Warped rotors

[BobX]

Easy to diagnose, just put your finger on the disc after driving a bit without using the brakes and see if they're warm.
Sticking pistons isn't going to get them hot enough to damage the rotors though and the SC would have to remove the calipers to change the rotors so they would have picked up on it. It's not that.

I guess we agree to disagree. You can warp rotors simply by driving on the highway in congestion where you are on and off the brakes frequently, then have to come to a complete stop and stay on the brakes without moving. The heat of the pads and rotors are so great that you can distort the rotors-- particularly rotors of lesser quality. One can easily burn your hand by grabbing onto a overheated rotor. Believe me I know.

 

[ngng]

Here’s a dumb question - do I need to find an indy that specializes in tesla or can any indy shop handle this?

It doesn’t hurt, but it also doesn’t really matter. The brakes are nothing special. What’s most important is the shop is competent and trustworthy.

 

[zoomer0056]

Yes they’ve been replacing both sides- they always tell me both sides are warped

You'd think that doing the same thing every time would maybe cause them to think about the cause. But maybe not

 

[Dangerous Fish]

I guess we agree to disagree. You can warp rotors simply by driving on the highway in congestion where you are on and off the brakes frequently, then have to come to a complete stop and stay on the brakes without moving. The heat of the pads and rotors are so great that you can distort the rotors-- particularly rotors of lesser quality. One can easily burn your hand by grabbing onto a overheated rotor. Believe me I know.

No, you honestly can't warp rotors on a modern car fitted with ventilated discs like that. Even when I've seen unmodified cars go on track for the first time with their brakes glowing red hot and then sat in the pits stationary, it's not warping the rotors giving them vibrations afterwards, it's pad deposits leaving a high spot on the rotors.
On the road, especially with someone like the OP, the rotors will not get hot enough.
As I already said, if the brakes were getting that hot, OP would have seen the brake temp. warning message first and that comes up with the rotors around 650-750 deg. C.
Here's the brakes on a MX owned by a friend of mine. He was a bit over-enthusiastic when bedding some new pads on the road. Do you think his rotors would have been 'warped' after that? (hint - they were fine).

How do I know all this? I've been R&D'ing brake kits and uprated pads for Teslas for several years now. I've got a lot of testing on and off track under my belt.
But yes we can agree to disagree if you want.
And as I already said, although the Brembo discs fitted to Teslas aren't over-spec'd, they are good quality and plenty good enough for road and light track use. That MX above has given lap rides around a couple of tracks in the past and coped OK. Yes, they got hot and the warning came up, but after cooling off they were back to normal again.

 

[Cbmd81]

Thanks all- my warranty is up in may 2024 so I want to make sure any underlying issue is addressed before then

 

[BobX]

At the end of the day and notwithstanding all of our brilliant comments, it is Tesla's problem to diagnose and remedy.

 

[zoomer0056]

At the end of the day and notwithstanding all of our brilliant comments, it is Tesla's problem to diagnose and remedy.

They're failing in that respect. So the OP should go to a non Tesla shop.

 

[.Slug]

I'd say just replace or clean/lube the calipers/pistons etc. They shouldn't be too pricey. Its the next possible failure mode up the chain of 5 whys for root cause. Because brakes are pretty standard car parts, you can take it to any independent mechanic and just ask them to clean/lubrate the brake calipers and inspect the operation of the brake assemblies. Should be able to be completed for a reasonable fee. I would just opt to do this myself, although I've maintained the brakes on all my vehicles myself over the years. I'd start with this though.

 

[Super_Popular]

Thanks all- my warranty is up in may 2024 so I want to make sure any underlying issue is addressed before then

Smart.

Make sure you have the updated falcon wing door hinges.

 

[Super_Popular]

Smart.

Make sure you have the updated falcon wing door hinges.

What I meant to say was make sure you have the hinges for the FWD replaced, there are a newer version. I had mine replaced right before my warranty expired.

