In the old days, you would turn the rotors on a lathe if they were warped. But new rotors are so cheap and easily available now that they just replace them instead.
It's been a long time since I had to have brake work done. The car is a 2012 Hyundai Elantra Touring GLS. It's primarily driven by our daughter.
The car has 4-wheel disc brakes, original from when we bought it new, and has 88k miles. The pads were down to just 2 - 3 mm and the rotors were too thin to resurface.
The shop replaced all four rotors and installed new ceramic pads. Total cost out-the-door was $749.99. Lifetime warranty on the parts & 12k mile warranty on the labor.
The cost seemed high to me, but we want our daughter to be safe! What do you think?
Bonus question: We didn't have the fluid replaced. Should we do that too, considering the age & mileage?
Brian
A the risk of thread diversion , rotors rarely actually warp, they develop disc thickness variation as the pads just touch a tiny amount more in one area than another and over millions of revolutions wear unevenly. Compounding this, different chassis designs react differently to the same amount of thickness variation. On one car, the brakes would cause steering wheel vibration and seat shake and on another you'd scarcely notice it - all with the same thickness variation. In recent times, this has been a characteristic that is more closely monitored and designed to be robust. Sensitivity to tire balance is similar............ I had a '94 Thunderbird which had a frustrating habit of warping rotors.
In my locality, I have found shop labor rates can vary 15-30%. This is illustrated if you get bids for a labor intensive task.To some degree it depends on local cost of living, but that sounds like high end of normal range to me. Not outrageous, but perhaps a bit on the high side.
Agreed with the above about not pinching too many pennies when it comes to my tires and my brakes.
The car is a 2012 Hyundai Elantra Touring GLS.
The shop replaced all four rotors and installed new ceramic pads. Total cost out-the-door was $749.99.
Let me quess, this wasn't a Ford dealer?I just had the front pads/rotors replaced on my wife's Ford Escape... $318 out the door.
I just had the front pads/rotors replaced on my wife's Ford Escape... $318 out the door.
This is a great point. I do my own brakes, but take DW's car in to an independent shop. When I picked it up last time, I asked that very question - what quality parts did you install? All I got was a shrug and a "well we've never had any complaints". When I do my brakes, I buy from Rock Auto and get branded parts, probably from China, but someone stands behind them................Question for those that are not very experienced when it come to automotive work. I know the total price definitely matters, but how do you know the quality of the parts you've just paid for. In other words, If you've just paid $700.00 for brake work, are you getting an amazing price with high quality parts throughout, or did you get ripped off by having low quality parts installed on your vehicle. ................
I thought this might be an interesting read for some
Why you shouldn't ever go for the cheapest brake pads
"Using charts to analyze the relationship between pedal force, temperature, and frictional coefficient, Fenske is able to discern the cheapest pad is by far the least consistent and worst-performing among the group."
Question for those that are not very experienced when it come to automotive work. I know the total price definitely matters, but how do you know the quality of the parts you've just paid for. In other words, If you've just paid $700.00 for brake work, are you getting an amazing price with high quality parts throughout, or did you get ripped off by having low quality parts installed on your vehicle.
Members state, I've paid "X" amount, but without knowing the brand and quality of the parts, how do you know you got a good deal? The price of parts can triple depending on manufacture as well as whether you got their good, better, or best quality.
Brakes burn up descending long mountain grades, especially with a trailer or a load. When I worked at MegaMotors, we had pickups lose their braking because the brake fluid had absorbed water and when the brakes were used heavily on a long grade, the contaminated brake fluid turned to steam, which is, of course, compressible...........The way they test brake pads by simulating hard braking to bring a car from 60mph down to rest, and do it again and again until the rotor turns red hot blows my mind. I cannot imagine myself driving like that. Do you? And in real life, would the tires not explode?..........
Brakes burn up descending long mountain grades, especially with a trailer or a load. When I worked at MegaMotors, we had pickups lose their braking because the brake fluid had absorbed water and when the brakes were used heavily on a long grade, the contaminated brake fluid turned to steam, which is, of course, compressible.