vphokie

I'm at a little past 50k miles and it was time to change the brakes, so I took my car to the dealership today. Told them I wanted the brakes changed on top of the 50k service. So they replaced the brake pads as requested. On my way home, I noticed the steering wheel shakes pretty violently whenever I use the brakes, whether its lightly or firmly. Brakes feel like they are slowing the car more than the previous ones, but it's got a pulsating feel to it.

I'm not super worried, as I think it's likely that the rotors are warped and need replaced. In fact, I'm about 95% sure that's the problem. I'm cool with that, and kinda thought they might need to be replaced anyways.

What I'm not happy about is that the dealership must not have even looked at the rotors to see what shape they were in. More importantly, I saw a mechanic take the car off the lot to test drive it...yet I wasn't told anything about the rotors or any other brake issues. So not only was I not told anything, but someone decided it was totally okay and my brakes were good? What was that guy smoking? Nevermind the fact that it took 6 hours to get all this done.

There's pretty much no way I can drive it the way it is. I mean, the car will function and get me from point A to point B but my blood pressure goes through the roof every time I hit the brake and the wheel shakes. Luckily I have off work on Monday and can take it back to have the rotors changed. Should I give the service department a hard time on Monday about this? Or should I consider it my fault for not telling them to change the rotors if necessary? Not feeling very appreciative of the quality of service I got right now. Just wanted to see what you guys had for opinions on this.

theACE

give em hell kid

AzPete

They should have called you and discussed the rotors if they found them to be bad. Even though they did just what you asked for, the test drive should have identified the problem you have. I am really surprised they did not try to sell you new rotors from the start. Brake discs should always be replaced or turned when installing new pads........

Ask them to test drive the car.......tell them the brakes don't feel right.....see what they come up with.

SpartaPerformance

You have to find where the Fail is. Is it the tech that did not inform the service writer or the writer that didn't inform you after the tech came back from the road test.

kzonts

It's very unusual that they would neglect to turn the rotors unless you specifically told them not to. Even Joe the Plumber knows that. But the fact that they test drove the car and just let it go is BS. It is also their job to educate customers about the proper recommendations when servicing your vehicle.

alkemist

No excuse, but I can see maybe they were swamped and just wanted to push jobs through. It's the stealership after all. This applies to everywhere you go, but you could of just got the "I don't care type of guy, this is just a job to pay the bills". Of course it shows bad on the service department unless they have bad reviews or lots of complaints.

+1 on going back and complain the brakes don't feel right and maybe you can squeeze something out of it. Sometimes it's just better to play dumb until the time requires it to play your card.

Boondoggie

Did you tell them "do the brakes", or "replace the pads"?

Can't really complain that they just threw pads on if that's what you asked for. This is the problem with specifying solutions to mechanics. ("replace my thermostat" vs "find why my car is overheating and fix it") Your vibration could be rotors, but could also be control arm bushings. Do you feel it in the pedal too? Feeling it in the wheel, but not the pedal usually points to bushings.

MrSandman

You are assuming they didn't screw something up.. if your wheel didn't shake when you took it in.. it should shake when you left the dealership.

vphokie

Thanks for the replies guys. There was definitely no vibrating or shaking in the wheel when I took it in. I could just tell the brakes were starting to wear and needed to be replaced.

The service invoice says "REPLACE FRONT BRAKE PADS & TURN ROTORS, M/C" and cost $167.95.

With that said, I'm assuming the rotors should have been turned and "should" be good. Will the new pads need to break in a little bit and perhaps this will go away?

By the way, I didn't have them change the rear ones...they should still be good, yes?

daredevil95

I would bring it back and have them test drive the car and ask how could you release this car back to me?? Sounds like they didn't have the rotor straight on the brake lathe or they didn't cut rotors at all......scuffed them with a sanding disc? Either way I would be upset and I wouldn't ever take my car to that dealer again.