Caruso Ford nerfed my brakes. What are my options?

[AnArmyOfJuan]

Took my FiST in for an oil change a month or two ago, and had the brake pads replaced as well. The pedal felt weird to begin with, but the dealer told me that was normal, and after a day or two it seemed OK. I made sure to not get on the brakes for the first 500 miles or so, and I've been driving normally (like driving a Prius normal). But now under hard stopping conditions and when slowing down at freeway speeds I'm getting a shake in the front end.

I need to take it back to the dealer and have it fixed under warranty, but I'm not sure if I trust Caruso Ford. Can I go to another dealer to make it right? I don't feel confident driving in canyons or whatever right now, and I think the rotors are warped. Should I go to Galpin instead?

 

[FORZDA 2]

Rotors are not likely warped. The new pad material has transferred onto this disc unevenly due to your not bedding the pads in quickly. You can scrub the discs with steel wool or sandpaper and then bed (break them in) the brake pads with a few longer medium/hard stops and the pulsing will go away. Rotors very seldom "warp" unless subjected to extreme localized heat

 

[dyn085]

Rotors are not likely warped. The new pad material has transferred onto this disc unevenly due to your not bedding the pads in quickly. You can scrub the discs with steel wool or sandpaper and then bed (break them in) the brake pads with a few longer medium/hard stops and the pulsing will go away. Rotors very seldom "warp" unless subjected to extreme localized heat

^ All of this. The worst time to go easy on your brakes is when they're brand new.

 

[RAAMaudio]

You got the best advise there is, follow it

 

[2Cool]

The dealership should have bedded in the brakes as part of the service. Swapping parts and handing it off to the customer is pretty sad.

 

[AnArmyOfJuan]

Well that's a relief! I thought their advice seemed kinda sketchy. I'll try re-bedding them tomorrow.

 

[dyn085]

The dealership should have bedded in the brakes as part of the service. Swapping parts and handing it off to the customer is pretty sad.

I've never heard of a dealership bedding the brakes in a vehicle, that would be the equivalent of them driving your car through the break-in period of an engine swap.

 

[2Cool]

No, initial pad bed-in is fairly easy, link to Hawk's instructions rather than me typing it out:
http://www.hawkperformance.com/sites/default/files/downloads/Motorsports_Bedding.pdf

 

[dyn085]

No, initial pad bed-in is fairly easy, link to Hawk's instructions rather than me typing it out:
http://www.hawkperformance.com/sites/default/files/downloads/Motorsports_Bedding.pdf

Have you not ever actually bedded brakes? The process is not nearly as quick as it reads unless you have immediate access to an unpopulated highway for which to get up to speed and slam your brakes on, repeatedly, with enough room to get some cooling and re-acceleration. There's no way I would want my dealership driving my car in that manner either.

 

[AnArmyOfJuan]

I should be able to do it right if I go visit my cousin out in Desert Hot Springs. Several long, straight, sparsely traveled roads out that way.

 

[dyn085]

I should be able to do it right if I go visit my cousin out in Desert Hot Springs. Several long, straight, sparsely traveled roads out that way.

Probably one of the most important aspects of properly bedding brakes is the final cooldown and doing it on a long drive is the best if you can manage to have about 20-30 minutes of uninterrupted cruise-control.

 

[2Cool]

Why does it seem that the hobby of most people on this forum is to be condescending? Which seems to get worse as post count climbs? It is a small, inexpensive fun little car. Calm down.

Yes, I have in fact bedded in way too many sets of brake pads. I worked for a performance automotive location for over four years, we were a Tire Rack authorized installer and also the go-to place for every Porsche in the county.

It does not require the autobahn in order to bed in pads, especially for OEM replacements where you do not need the "race speeds" mentioned by Hawk. You can easily do it without breaking speed limits on any back road, then drive it slowly and easily back to the shop to cool, avoiding using the e-brake when parked.

It is not voodoo. It is not rocket surgery. It is no more abusive than a test drive after an alignment, which is also a must do part of a service.

 

[dyn085]

Why does it seem that the hobby of most people on this forum is to be condescending? Which seems to get worse as post count climbs? It is a small, inexpensive fun little car. Calm down.

I'm surprised at how many people put a 'tone' to posts they read. There was no condescension in my post as I typed it, it is literally a question as to whether you've done it or not because many people haven't. It doesn't require an autobahn but it's definitely not a quick procedure that gets done in a back alley. Most dealerships are in town and not readily accessible to the amount of area needed to do it properly.

Again, I've never heard of a dealership that does brake bedding. Maybe done do but it's definitely the exception, not the rule. It's definitely far more involved than a post-alignment test drive.

 

[AnArmyOfJuan]

I've been doing some hard decelerations getting off the freeway and such, and it's helping. It's not a proper re-bedding, but it seems to be working.

 

[dyn085]

I've been doing some hard decelerations getting off the freeway and such, and it's helping. It's not a proper re-bedding, but it seems to be working.

It will help but the main component of doing a bedding is building the heat into the rotors to effect a good transfer of material. You'll need four or five solid back-to-back braking maneuvers from highway speed to a near stop at your braking threshold (pre-ABS) to do that. Just make sure when you do it that you don't come to a full-stop at any time during the procedure and for 20-30 minutes after.

There have been times that I've done it and run into traffic before my cooldown was complete. In those instances I try to brake to nearly a stop and then roll as necessary.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

It will help but the main component of doing a bedding is building the heat into the rotors to effect a good transfer of material. You'll need four or five solid back-to-back braking maneuvers from highway speed to a near stop at your braking threshold (pre-ABS) to do that. Just make sure when you do it that you don't come to a full-stop at any time during the procedure and for 20-30 minutes after.

There have been times that I've done it and run into traffic before my cooldown was complete. In those instances I try to brake to nearly a stop and then roll as necessary.

I think there's a very very small number of people who drive without stopping for 20-30 minutes afterwards. The suggestion itself would probably discourage people from trying to bed their brakes at all. As for how to cool them off afterwards, for whatever amount of time you decide is reasonable, you don't have to find a single straight path. If you find a piece of deserted road that is a decent length you can just do laps - run to the end, slow without using brakes as much as possible, make a u-turn and repeat without stopping.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

It will help but the main component of doing a bedding is building the heat into the rotors to effect a good transfer of material. You'll need four or five solid back-to-back braking maneuvers from highway speed to a near stop at your braking threshold (pre-ABS) to do that. Just make sure when you do it that you don't come to a full-stop at any time during the procedure and for 20-30 minutes after.

There have been times that I've done it and run into traffic before my cooldown was complete. In those instances I try to brake to nearly a stop and then roll as necessary.

I think there's a very very small number of people who drive without stopping for 20-30 minutes afterwards. The suggestion itself would probably discourage people from trying to bed their brakes at all. As for how to cool them off afterwards, for whatever amount of time you decide is reasonable, you don't have to find a single straight path. If you find a piece of deserted road that is a decent length you can just do laps - run to the end, slow without using brakes as much as possible, make a u-turn and repeat without stopping.