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$110 to turn Rotors on a car???

JEDI

JEDI

Lifer
I was hearing the warning noise from my brakes on my '93 Sentra. I take it to Midas since I had my brakes done there b4 and they had a lifetime warrenty, which meant free brakes. (More about the "free" later.)

1) They said my calipers were sticking to the rotors. $200 to replace both left and right front ones.

2) They said my car's manufacturer (Nissan) recommends that rotors be turned while it's on the car, thus $55/rotor = $110. Regular turning = $50 for both. (i know nothing about brakes.)
a) Is this BS?
b) Did i need them turned in the 1st place? They said there was a lip on the rotor cause by the brake pad. (could i have lived with the lip? The rotors felt smooth, w/no or very little warping.) Also, there were heat marks. And he also said something about glazing. Any ideas here?

3) They also suggested shims ($20 for both) for the calipers.

4) The free brakes were for pads only. Labor wasn't covered 🙁

-I said ok to turn the rotors on the car. Big mistake?

-I turned down the new calipers. I figure that they have to take off the calipers to service the rotors so now the calipers wouldn't stick since they have to reseat them anyway. AM I RIGHT?

-I said yes to the shims since they said it would cut down on the noise. Another mistake?

Total for "Free" brakes - $200

 
Sounds like they pulled a stunt on you... Turning your rotors is somthing some stupid that you could do yourself in 10 minutes. 55 bucks was a waste.
 
I think it is standard procedure for any place that works on cars to charge absurdly more than the orginal/expected/quoted cost of the repair.
Ex: I just took my '96 SVX into the shop for $500 of general maintenance and came out with a bill for $1200 bucks after (and here's the kicker) the gave me a discount on some of the maint.

I didn't know cars had rotors!
 
Breaks are expensive my friend. Usually you never pay the advertised price for break jobs cause they don't include anything in those specials. And it is one of those things where you can go to another store and get a second opinion, but I have usually found most big retailers like Midas to be agree with by the dealer when I do this.
 


<< -I turned down the new calipers. I figure that they have to take off the calipers to service the rotors so now the calipers wouldn't stick since they have to reseat them anyway. AM I RIGHT? >>



Probably not. The sticking caliper can easily get restuck again (next time you use the brakes) and cause the same problem as before. Definetely should have gotten them changed, but were both sticking?
AFAIK, you dont have to change calipers in pairs like you have to tires.



<< -I said yes to the shims since they said it would cut down on the noise. Another mistake? >>



When I got my brakes done, the guy put this blue stuff inbetween the pad and the caliper and that only cost $5 for a tube, and there's no noise coming from the brakes (nor was there, but for $5 I said what the heck).




<< 2) They said my car's manufacturer (Nissan) recommends that rotors be turned while it's on the car, thus $55/rotor = $110. Regular turning = $50 for both. (i know nothing about brakes.)
a) Is this BS?
b) Did i need them turned in the 1st place? They said there was a lip on the rotor cause by the brake pad. (could i have lived with the lip? The rotors felt smooth, w/no or very little warping.) Also, there were heat marks. And he also said something about glazing. Any ideas here? >>



You should always get your rotors turned when you have a prolbem like that. especially since the lip may rip up your new pad prematurely.
Glazing isn't good, I believe it's when the pad gets super smooth and doesn't grab well (it would look very shiny I think).
 


<< Sounds like they pulled a stunt on you... Turning your rotors is somthing some stupid that you could do yourself in 10 minutes. 55 bucks was a waste. >>



turning your own rotors? Now this I HAVE to see 🙂
 


I think every person I've known who has gone to Midas has been told they need to calipers.
This is partly because they are told to push their up-sales, but also because they don't know
what they're talking about. They're mostly sales people who are trained on what to say by the
company. Best advise for future reference; take it to the dealer.


DD
 


<< Sounds like they pulled a stunt on you... Turning your rotors is somthing some stupid that you could do yourself in 10 minutes. 55 bucks was a waste. >>



It is VERY doubtful that he has the necessary equipment to do this, much less a lift to get the vehicle off the ground.

I've done it in my uncle's shop before (on my car), & it's definitely not something you can do yourself. And it took a hell of a lot longer than 10 minutes.

Viper GTS
 
If your talking about shaving your rotors, then I can agree with you.

Perhaps someone should indulge my ignorance.
 
