deposits to occur, avoid them, and if you do start to detect vibration, clean them up by following the "bedding" process immediately.

 

[Manaz]

You don't have to replace the rotors, any brake shop can turn them to remove the deposits.

Unless it's cementite, which can be very hard to machine off.

 

[Helo58]

Unless it's cementite, which can be very hard to machine off.

Cementite penetrates deep into the rotor over time. To remove all of it, you would likely be under the minimum thickness specified for the rotor in the worst cases.