Brake Rotors warping repeatedlyon 18 2SS
 

I have a 2018 2SS that started warping rotors at 55,000 miles. The dealer turned the rotors and balanced the tires. Several weeks later the shaking was back and I was told that I needed new brakes. $1500 out the door and several weeks later vibration is back. Once again they turned the rotors and then they blamed the snow tire/ rim combination that I had been using during the winter for the last two years (with no adverse effects ). I took the car home and put on the factory summer tires with the factory rims. Several weeks later the vibration while braking is back. The dealer replaced the front rotors. Several weeks ago the vibration was back, this time I took the car to my mechanic, who turned the rotors and told me that there was crap behind the rotors on the mounting surface and the wheels were not torques properly. Well here we are two weeks later and once again the brakes are vibrating when I apply them above 65 mph. Any recommendations? This will be traded in on a V6 (my last two were fifth generation vehicles both of whose brakes lasted for 80,000 miles plus). (oh yes and through another dealer )

Usually a sign of improperly torqued wheels and/or frequent very aggressive braking.

I always hand torque all my wheels when they have been removed for any reason. Then I check them again after a couple days. A nice even appropriate torque, which is 140 lb ft on the Camaro, helps avoid problems. Speaking of torque, I think the average wheel lug torque among other manufacturers is 85-90 lbs, many Chevys (all 3 of mine) have a 140 lb ft requirement. Is it possible those working on your car are improperly tightening the lugs (85-90 lb ft instead of 140)?

It's also argued that uneven wheel torque will lead to rotor warp (some say it's a myth).

Do you have aftermarket wheels and or lug nuts?


No expertise implied or expressed

On one of my previous cars, I would warp rotors all the time...until I got OCD about the lug nut torque. Never had an issue after that. I always torque them by hand now. Well I always torque them period. Previously I was like "yup, that's tight enough" with a ratchet.

Thank You all for your help. I will check the torque several mornings in a row to insure they are at 140 ft-lbs. My commute is about 110 miles a day. Thank You Again

I had a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee that would shake like a dog going to the vet. Twice in 3 years the dealer replaced the rotors at no cost to me. I was glad to dump that POS when the lease ended.

The "other car" I was talking about was a 2001 JGC. lol. Had it from 2006 to 2016. After setting the torque properly, I never had another issue. Honestly, it was a good car for me. Did very little to it. Sold it with 174k running well except for leaks.

I am going to say this isnt a brake issue, might be a user issues that is causing the brakes to have uneven pad deposits. I had similiar issues on my 17 SS 1LE, pads were acting warped with only 7500 miles on them.

I ended up figuring out I had done some really hard stops and then proceeded to drive right to the house and park the car with the rotors, calipers and pads being extremely hot. Make sure if you are making any hard stops that you are driving the car for 2-3 miles with minimal braking to allow the brake system to cool back down.

Also there isnt much room to turn the rotors, brand new you might get 1 turn and then the rotors will be close to or at min spec. That turn will also cause the rotors to be more sensitive to uneven pad deposits going forward as well.

Thank You For all Your Help. I would have to assume that the dealer had used an air gun to tighten the lug nuts since I have done summer/winter change overs multiple times using a torque wrench and have not has an issue. I run Bridgestone Blizzaks on a different set of rims during the winter. Going forward they can not touch my wheels for any service. It looks like they are not capable of doing anything more complicated than changing oil.

Check your hub surfaces which are behind the rotor. The paint starts to form rust bubbles, which causes uneven surfaces, which in turn ruins your rotors. Use a dial indicator to check rotor and hub run-out.

Aftermarket?
 

Rotors can only be skimmed once or twice before hitting the minimum thickness. Have you considered aftermarket cross drilled rotors as an alternative?
I have done that with my other car and I'm already thinking of doing it with my new Camaro. Every time I look at the front brakes it just seems to be screaming out for cross drilled rotors!
Fraction of the price of OEM and I haven't had any problems since fitting them (8 months). I haven't been to the track with them but I have done some spirited driving....

At 55K miles, they probably need to be replaced. As they wear down, the heat dissipation diminishes.

Turning them only exasperates this problem. While they may still be "within" safety spec, they are not at their peak performance level.

This was a common issue on the C5 Z06, GM at that time used the cheapest, thinnest rotors they could get away with and warping rotors on those things was very common.

Just replace the rotors.

FWIW... My '16 SS Vert with 4-pin Brembo calipers was chewing through rotors every 8k to 12k miles as a daily driver. Chevy replaced the rotors 4 times. The 5th time, they refused and I went with Centric Cryo treated rotors and Powerstop pads and haven't had an issue since.

About 6 months after the Centric install, GM put out a service bulletin regarding their crappy rotors, replacing the when warped with an 'improved part' and the same dust generating pads.

Vidkid2 Thank You for the response. Do you have the service bulletin number so I could get the new part?