Do a car's brakepad's need to replaced when rotors are replaced or vice versa?

Question

I'm not really a car buff so I was wondering if I could get some help from you guys.

Basically, when a car's front rotors are replaced, do the corresponding brakepads have to replaced as well or is it vice-versa in that when a car's brakepads are placed, the rotors have to be replaced as well.

I'm curious because about a year ago my girlfriend had her brakepads replaced on her 2003 Nissan Maxima. When they replaced her brakepads, I'm not sure if they replaced the rotors. A couple of weeks ago she started getting heavy vibrations from the steering wheel when braking and brought it into a couple of shops. They said that her rotors had to be replaced. But the shops were also saying that she couldn't just replace the front rotors but that she had to replace the brakepads as well.

What I don't really understand is that she spent a lot of money to have her brakepads replaced a year ago. But now, to have the replace the brakepads again due to the failing rotors makes me ?????

Answer 1

brake pads are part of normal maintenance and should be changed as needed,..I do mine about every six months but I have a lot of city stopping ...rotors are destroyed because your break pads have been worn down to nothing and you have metal hitting metal..no more pads..very dangerous ! you must replace the bad rotors as well as put on new brake pads as your have been worn out for a while...If you maintain the vehicle and do your brake pad changes regularly you won't destroy the rotors or need to replace them...but it's too late now....safety first for her and other drivers...keep the pads fresh.

Answer 2

Some day people will learn to do break jobs. Nissan rotors are expensive to say the least. There are also made of composite material. Meaning scrap metal. They usually can not be cut and need to be replaced. You can replace pads and not touch the rotors at all. That is called a pad slap in the industry. This is what they usually do on special. you see for 59.95. Most people don't want to spend the money to get top quality brake jobs expecially on a Maxima. A set of quality pads for that car are about 50 bucks. A set of rotors are about 125 each add in the labor and your talking about 400-500 per axle for brakes. So bottom line is if you replace the rotors you need to replace the pads again because they are worn in the grove of the bad rotor and will not sit right on the new rotor

Answer 3

You can replace just the brake pads and hope that they wear into the grooves that already exist in the rotors. This is a cheap and easy brake job. Most likely, the same situation that occurred to your girlfriend will happen, because the rotors will warp from the additional heat caused by the pads wearing on the uneven surface. At the very least, the rotors should have been turned down to an even surface if enough of the rotor is left. (they have a minimum thickness requirement for safety) But when the rotors are turned down, that makes them thinner and more susceptible to warping caused by excessive heat. Replacing the rotors along with the pads is a fairly inexpensive insurance policy against having premature problems with the brakes.

Answer 4

definite it relies upon on the way it is pushed. if the motor vehicle sits dissimilar the time and the rotors rust genuine undesirable they could only final 10 miles without the pedal pulsating. you need to locate out why the rotors are undesirable! the thickness for the rotors are considered necessary, in the event that they are undersized the rotor could destroy after which you will have no brakes in any respect. the suitable thank you to place it is that the rotors are going to final an identical simply by fact the pads. pads many times final 3 years 36,000 miles, this could variety on how the SUV is pushed. the fact maximum rotors are made as much less costly as available and don't final that long, in case you prefer something that could final extra suitable than 36k deliver some extra funds and get the top rate rotors they actually seen to final longer that the extra affordable rotors. my truck had approximately 25k whilst the brake pedal began to pulsate and that i knew that i prefer rotors.

Answer 5

You don't have to get the rotors replaced every time. I have 138,000 miles on my car, and still have the original rotors. They usually just need to be turned or resurfaced. I'm not sure if you have to, but you should replace the brake pads if you have the rotors replaced. Most of the cost of a brake job is labor unless, of course, you need rotors or other major parts. If the brakes are already taken apart, it shouldn't cost a whole lot more to get a new set of pads unless you get the premium pads.

Answer 6

Brake pads, transmission clutches and windshield wipers are 'wear items' - you replace them when they wear out, not on a calendar or mileage basis. How long they last depends on how you drive or what kind of weather you drive in. If you are an aggressive driver, you could wear down your brakes in 1 year. If you are a cautious driver, you could reach 50K miles or more on a set of brake pads and rotors.

A brake pad set is so inexpensive that it is a very good practice to replace them when ever you need to replace the rotors (or drums if your car has them.)

But, rotors only need to be replaced if they are deeply scored, warped or cannot be resurfaced due their thickness. Rotors and drums usually have a minimum thickness stamped by the manufacturer - they should never be resurfaced below that dimension.

Note that brake pads are able to provide good braking force even when they get down to just 10% of their original factory-new thickness. That is a specific test criteria required for new aircraft development, called the maximum takeoff rejection test. A fully-loaded aircraft with 90% worn brake pads will accelerate on a runway, up to the rotation speed but not takeoff and the pilot will bring the jet to a successful stop only using the brakes.

Answer 7

if you have the shuddering then you really have to replace both thats an accident waiting to happen. that actually happened to me. the rotors were bad and the pads were down to bare metal when i got the car. not good. also not too spendy either. my cousins car actually was worse. if you know what a rotor looks like then you will know that it shouldnt have one side and then the thin fins that are supposed to be in the middle thats bad and thats what could happen if you dont get the problem fixed.

Answer 8

New rotors = always new pads.

New pads = new rotors (sometimes) Depening on amount of wear, trueness, condition.

Answer 9

Yes replace both or one will damage the other