Hola,

Went in for an oil change the other day at a Nissan dealership. When they were almost all finished up, they bring me out to tell me that I need new brake pads, which i kind of already new. Crazy thing is, they want to charge me over $400 for just fronts. They said I can't just get pads because the rotors are too thin to turn. The car has 25k miles on it and I haven't changed the brakes or had the rotors turned yet. Does this sound like they're trying to bilk me into getting new rotors? There is about a 1/16" lip on the rotor from brake wear. They said they will do whatever I want them too, (including bringing in outside parts to install), but the brake job won't be warrantied. Any thoughts?

 

Sounds about right. Eventually rotors will wear out specially if they have alreday been turned once if the vehicle had a previous owner. I had to turn my rotors at 20k miles because I warped them. But 400 seems way too much.

 

It's not like the wheel bearings/hub are part of the rotor, do it yourself. You can probably get some Hawk pads and some decent slotted rotors for the price of the dealer doing it.
IME, if there are nasty grooves on your rotors then you let the pads wear too long. Did they say you were down to the rivets?

 

I don't recall hearing them say anything about rivets. I am the first owner of the car. It is a 2005. The groove is only 1/16". Based on what Nissan is telling me, I will need to buy new rotors everytime I get brakes. These rotors only have 25k miles on them. I could do the brake job myself, but wanted them to have a record of all the maintenance I've had done to the vehicle for warranty issues.

 

Do it yourself, save the receipts, and your warranty issues should be covered, as long as you don't mess something up. Pretty easy install - did the front end in one hour a couple weeks ago. And you can measure the rotors to see if they are too thin to turn - ask them for the specs. 25,000 miles is too soon to need new rotors unless you drive it pretty hard.

 

Thanks for the quick replies everyone. I don't drive the car hard most of the time. However, I do zero downshifting, always shift to neutral and brake to stop...i know, i know, no need to tell me to downshift more. haha

 

look for centric premium rotors... are in the 80$ range a piece, front and rear. Just check you get the right one for the brembo brakes.
(quality is there.. centric premiums are the "blanks" for slotted and drilled stoptech... not the aerorotors, just the one piece replacements.)

 

This is standard dealer fare. Purchase some nice stoptech/rotora/dba
one-piece rotors, get fresh hawk/nismo/mu/ endless pads and brake fluid
and diy or have a performance shop install/bleed/bed.

Significant performance improvement and feel can be had for relatively small peanuts.

Don't replace w OE

 

Cant tell jack unless I know how thick the rotors are.

 

Haven't measured, but considering the 1/16" groove, I would hope 1/16" less than factory spec, which I am currently googleing. Also, just ordered the Hawk pads, now deciding whether or not to shell out for new rotors..

 

1/16" is .0625 or just over 1.5mm which is alot for a rotor. Guessing at the runout is dumb. Get your rotor Mic'd (measured with a micrometer) and find out what the minimum recommended thickness is for turning the rotor.

Or... read the previous posts and buy new rotors/pads yourself and slip them on... no wheel bearings, no cotter pins -- too damn easy.

EDIT: if you're confident in replacing the pads yourself, replacing the rotor is like changing a light bulb. Save yourself the time running around to machine shops that will turn your rotors the RIGHT way... most brakeshops turn rotors WAY too fast and take way too much material off each cut.

Also, I'm not certain with Nissans but, some other rotors I have replaced have the minimum thickness stamped right into the rotor.

 

My brain is JDM. mm. Maximum rotor wear is 2 mm.

 

Generic rotors are cheap, why not just get new rotors and not have to worry?

 

coasting in neutral to brake? wtf is wrong with you.

 

I guess I'm just crazy!

 

never pay anyone to change your disc brakes/rotors, ever.

 

I had to do the same thing; had identical response from independent car maintenance shop I've used for 20 years. Payed the freight.

 

Here's a couple other threads in which this has been discussed....

https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...bo-rotors.html
https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...nd-rotors.html
https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...mpossible.html

 

I know this sounds crazy, but if you plan on owning the car for a long time, look into a set of OEM 06 brakes (calipers and rotors). I paid under $400 for a set of 06 brakes with 12k miles on them. The 03-05 brakes are excellent, but will drive you crazy with wear.. and pad dust. The 06 setup is larger and has been such an improvement. I was doing pads every 18 months.. and had 3 sets of rotors by 50K. I live in a rather hilly area.. and do 90% city driving.. Anyway, if you are so inclined, look into it. While its more labor (still can do yourself), the pay off over the next few years is well worth it. My pad and rotor wear (and pad dust) are a fraction of what I was seeing.

 

Im a service manager for a shop, and i deal with this all day long, people think because the brakes weren't grinding they dont need rotors, unfortunately they are to thin, or by the time we cut them they will be to thin, which if we actually did that, they would be back in a month or two complaining of a pulsation and blaming us because of it. if you have a 1/16 in lip on your rotors, you need new ones.

Cheaper to do it yourself though, Im doing mine in a few weeks, luckily my rotors are clean and if i turn them they will be to thin so im just changing the pads and running them for another 25k miles, or until they start pulsating.

Good Luck, and never go back to the dealer unless its a warranty issue.