front rotors warped while pads show low wear?

Gothmolly

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2005
Location
Providence, RI
TDI
2002 Golf
I did rotors and pads 3 years ago, and with COVID and everything the car probably only has 20k miles on it since then. Months ago the front end started the old brake-and-shake, and I finally got a chance to redo pads and rotors today. Pads are maybe 1/4 of the way down from full, and the rotors looked ok, however, I noticed where the pad meets the back side of the rotor its ... cupped, for lack of a better term. No hard 'lip' on the edge of the mating surface, but the inside of the rotor was concave.
They were Zimmermans, I thought a good brand. I didn't even bother swapping the pads.

I've had the car for 16 years now and it's always devoured front rotors. I don't consider myself a hard driver, and I do mostly highway.

Is there some trick to this? Have other people experienced this too?
 

Nero Morg

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 19, 2017
Location
OR
TDI
2014 A6 TDI, 2001 Jetta TDI, 2014 Passat TDI
Warped rotors are from overheating. Could be from poor material, poor braking practices, or dragging brakes. Are your rear brakes functioning at all? I consider myself an occasional spirited driver, but I'm still rocking the same pads/rotors a bit over a year and no warpage yet.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
One thing to check for when putting new rotors on, is to check lateral runout. Any debris between the hub and the rotor hat will translate to increased lateral runout. That will cause steering wheel shake after ~ 5K miles. Been there, done that on my 03' Jetta. Once I fixed the runout problem, and replaced the rotors again as it was cheaper than getting the nearly new ones cut to take out the thickness variation, I had smooth braking for 10's of 1000's of miles. Still were smooth when I sold the Jetta.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
Believe the Zimmermans are about the best. Of course some stores (ebay, amazon, alibab, etc.) will sell 2nds or defects. I suspect there is a fitment problem. Do be sure the back brakes are working.
 

Gothmolly

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2005
Location
Providence, RI
TDI
2002 Golf
Believe the Zimmermans are about the best. Of course some stores (ebay, amazon, alibab, etc.) will sell 2nds or defects. I suspect there is a fitment problem. Do be sure the back brakes are working.
Thanks, I think if the backs didn't work there'd be a lot more pad wear on the fronts.
I'm starting to suspect over-torquing, I had new tires put on in the fall to pass an inspection, and the vibration happened starting in winter.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
Yes, no back brakes, the car would nose drive pretty good on a hard stop, so unlikely. Over torqued wheels will warp rotors. A co-worker told me he always pulled the tire tool from the trunk and asked the tire jockies to remove just one lug nut using the tire tool. Mark one of your lugs they installed, loosen and torque to spec (90'#s) to check. If it's off by much, those guys owe you a new set of rotors (good luck)
 

tgray

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2004
Location
Marengo, IL
TDI
'02 Beetle, '05 Golf, 2000 Jetta, 2001 Jetta, 2002 Jetta
After 600,000+ miles driving these cars I have had a lot of brake issues. Cheap made rotors are not worth the money. I had one that looked like it had part of a twist drill bit in the cast. I have seen them fail in less than 6 months. Concerning pads I have found that the semi-metallic have always worked best for me and my climate. The ceramics tend to not cut into the rotor enough and keep it clean and the rotor will rust out very fast. I had one car that was shaking on the front wheel with everything brand new. It ended up being the pads themselves. My first vw I put 100,000 on the front pads and rotors and they were stock. Most of the time I have had good service with the name brand stuff. And like stated above, make sure your hub and rotor is clean where it mates up.
 

Andyinchville1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2016
Location
Virginia
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, 5 sp, 226K miles
After 600,000+ miles driving these cars I have had a lot of brake issues. Cheap made rotors are not worth the money. I had one that looked like it had part of a twist drill bit in the cast. I have seen them fail in less than 6 months. Concerning pads I have found that the semi-metallic have always worked best for me and my climate. The ceramics tend to not cut into the rotor enough and keep it clean and the rotor will rust out very fast. I had one car that was shaking on the front wheel with everything brand new. It ended up being the pads themselves. My first vw I put 100,000 on the front pads and rotors and they were stock. Most of the time I have had good service with the name brand stuff. And like stated above, make sure your hub and rotor is clean where it mates up.
HI,

As far as rust on VW rotors , I have always wondered why my rotors tend to get rusty even after short periods of non use (not very often but there have been a few times the car has sat waiting on parts / guru to work on the car) ... I use quality rotors / different rotors but same thing happens ....rust after just a short period of non use

On the other hand, My freightliner step van can sit for months between use and the rotors are not rusted ....

Maybe car parts just use materials that just don't hold up well to sitting / water ?
 
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