My friend, I agree with Radeon, they are pulling a stunt on you. Find a vietnamese or chinese garage and they can do all of that for you for half the price or even less. If the calipers are sticking, then you have to replace them .. most likely you dont have to turn the rotors, just use em till they got really bad (vibration when braking) then you replace them. New rotor only cost around $20 per axle, and the labor for both axle should be $60. Calipers are expensive, if you have AAA buy from NAPA for 10% discount. Expect to spend $70-85 per caliper. Brake pads are cheap, $20. As for the noise, maybe you just need a new brake pads but i need more description about the noise to diagnose your problem. Serious, never take your japanese car to midas, carx, meineke etc. Good luck!
 
As a car guy it is important to have the rotors turned to allow the new pads to set correctly. But $110 to turn them is a rip off, what you can do if your mechanically inclined is take the rotors to a machine shop and have them turned.

As for selling new rotors there are minnimum thickness allowed by the DOT for rotors to be, unless it goes below that number they dont have to be replaced. Now I have had my Honda since 1987 and never had to replace the rotors yet.


Now I also said its important to turn the rotors but believe it or not I havent ever turned the rotors when I have installed new pads myself, and I havent had one single thing go wrong.


Sticking calipers is a new one on me how can a caliper stick to a rotor when the caliper pushes the pad to the rotor? The caliper doesnt touch a rotor EVER.
 
Well, I just looked up "turning your rotors" cause I feel like an idiot.

Yes, most people probably don't have the machinery to do it. But unless your rotors are severly warped, I wouldn't let them touch the rotors.
 
I own a 98 nissan 240sx and took it for a brake pad job...it cost me $90.00 for genuine Nissan brake pads and they turned the rotors for me also. That was for the fronts tho...the rears were gonna be $85.00...this was at a nissan master specialist at some thai place
 


<< As a car guy it is important to have the rotors turned to allow the new pads to set correctly. But $110 to turn them is a rip off, what you can do if your mechanically inclined is take the rotors to a machine shop and have them turned.

As for selling new rotors there are minnimum thickness allowed by the DOT for rotors to be, unless it goes below that number they dont have to be replaced. Now I have had my Honda since 1987 and never had to replace the rotors yet.


Now I also said its important to turn the rotors but believe it or not I havent ever turned the rotors when I have installed new pads myself, and I havent had one single thing go wrong.


Sticking calipers is a new one on me how can a caliper stick to a rotor when the caliper pushes the pad to the rotor? The caliper doesnt touch a rotor EVER. >>




When you have a "sticking caliper", that means that the piston in the caliper doesn't retract when you
let off the brake pedal and instead keeps pressure on the pad causing premature and uneven pad
wear. However, as I said before, stay away from Midas as they don't know what they're talking
about, and/or don't care if they stick it to you. I've made alot of money fixing cars after Midas "fixed"
them


DD
 
I know what sticking calipers means but he said in his post they were sticking to the rotor, which didnt make sense.
 
All that "lifetime" warranty on pads is such total BS because you know they are going to come back and get you for labor and non-existant problems with rotors and calipers. Pads are much cheaper compared to all the other components.

-Sticky calipers do not always require replacement, lubrication may fix problem.

-New Rotors don't have to be turned. -if you can't even feel any distortion or warping of the rotors, their is no need to turn them unless you put on new pads. Even then, it may be practical to just get new rotors. (with most cars these days, you don't have that much thickness on the rotors to begin with..)

-Shims are useful on certian cars, but that anti-squel compound usually works very well also.

-Glazed rotors can be removed quite easily, not need for turning...steel wool is fine.
 
I just redid the breaks on my car, checked with Napa and their price on new rotors was like $5 each more then taking them to my mechanic and having him turn them. I put about $75 into two rotors and two sets of pads. Did all the work myself. Gotta love domestic cars 😛
 
A few things:

Auto repair chains, particularly brake and muffler shops, need to sell you extras to support their corporate overhead, so the corporation tells them to ?sell? you extra repairs, because they would go broke doing nothing but $29 brake specials or $39 mufflers.

Rotors should be turned every time the pads are changed. Although you can usually take the rotors off and bring them to Napa for them to turn, turning is not something you can do yourself.

Those ?$20? shims are included in the box if you buy pads at the dealership. That?s a horrible practice, selling something that should be included for extra money. Even though I usually do brakes myself, I buy the parts at the dealership because they include new shims and they are usually of very high quality (silent, long wearing, and fade resistant.)

The caliper pins should be cleaned and re-lubricated every time the pads are changed to prevent the pins from sticking (The caliper itself normally does not need to be replaced.) If the pins stick, there is a potential for the inside and outside pads to wear unevenly. If pistons are sticking, it?s probably only on one side, and you?d probably know.
 
