Warped rotor at 10K miles

Hi everyone,

I have a 2014 Tundra Platinum and replaced my rotors 10K miles ago. I used Toyota's rotor and it's already warped. Any idea what's making the rotors warp so fast? When I step on the brakes going on the freeway, I can feel the steering wheel shake. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Drive down any steep grades? I’ve only got temporary shuddering when they get rode too hard down a long descent. Downshifting is your friend in those scenarios.

 

No but I do drive stop and go all the time but my other car doesn't have this problem.

 

Best hardware for Tundra brakes are cryo treated rotors. They will last the best and there are tons of threads here about tundra brakes, warping, pulsing, etc. Big heavy trucks so the brakes can be finicky.

Spend the coin on cryo rotors this time and get good pads, recommend akebono for cost/performance and low dust.

It may not be warping. Often it is just uneven brake material on the rotor. In that case drive it like you stole it and do several hard (not skidding) braking applications from speed down to about 5 mph. Dont stop however. Back on gas up to speed and heavy slow again. Do it 5-10 times. That will burn off some of the crud on the rotors and even out pulsing as long as the rotors are not actually warped. You can check for actual warping by measuring the rotor- runout measurement.

 

IDK if you have done anything yet. If not have someone turn the bad brake rotor , reinstall and torque the front wheel in a equal pattern . After you get the wheel tight , have someone pump the brake pedal. Let off the pedal and try to rotate the wheel . It should spin freely. Try the other side to get a good idea what you are wanting to experience .
If this works out then drive it for about two miles and come to some pretty quick stops . If you can borrow a temp gun shoot both front brakes in EXACTLY the same place and these temps should be w/in 25 degrees . If one is super hot , you have a collapsed hose sticky caliper mounting hardware or sticking caliper.

 

Do you know what brand cryo rotors I should get? Someone told me to to also check the hub. Thank you so much for helping me.

 

I’m guessing your other vehicle is much lighter

 

May not pertain to this situation, but coming from the Grand Cherokee world, you could torque your wheel too tight and warp a rotor.
I got used to torqueing wheels.

 

Did you install these yourself or have someone install them? Were pads replaced alongside with rotors and bled properly prior to operation?

 

Came here to say this. I get shuddering every time I go to Colorado. Rotors get hot. If you come to a stop while they’re hot, your brake pads can deposit material onto the rotor as it cools down. This creates an uneven surface for your brakes to grab.

@JayKay you need to do a couple bedding procedures (hard braking from 60mph to 10mph) to get those deposits off. This doesn’t happen on your other vehicle because it’s not a 6000+ lb truck.

This has worked for me multiple times.

I would venture to guess most warped rotor reports on these trucks are just deposits that got embedded in hot rotors that owners don’t know can be sheared off to get rid of the shuddering. That said, this truck will eat OEM brake pads if you’re a hard/late braker.

EDIT: I’m still on original pads/rotors at 65k miles.

 

Do you use Adaptive Cruise Control in heavy traffic?

There have been reports of early rotors failing because of the ACC being used for stop and go traffic.

Editisregard. 2014 did not have ACC. I better get my coffee in me.

 

You can go with the cryo-treated rotors . Most cabs , police , etc. do this .
STILL , you need to be sure you do not have one or both sides dragging or holding causing heat buildup.

 

Just a decent brand vs a no name from Amazon. Centric, Stop tech both do good cyro rotors. You may find them in plain, slotted, drilled or slotted/drilled. I suggest plain or slotted as drilled rotors you will be able to feel and the truck dosent need them.

 

Guessing you mean on the downside of mountain passes? My sequandra needs engine braking (trans at 4) along with some regular braking to keep the brakes from getting too hot and stinky.

 

https://dirtydeedsindustries.com/st...rozen-rotors-slotted/v/TunFZRSL2356/2357(all)

 

Yeah the extremely long grades and the high elevation descents. I use S4, too, but it’s easy to be heavy enough for that to not be super effective.

I just bed the brakes again afterward. It has worked for me multiple times.

 

After long grades with heavy braking try to avoid coming to a full stop. Hot pads sitting on the rotors are what cause these issues. Keep distance and slowly roll forward in these case to avoid a full stop.

I for one prefer to keep excess loads off of the transmission and engine when I can and put that wear on the brakes, which are cheap and easy to replace.

 

For what it’s worth I’ve never had a slotted/drilled rotor warp on me. I’m a believer in their ability to run cooler which in turn prevents warping. Every solid rotor I’ve run has warped on me at some point. They obviously warped sooner when I lived in New England given the weather. Driving like a madman and then hitting a slush puddle is a perfect recipe for warped rotors. Anyway, just my shade tree $.02

 

I just grab S3 if necessary or even S1, S2 at low speeds.

 

I slip into 4 wheel drive so both axles can help with engine braking.

 

As Frichco228 stated in an earlier post... Most likely not a 'warping' issue, but simply an uneven build-up of pad material on the rotor. Whenever you install new pads and rotors they must be properly bedded-in to put an even layer of pad material onto the rotor. Google will provide the proper instructions.
At this point, you could turn the relatively new rotors to remove the build-up, install a new set of pads and then follow the proper bedding-in procedures.
I used to have the same issue until I learned of this procedure.

 

Over tightened lug nutts? I use a tourqe wrench on my lugnuts and do my own tire rotations. I have 71k miles on original rotors.

 

102k on mine. Second set of pads.

 

I actually use a torque wrench every time and mount and balance my own tires.

 

One thing I did not do is replace the pads when I replaced the rotors. I had a 10 inch lifted 2014 Tundra on 37's right before this Tundra and never had the issue vibration during braking. I also used the old pads on the new rotor for the lifted Tundra. Don't ever lift your truck!!! Lifted trucks drives like sh!t, slow AF and braking sucks ass!

 

The other vehicle was also a 2014 Tundra with 10 inch lift and 37 inch tires. I replaced the rotors on this lifted Tundra myself also without using brand new pads and never had an issue with vibration when braking.

 

37s will kill brakes - they’re just so heavy.

 

Yes but I've never had a problem with vibration when braking on my lifted Tundra with 37's. Having an issue with my stock Tundra vibrating during braking.

 

Did you use new pads when you replaced the rotors? OEM pads?

 

I didn't change new pads on both my lifted Tundra and stock Tundra when I replaced the rotors. Weird thing is I don't have the problem with vibration during braking on the lifted Tundra with 37s. The only thing I did differently is when I purchased the rotors for the stock Tundra, it was for a Lexus but it also fits the Tundra. Can't remember which Lexus it was for but of course it came in a Toyota box.