2004 BMW 745 rotors bad on car /it was bought certiified w/

DULCIECRAWFORD

MEMBER
2004 BMW 745
V8
FWD
AUTOMATIC
40,000 MILES

I have an 04 /745 LI bought certified from BMW dealer –w/ 17k miles - July 2007 LV Nv. I was told and given that the car was fully inspected inc the rotors & brakes. Then I had to have front brake pads replaced by Oct 26th-2007 at 22418 miles they said rotors were fine. Then I had to have the rear brake pads replaced at 34000 miles on Jul 8th 2008- again they state that the rotors are fine but Covered under the existing service policy. Now Feb 24, 2009 I have the brake pad light go on again, this time I am out of service warranty and I take to outside Mechanic to do brakes. I am told that the front pads are fine but rotors are worn down which is unusual- Why would the rotors be worn down if I had new pads on their Oct 2007 & pads are still good? & The rotors were inspected & still fine? I was also told the rear pads were gone & the rotors were worn down as well. Costs me $575 dollars to do the rear brakes with BMW parts, Should I make BMW pay for the brake job? Dulcie C

5 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

This will be very hard to do, the dealer will claim due wear and you will have to prove otherwise, you can talk to the dealer and state your claim, do this and see how you get on.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 AT 7:50 PM

IMPALASS

MECHANIC
3,112 POSTS

Hello -

Well Dulcie C, as for the rotors. . .. . .. . ...I don't see a problem at all with them. They have lasted 5 years on that car. That is fantastic. Rotors have wear limits. They start off new at one thickness, say � inch and then as you drive and apply brakes, the metal still wears down. Many times when brake jobs are performed the rotors are turned, not replaced. That means put on a metal lathe and some of the metal cut away to ensure the surface is nice and even to allow the brake pads to run smooth on it. Some can be turned several times; some depending on the wear cannot. They are measured each time to ensure they are within safety thickness standards. When they are checked, they can be good and within limits. Then the next brake job worn down past the limits. So for rotors to last about 5 years, that is fantastic.

As for the front being "unusual" I don't see that. The rotors were never replaced if I understand you correctly. Again refer to the top.

Now for front brakes. Most of the time the front wear more due to the weight of the car during stopping. So that seems normal and to last that long, that is great!

The only thing odd to me is you had the rear pads replaced in 2008 and then also in 2009. That is the only thing odd to me. The rear pads should have lasted longer than that unless there was a problem.

As for the cost. I have attached an estimate. They are almost right on with mine. So I don't see a problem there.

So I wouldn't worry about trying to have them pay. Again, the only question in my mind was were the rear pad really changed in 2008.

Does this help you. . .. . .. . ..

Also, it looks like you may have some recalls on your vehicle. The dealer may fix these for free. Please contact the dealer service department, give them the VIN number of your car and have them check on these to see if they apply to you.

.

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Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 AT 8:16 PM

DULCIECRAWFORD

MEMBER
2 POSTS

My problem with the brakes here is that I bought the car certified from dealer and only 4-5 months later and 5 thousand miles later I had to have front brake pads replaced ( under warranty) Mileage of car about 22500 and they say the rotors are fine?
Then the rear has to be replaced 1 year later and the rotors are ok then too (under warranty) 34k miles. The mechanic that fixed the front brakes with rotors told me it was unusaul that the front brakes had good pads but rotors are gone? And Yes I have been told by several car knowledgeable people that the rear brakes and rotors should never wear away that quickly 1 year later. I suspect that the certified mech at BMW dealer are not turning the rotors at all and cutting corners on the brakes since it is a warranty item that they get paid so little for? So now I am forced topick up the tab for Rotors totally worn out. BTY- none of my recipts from the 1st 2 brake jobs by dealer mention that the rotors need any turning at all? How can they get so bad that they need to be replaced and never needed to be turned over the last 1.5 years of service?
I paid good money for a car that was suppose to be in near new condition and under full service warranty why am I repalcing the entire rotor on front or rear before they have been turned even one time?
Please expalin this to me?
Dulcie C

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Thursday, March 5th, 2009 AT 1:27 AM

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

You are really relying on the honesty of the mechanic involved, all brake rotors have a min thickness and must be replaced if they are under size, I do agree that rotor wear is excessive under normal conditions, but with out the old rotors to measure you just can't say what they were like, rotors are only machined if they are scored warped or damaged by running out of brake material and you go metal to metal, natural rotor wear is minimal at best and you can get many years out of a set of rotors, I would be checking the official BMW policy on brakes & rotors, talking to a friend the other day I was surprised to learn that he had a BMW X5 in his work shop for brakes and BMW Australia recommended that rotors should be change with brake pads, now whether this is the same in the USA I don't know, so may be you should look into this as well. Just a thought.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Thursday, March 5th, 2009 AT 4:02 AM

DOCHAGERTY

MECHANIC
9,601 POSTS

I would like to add my 2 cents worth here. I have been a BMW tech exclusively for the last 20 years and the level of service available at the dealer has changed over the years, mostly due to what I have determined is greed and laziness on the part of the management. Years ago if a BMW came to the dealer needing brakes, it got pads, rotors and sensors, period. Then BMW saw their "fortunes" being spent by unscrupulous technicians that did not spend the time to measure the rotors or inspect for warpage, because BMW is not paying them to do that. When the bean counters get involved with cost cutting, the first thing that is sacrificed is quality of service to the customer. So then BMW said we had to measure all the rotors, then they wanted us to send all the rotors back to them, and if the rotors sent back were still serviceable, they would debit the dealer and back flag the technicians. When this happens it has a snowball effect and I will leave it up to your imagination what that could mean.