Xfile,

$200 isn't a rip-off for a front brake job. However, ALWAYS replace the calipers if they are old and especially if the shop people suggest it. The worst that can happen is that one of your old calipers will leak in the future, causing you to lose brake fluid which in turn will cause you to lose your front brakes. It happened to me before... But your car should have a brake proportion valve that will trap the remaining brake fluid in the rear brake section, meaning you will still have back brakes. However, if this happens then you may damage your brake master cylinder 😕

You are most likely ok, but get your brakes done early 2003 and get those calipers replaced.
 
I own a 98 nissan 240sx and took it for a brake pad job...it cost me $90.00 for genuine Nissan brake pads and they turned the rotors for me also. That was for the fronts tho...the rears were gonna be $85.00...this was at a nissan master specialist at some thai place

93 Sentra has front disc and rear-drum...

Reading some conflicting statements here makes me not want to go anywhere but a nissan dealership for my 93 sentra. Though not as cheap as some other places I just place more confidence in a nissan mechanic than a regular-joe mechanic working elsewhere, plus when I bought this car a month back and got it inspected they came up with only $350 in repairs to bring it totally up to spec and didn't make up needed repairs that I would have been far to ignorant to refute the necessity of. Plus for some reason i got a 10% discount on the bill with no explanation (didn't complain though)!
 
www.brakeco.com
You can get brembo rotors for about $45 each. Brand new, OEM quality.
That's what I did for my Maxima. Might be cheaper for Sentra. Why waste time turning, when you can replace both rotors for $90?
Shims come with most brake pads, no point paying for them. You got taken my friend.
Get yourself a Hayes manual, and start doing your own work. You'll save $$$ on top of $$$.
 
Also, do not let any big service corporation (JiffyLube, Midas, etc) work on your car. To them, you are just a statistic on a satisfaction survey. There are plenty of suckers to take your place. They just don't care. I had nothing but bad experience with them.
Find a local mechanic (ask around for a good one). He will value your business, because you will be one of dozens instead of millions of customers.
 
Wow, lots of mis-information in this thread. I doubt it is intentional, but if your not sure about something you shouldn't spread the info...

- Shims are placed between the pads and the caliper to reduce "rubbing" this rubbing action is normally where the squeeking comes from.
- Shims are not included with ALL pads purchased. Brake pads come in product levels, basic, good, and performance, the better levels will normally include the shims. Midas and those places rarely buy the better pads. Import cars sometime only come in 1 level and they don't always include the shims. Seen it many times...
- If the shims are not offered then your only choice is the blue goop, it works though.

Rotors:
- Turning rotors is a very misunderstood practice by the average person. Allow me to give you an example why it should be done with every pad change.
Example: Take a pencil and run it across a table...no big deal right? it writes normally the desk grinds a tiny bit of the lead away..this is normal. Now take that pencil and do the same thing on a concrete sidewalk...wears off alot more lead than normal, perhaps even breaking the weaker types of lead. Now run the pencil over an extra smooth surface...wet glass...barely writes anything, and wears hardly anything off the pencil.
On a rotor these are the three conditions your pads may encounter.
-Glazed rotors--same as wet glass, no traction for the pads to grip on, very bad if your trying to stop! Making you press harder, which creates more heat, and leads to the rotors "burning" -the blue color you find on the rotor after its been overheated.
-Uneven rotors--same as concrete, the pads don't contact the surface flat so they wear out very uneven and much too fast for the money you spend on brake work.
-Properly balanced and smooth rotors-normal wear, normal traction, normal temperatures, and no vibrations.

Calipers: (you did good your calipers did not need replacing IMHO, or they would have said-NEED replacing, not SHOULD be replaced)
-If the entire caliper "sticks" and needs to be replaced it is called "a hung-up caliper" as the piston inside actually gets jammed inside--this will cause the vehicle to pull to the left or right depending on the side it occurs on.
-"sticking" can also be a description of the pad wearing uneven-(one edge wearing more than the other) This is caused by the pins/sliders not moving freely. Fixed by cleaning the parts and properly lubing them before assembly.-calipers don't have to be replaced.

New rotors:
-there is NO guarantee a new rotor will be "true", many times i have seen them needing turning straight off the shelf. On the plus side is most in-house machine shops will turn brand new rotors when you buy them for free-better to be safe than sorry. Hate to put it together only to find out the rotors wobble.

Hope i covered everything ok, i was called away from my desk about 5 times while typing this... 🙂
 
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