What happens when your brake rotors get warped?
Increased wear in the braking system: A warped brake rotor not only causes brake pads to wear more quickly than necessary, but it can also cause damage to the brake calipers, which can be a very expensive mechanical repair.
How is a brake pad applied to a rotor?
A normal braking event requires a brake pad to be applied squarely against the rotor. Each time this happens, a tiny layer of friction is removed from the pad and is deposited on the face of the rotor.
How can you tell if your brake pads are warped?
Usually, with warped brake rotors, you can’t tell with the naked eye that they are warped. The easiest way to tell if your brake pads are warped is to feel the brake pedal for vibrations or pulses when braking. Your brake pedal should feel smooth as you press on it and you should not feel any vibrations under heavy or light braking.
What does it mean when your brake rotors are glazed over?
If the brake rotors are glazed over, you may hear excessive squeaking when the brakes are applied or even smell burning rubber. If the braking suddenly becomes jittery and inconsistent, the brake rotors should be the first suspect.
What does it mean when your brake rotors warp?
If you skip the cleaning process, you’ll actually cause brake pedal pulsation commonly called brake rotor warping. If you slap on a new rotor (leaving the rust on the hub) and then the pads and caliper and then mount the wheel and crank down the lug nuts, you’ll cause brake rotor “warp.”
Why are the brake pads on my car Warped?
Of course, no technician can be blamed for the way some customers use the brakes on their vehicles, but in many cases, the uneven transfer of friction material from brake pads to brake rotors is the direct result of how we install brake rotors, which brings us to-
What causes the glazing on the brake rotors?
Heat is the number one cause of this, and can cause warping in more than one way: Glazing the brake rotor with material from the brake pad. This happens because brake pads, like tires, are made with different amounts of hardness and stickiness depending on the intended purpose.
Can a warped brake rotor cause pedal pulsation?
Yet, as we know, brake pedal pulsation caused by out-of-true brake rotors is a fairly common problem that is almost invariably attributed to warped rotors, which is almost invariably confirmed by excessive amounts of rotor run out that is easy to “prove” with a dial gauge.