 

[ThomasD]

Could be the calipers dragging. Just out of curiosity did they check the lateral run out of the wheel hub? I had this issue on one of my vehicles and it turned out that the wheel hub had too much lateral run out. This was after I replaced the rotors and still had issues. Here is a video that talks about the issue.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Could be the calipers dragging. Just out of curiosity did they check the lateral run out of the wheel hub? I had this issue on one of my vehicles and it turned out that the wheel hub had too much lateral run out. This was after I replaced the rotors and still had issues. Here is a video that talks about the issue.

Certainly more likely than overheating being the cause.

 

[drb3333]

Warped rotors are often detected by checking runout on the rotor surface face which should not be more than a few thousandths.

But sometimes the runout is caused by a bent hub to which the rotors are mounted, which can happen due to impact, etc. Thus the hub face is no longer exactly perpendicular to the drive centerline axis.

Did they also check just the hub face for runout?

 

[Kibana Dai]

I have needed my front rotors replaced 3 times within the past year. My car develops a shimmy where the steering wheel vibrates when braking at speeds above 45 mph. Each time I bring it in, Tesla service tells me the front rotors are warped and replaces. The last set lasted less than two months before this started to occur again. I asked what the underlying issue is and they didn’t have any answers. I am a conservative driver and 95% of my driving is on the highway. Any idea what’s going on?

I had same issue. I replaced it twice on my 2018 75D MX. The issue will come back after few trips on freeway and braking. I use regenerative brakes as much as possible and I don't even have auto-pilot so the driving is always under my control. The symptoms were same as yours. I asked them if they burnished the pads and they said yes. 3rd time, I got new ventilated rotors and ceramic brake pads from R1 concepts and installed it myself (it is really easy). I burnished it myself and I haven't seen the problem since. Model x does have brake burnishing routine in service mode which I haven't used through but I suspect that either they never burnished or their routine is not correct or their default non-ventilated rotors are not good.

 

[Cbmd81]

What I meant to say was make sure you have the hinges for the FWD replaced, there are a newer version. I had mine replaced right before my warranty expired.

Is there a way to request this in the app?

 

[Cbmd81]

I had same issue. I replaced it twice on my 2018 75D MX. The issue will come back after few trips on freeway and braking. I use regenerative brakes as much as possible and I don't even have auto-pilot so the driving is always under my control. The symptoms were same as yours. I asked them if they burnished the pads and they said yes. 3rd time, I got new ventilated rotors and ceramic brake pads from R1 concepts and installed it myself (it is really easy). I burnished it myself and I haven't seen the problem since. Model x does have brake burnishing routine in service mode which I haven't used through but I suspect that either they never burnished or their routine is not correct or their default non-ventilated rotors are not good.

Thanks! Do you know the exact products you ordered?

 

[Cbmd81]

Update: problem started happening again about 2 months after the last. Guess what? They told me that the rotors are warped and replaced AGAIN. They said they ran a vehicle performance report and noted aggressive driving patterns which is ridiculous- I’m a conservative driver and 95% of my driving is highway. What am I missing?

 

[ngng]

Update: problem started happening again about 2 months after the last. Guess what? They told me that the rotors are warped and replaced AGAIN. They said they ran a vehicle performance report and noted aggressive driving patterns which is ridiculous- I’m a conservative driver and 95% of my driving is highway. What am I missing?

Ask them to explain what aggressive driving patterns are. That might provide some insight. Which rotors are giving you issues?

 

[Cbmd81]

Ask them to explain what aggressive driving patterns are. That might provide some insight. Which rotors are giving you issues?

Front rotors- replaced 4 times in the past year. 2 months prior to new replacement today.

 

[ngng]

Front rotors- replaced 4 times in the past year. 2 months prior to new replacement today.

I didn't read back. Do you drive with your foot on the brakes? Check the calipers to make sure they're not dragging? Did you confirm both rotors were "warped"? Or did they simply just replace them both?