1997 Pontiac Grand Am - When to replace/resurface rotors?

Question

I've owned my 97 grand am for 3 years now. I've only put 25k miles on it. I've replaced both the front and rear rotors since i've owned the car. However I just had my car checked by one of the major chains and they said the pads were fine but i need to replace the rotors. How often are rotors replaced? Why couldn't they just resurface them? I dont drive often and I'm not heavy on the breaks. It just sounds kinda suspicious to have to replace rotors twice within 25k miles. What should I do to make sure they aren't taking me for a ride (so to speak)?

Answer 1

Rotors should last way longer than 25K miles. They should last closer to 60-80K miles or even longer.
It's strange that the rotors need to be replaced and not the pads. That doesn't make any sense.
I don't know about that particular year, but many manufacturers went to disposable rotors that you don't resurface. The rotor will be stamped "do not turn" if that's the case. I know BMW has been doing this for at least 15 years.
The reason they did this is because many mechanics were not properly measuring the rotors before turning them. They were cutting the rotors too thin and people were having accidents because of it. The disposable rotors eliminated the human error.

If you do a lot of downhill driving while riding the brakes, this could be why you're going through rotors so fast, but doesn't explain why your pads aren't worn.
If you stop hard all the time, this will also cause premature wear. My stepmother went through pads every 20K miles while I could get pads to last over 60K miles. Since you said you're not hard on the brakes, let's rule out your driving style.

Take your car to a different mechanic and have them look at it. Get a second and even a third opinion. Make sure you tell them the history of how many times you replaced the rotors, etc. But only do this after they tell you what they think. If you tell them before, it might affect their judgment.

If you in fact do need new rotors, then you should definately have them look further because something is wrong.

I just thought of something. Do you set your parking brake after driving? If so, this could cause your rear rotors to warp. What happens is when the rotors are hot and you set the parking brake too tight, it keeps a lot of pressure on the hot rotor which could cause warping. It's the only thing I can think of that would make sense. But if they're telling you that you need front one's too, then I'd rule that out as well since the parking brake only sets the rear brakes.

Answer 2

I have never seen anyone replace the rotors unless it is the same time as a brake job. Why did you take them for an inspection? If you can feel a bounce in the break pedal when braking (moves up and down) the rotors are warped. They will continue to work. At a certain point, repair shops will not turn them anymore. You are likely at that point, but you can safely run them for thousands of miles more. Now if they have a broken part missing, no question. That is nearly impossible unless someone has used a hammer on them .

Answer 3

rotors can be resurfaced as long as the wear limit is not reached. The wear limit is stamped on the back side of the rotor. Your suspicion is right. no need to change rotors that often and hats off to you for being a cautious comsumer. Most mechanics like to assume a woman is ingorant when it comes to cars to make extra $$$

Answer 4

you should have them checked at every other set of pads, by your local machine shop

amount of wear depends on factors such as what type of pads you use such as organic or semi metallics or ceramics

semi metallics tend to wear down rotors the fastest, but the pads themselves are longer wearing and tend to fade less than organics, ceramics dont usually wear the rotors down as much and also dont usually fade, there are several differetn tradeoffs involved with pad material selection, and cost differences too,

semi metallics are the most commonly sold over the counter,
the wear limit for the rotors is cast into the rotors somewhere usually on the front side, min. thickness value, do not exceed it, replace them before they wear this thin, most ppl dont though and then wonder why the rotors warp or crack, etc,


good luck

Answer 5

Resurface them. Someone is trying to get in your wallet. If the pads are OK and the brake pedal doesn't pulsate, they don't even need resurfacing. If you have a squealing from the brakes, resurfacing will help. Hope this helps.
Master tech 40 yrs.

Answer 6

the simple way to tell if rotors need changing, which by the way is as cheap as resurfacing, is when you apply the brakes you will notice a "pulsing" of the car as it slows down.

Answer 7

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