My girlfriend bought a new 2004 Maxima last June and she has 14,000 miles on it. She always complained about the car shimmying a bit especially around corners while braking. It got worse and worse. She took it in yesterday and they said the brake calipers were warped and that the brakes are only under warranty until 12000 miles! She complained and they resurfaced them for free. She still thinks they are not perfect...

Anyone know about this or if this is a maximas problem....??? help, what should she do now?

 

i think you mean that the brake rotors are warped? here is the problem. when a brake rotor becomes warped, shaving it may remove the issue for a while, but once metal is bent, its bent. as you shave the rotor to remove the warping, it becomes thinner, thus more susceptible to warping. warping is due to overheating them at some point, often caused by excessive braking or "riding the brakes"...if you feel that they have not been shaved correctly take it back and tell them that. are you 100% sure its not a bad wheel bearing or bent rim?

 

When she took it in they examined it and told her that the rotors were warped and said it was out of warranty. But she complained and they did the work gratis. I drove it today and it seems to brake properly now... but for how long? Nothing worse than buying a new car and in less than a year you are worried about it. She owned a Honda Accord for 5 years and the brakes never messed up....??

 

its funny that you mention that because accords have been known for having serious factory rotor warping issues. we used to have alot of customers who would get upset because they would pay for a rotor shave, and then a while later they would pulse again. honestly, you might not have a problem before these rotors wear out, or it might come right back. did they give you a sheet stating what the minimum rotor thickness is and what the rotor thickness was at after the shave? the thinner the rotor gets, or the more times you shave a rotor, the more often and more quickly it will come back. it sucks, i know, but thats the case. if they havent been cut before, you might be fine until it comes time to change the rotors, but say they had someone do it that didnt know what they were doing, and had to make 4 or 5 passes to get it right, they will be thinner...also, if you let the pulsation go so long, they warp more, and more metal has to be shaved off to fix the issue. since you have run into this issue, i would begin looking into a performance rotor set so when youre ready to replace the factory rotors, you will have a better, sturdier rotor, such as a slotted and dimpled rotor, that will transfer heat away from the braking surface faster.

 

Same thing happened on my 03', but with 20,000 miles I get no help, I am waiting to replace pads before resuficing the rotors.

 

you know this could be a problem of the driver and not the car, i have noticed that women like to ride the brake alot more then they should. Or if the driver lightly rest their foot on the brake with will also damage the rotors. I would say that next time you drive with you wife or girlfriends see if they do this, it might explane alot.

 

alot of the 04-05 maximas have problems with warped rotors even granny`s with maximas come in and complain

 

I have a 2006 Altima with 18000 miles and my rotors are warped. Does anyone have any recommendations about what type of rotors i should replace the originals with? Are slotted/drilled rotors worth using? Any recommendations will help being that this is my first Nissan.

 

cause they ride the brakes too, also its not only maximas i see it all the time at the dealership i work at that has kias and a used car lot, its really just how the driver is. also people that drive there car all day and get the brakes nice and hot and then take it to the car wash and spray COLD water on the wheels and hitting the rotors can also cause them to warp. no matter what brakes will always have to be service no matter how new they are. and if you live in an area that has traffic and the car sees alot of it that can also cause wear and tear on brakes and cause the rotors to warp. its not that big of a deal new rotors at auto part stores are around $50 or more for oem replacement rotors for cars (not trucks) so whats the big deal tell your girlfriend to stop riding the brakes and doing sudden last minute stops and that will reduce the chance of warping the rotors. my car has 97k on it and i dont have warped rotors at all cause i know how to brake properly and keep my following distance behind other vehicles on the road. its plain physics you get metal hot very quickly it will warp plain and simple, why do you think welders only weld 3 inches at a time.