Brake problems on newer Pathfinders?

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skinny2
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Brake problems on newer Pathfinders?

Postby skinny2 » Tue Sep 03, 2013 5:27 am

I've been looking at upgrading to a 2012 and found a nice deal on a Silver edition with only 12k miles. Drove out to look at it yesterday and it was in terrific shape. It was a 3rd vehicle for the family and was only used on long trips when taking the entire family, so largely all highway miles. The only problem I found is that the front rotors are warped.

This seems quite odd to me because I'm at 100k miles with the original rotors and they have NEVER vibrated unless I tortured them with multiple HARD braking from high speed. But then once they cooled off they were fine. This one vibrates with any braking from about 40mph up. He was going to take it to the dealer and see what they come up with. But I just wonder if they cheapened the brakes over the years. Does anyone else have problems with brakes on the later models? I've not seen much of anything around here with braking problems, beyond some folks wanting to improve the performance. Seems like a bum deal to need rotors in 12k miles!


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ShipFixer
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Postby ShipFixer » Tue Sep 03, 2013 10:06 am

My Nissans tend to go through the first set of rotors somewhat quickly...like 30K miles or so, and I've always thought of it as a Nissan thing. There are some who think Nissan underspecs on rotor size for trucks as well.

The primary driver for warping rotors in my experience is uneven clamping force from uneven lug nut torque rather than hard braking (which is better for the rotor than long, slow brake dragging behavior). I've driven away from tire shops with my brakes suddenly pulsing. Quick retorque with the torque wrench makes it go away if I do it right away. If not it'll only get worse.

Anyway, my point with all of that is its not unbelievable to have warped rotors in 12K miles. New rotors are ~$40 each I think and not hard to change (best with pads but I've skipped that before). With a 2012 you won't be breaking that much rust to do it either :-D

skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:32 am

Yeah it's not that big of a deal. OEM parts are hella expensive and that's what I've gotten such good life from. I changed pads around 45k miles and still in good shape now at 100k. But obviously these are factory rotors so it just seems weird.

I look at how reliable mine has been with 100k on it and it still drives/rides about the same as this 2012.....makes me question whether I really want to "upgrade".

DanJetta
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Postby DanJetta » Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:54 pm

Go back and ask the owner to drive you around the block. You may find your answer in his/her driving style. :)

And it could be a million things, including improperly installed brake components from the factory. If it's an awesome deal, just buy it with the knowledge that you may have to replace some brake components to make it perfect.

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leadpig
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Postby leadpig » Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:41 am

I've no issues with the brakes on my 2012 at all and I've got right at 20K on mine.

If it only has 12K this would be a warranty issue though, right?

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:49 am

brakes on my 05 just hit the squealers. Will be replacing pads only with Wagner Thermoquiet Ceramics.

skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Wed Sep 04, 2013 12:49 pm

leadpig wrote:I've no issues with the brakes on my 2012 at all and I've got right at 20K on mine.

If it only has 12K this would be a warranty issue though, right?
It's over a year old so technically it's out. He was going to check with dealer though as he has a long-standing relationship with them and thought perhaps they would cover it anyway.

I'm more concerned that they cheapened something up with the brakes and they're just not as reliable.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:43 am

Personally, I think they just use cheap iron in their rotors. They've been having warpage issues with rotors (or "rotor thickness variation" as they call it) for the last decade. They recommend resurfacing the rotors with an on-car brake lathe. For what that costs, I would just rather spend the money on a good set of aftermarket rotors.

skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Thu Sep 05, 2013 6:22 am

smj999smj wrote:Personally, I think they just use cheap iron in their rotors. They've been having warpage issues with rotors (or "rotor thickness variation" as they call it) for the last decade. They recommend resurfacing the rotors with an on-car brake lathe. For what that costs, I would just rather spend the money on a good set of aftermarket rotors.
Maybe I've just been super lucky with mine. My buddy that's a mechanic said something similar about GM/Ford brakes. Says the cheap pads/rotors GM/Ford uses helped put his kids through college. Said he rarely sees brake problems on the "imports" but he also works on far more domestics.

I'm really leaning towards keeping what I have but I just don't deal well once things start to break. I don't have time to be messing with repairs.


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