Rotor warping on 3rd Gen Tundras?

Hey All,

Long story short I was experiencing a lot of vibration in my brake pedal when braking at speed (highway). I had new brake pad and rotors installed almost a year ago.

I took it back to the shop and the technician told me that this is a common issue with Tundras and 4runners and that he sees it all the time. It was covered under warranty and he happily replaced the rotors for me, which turned out to be warped and I haven't experienced an issue since.

My question is have you guys heard that before?

Cheers,

NT

 

I’ve had the same problem on my Tundra and the 4Runner and the only long(ish) fix was to have them put new rotors on and then turn them on the vehicle. The hub-centric design needs an on the vehicle turn to fit the small differences on the surfaces that “mate” together.

 

Ive had the problem in the past on my 4runners but no problems on my 17 tundra.

 

My 18 started the shakes at around 14k miles. I’m just trying to figure out how I can put better brakes on without my wife complaining about how short these lasted. I haven’t asked the dealer as I’m sure they’ll say it a wearable part and not covered under warranty.

 

Had a brake change since I bought, no vibration here over 10K on them. I've read about the issue I think but not commonly recurring on this board.

 

When my stock rotors go, I'm going cryo treated rotors.

 

60,000 and the brakes vote just like day one. Replaced with TRD early on though...

 

I warped cryo rotors. I am on my fourth set of rotors. They are NAPA Ultra Premium. These have lasted the longest so far.

 

Over torqued lugs is a big cause of warped rotors?? This is just another reason this could happen?

 

Dang. I thought cryos wouldnt warp.

 

Yeah the guy doing the brake job cranks on the wheels Lugnuts with an impact LOL. I’m definitely a firm believer in installing the wheels correctly. It sounds so simple but they really need to be seated correctly. I always get the wire brush out and clean any scale or debris off of the back of the wheel hub and the mating surface at the lugs on the rotor. Also hand thread each lug on in a across pattern with the truck in the air. Then I use a ratchet to get them as snug as possible with the truck in the air. Then I let the truck down until the tire is barely touching the ground and torque.

 

WTH lol, my mechanic buddy and I do our brakes and he’s insistent on using his calibrated Dewalt torque.

 

Yeah, thinking if I run into the issue again I'm going to replace the rotors with an upgrade, just need to figure out which rotors to go with.

 

Is this issue showing up mainly for folks who tow or haul a lot and frequently?

 

At 29k as of now and have had this vibration issue when braking from highway speeds(only) since about 16k....glad to hear it's just not me. Plus I just recently changed my stock tires about 1000 miles ago...those Michelin Ltx are garbage...

 

Cryo treating is crap. I bought two set of frozen rotors and they warped just as fast as stock.

 

26k and still good on my 17.I run in sport mode and down shift rather than pile on the brakes,helps a lot

 

This^^^ I just saw a show and they also said mechanics should stop running lugs on with the impacts ( show about tires). They say use your hands or a wrench to snug them up good, then use a torque wrench to finish.

 

I don't know about others but I've never towed anything with my Tundra.

 

I haul kids around. A lot of city driving.

 

This really ticks me off. The other day I wanted to pull a wheel off my wife’s van so I could check the brake pads and I could not even break them loose with anything aside from a 3 foot breaker bar. How am I supposed to change these wheels if I have a flat on the road?

 

Mine started getting shaking around 30k. Around 40k I was coming down from the Sequoias and had to keep it REAL slow because the shaking was so intense. Changed them as soon as I got back. Sucks they don't last but at least they fly on and off

 

I've experienced this from my local Toyota. In fact, it was when I was changing my rotors. I had to slip a cheater over my breaker bar. Each one snapped loose with a loud ping. I thought for sure I was snapping those studs off

 

Most common cause of warped rotors is not using a torque wrench to tighten the wheels. If I bring my truck in for service, before I leave the lot I check the torque on the wheels. For less then $100 bucks get a torque wrench, its worth it.

 

Can you expand on how you check the torque on the wheels? I get tightening them with a torque wrench but how do you specifically check that the torque is within or up to spec? Probably a stupid question but I haven't worked on a car in about a decade.

 

loosen the lug and torque again.

 

The torque spec on the tundra is 97 foot pounds For aluminum wheels . I’ll set the wrench for 85 they all should click.

Then I’ll set it for 97, if you can feel or see the Lugnuts turning then clicks then they were loose.

I’ll set it for about 110 foot pounds and i notice that the Lugnuts don’t turn and I get a click it means it is at least 110 ft pounds not 97, it was too tight.

So I will loosen all the Lug nuts about one full turn and then retighten to 85 foot pounds, roll the truck back and forth and do a final torque to 97 ft pounds right on the lot.

There is no real way of checking for perfect torque. Only if it wasn’t done right. I have never had my wheels done right. They are usually over tighten. Once I found a few lug nuts that were maybe 50 ft pounds.

 

Thanks for the detail here, this is super helpful.

 

I have never warped a rotor on any vehicle.

I think some folks that think they have warped rotors sometimes are getting vibration from pad deposits - sticking the pads to the hot rotors when stopped.

 

My Tundra and my old Dakota had brake related vibration issues at low mileage. I think the materials they use on mass market brakes now hold up fine for cars but don’t dissipate the extra heat created by stopping heavier vehicles as well. I am now in the habit of paying more money and replacing rotors with aftermarket products on my first brake job rather than turning them or doing OEM stuff. I did this with my Tundra and have felt no vibrations for 4 years now. Last inspection passed the pads and rotors again with flying colors.