I am glad to hear that. I have been working on cars longer than most 'trained' mechanics-since I was 15 years old or 37 years. And installing the rotors is not exactly rocket science. If they were not working immediately than I would agree that I did something wrong. But how can you screw up and still have it work for thousands of miles then suddenly get warped. Seems obvious there must be something wrong with the product or something else in the system is causing the rotors to go bad.

Either way I am waiting for them to open then I will give them a call.

 

Since most of the parts are made in China Put the blame the chinese

 

Or you could go the Liberal route and blame it on Bush.

 

Intermittent noises from rotors or rotor vibration
If sport rotors are not checked for runout, driving without even applying brakes will exhibit a clicking noise on a “Once-per-rev” of the wheel basis. If you encounter this, especially early after having rotors installed return them to the service shop and have them checked for runout. Recommendations for maximum permissible runout vary from 0.001 to 0.002 inches on most European cars to 0.003 to 0.006 on larger USA Trucks and SUV’s. Figures above these are not only unacceptable but they will cause brake vibration after a period of 3000 to 4000 miles. (Read below in Blue please) which is not grounds for warranty. Mounting rotors on dirt or rust and scale covered hubs or excessive use of mounting greases and most often incorrect tightening of rotors from first install are the common reasons for excess runout. If your installer knows his job he will hand tighten the rotor studs in a diagonal fashion with gradually increasing torques by hand and final tighten with a TORQUE wrench and ideally you wont even see or hear an air gun being used. Guns (including air guns) are for cowboys and are often used by them.
Why do rotors suffer vibration after 3000-4000 miles and how can EBC be so precise in this mileage estimate, surely it cannot be the same for every car???????? … this is a common question.
The reason the mileage is more or less the same for every car where vibration occurs is that the problem develops OFF BRAKE or when you are driving without applying the brake. The more freeway driving you do the more easily this can occur. The excess runout mentioned above caused in 90% of the cases by bad fitting and not checking for runout (and the other 10% due to a hub not running true such a car that has impacted a curb at some time) … causes the pad to “Kiss” the rotor gently each revolution of the wheel as you drive. After the above mileage period the pads wear a microscopic thin spot on the rotor and a condition known as DTV occurs. This DTV (Disc Thickness Variation) causes the brake to pulse. A small amount of runout itself does NOT cause vibration but the tiniest amount of DTV does cause vibration. That is why when a rotor is not running true the car does not exhibit vibration in the first few miles and this explains how it shows up later (3000-4000 miles).
How can I cure this vibration problem ??????
Rotors will need to be turned at a machine shop or brake fitting center or replaced. EBC sport grooved rotors can be turned with good results on standard AAMCO brake lathes. If too badly scored or worn some rotors will have to be replaced. New pads will ALWAYS be needed.
Before taking your car to the shop, check if the vibration is coming from the front or the rear to save costs in unnecessary brake work. Generally vibration under braking that can be felt through the bodywork or seating of the car is a problem on the REAR brake and vibration felt on the steering wheel is related to FRONT brake problems.
What are the best pads to prevent or limit brake vibration????
Any good quality pad with a high thermal conductivity will reduce the chances of vibration both due to DTV as described above or vibration at speeds due to what we call thermal shock. Thermal shock is common on European cars and all pads in the EBC range are especially good at reducing vibration. Our online catalog recommends the minimum grades for your car and shows options.
Read this (June 06) comment from an EBC Brake user …

I just found this on the EBC website while searching for their phone number. Since many of us developed this problem after about 3k miles, perhaps this is the problem. And maybe those of us that hit a curb while parking has predestined ourselves to rotor warpage, and the issue is with a bent hub and not the rotors. Just throwing this out there.

 

Lee, I think if you do a search, you'll find I posted a portion of GM's TSB in regard to the run-out issue. I even mentioned witnessing dealer and independent tech.'s resurfacing rotors without checking for the run-out. And, if I remember correctly, the TSB is very specific about checking the run-out BEFORE anything is done.

I just assumed, everyone who experienced the rotor problem had confirmed the spec's for run-out ....... along with other requirements....my bad, for assuming!!

 

Pardon my ignorance, but can someone explain in plain English, what is run-out?

 

No, I remember your post. But, when I brought my car in last year they did the work under warranty and I assumed that, being a dealer, they knew about the TSB and checked everything before they cut the rotors. And when I brought the car back in June with the same problem, they told me that the rotors need to be cut again or replaced. They did not mention anything about runout needing to be checked.

If there is a problem with my runout, then perhaps the dealer did not address it the first time they cut my rotors, and that would explain why the problem came back in several thousand miles. Now, how do I confront him and ask him if he checked it back then? Shouldnt he be responsible?

 

The dealers warranty claim to GM would not have been paid if they didn't measure run-out or at least say they measured it. When you submit a claim to GM you have to enter complaint codes and then failure codes. The lateral run-out numbers are entered into the failure code field.

 

Then why did they crap out on me so quickly? EBC is saying that the only reason for premature failure is damaged wheel hubs. If they were checked and ok, then what happened to the freshly cut rotors Chevy did last year? And why did the new stronger EBC get warped so quickly? I know everything was cleaned properly when I put them on in July, and I know that I didnt use an air wrench to tighten the wheels. I did incremental tightening with a torque wrench.

 

I have written this up several times, but here goes again briefly. It's NOT the rotors warping. The design of the brake pad retainers allows the pad to "float" slightly. Driving the HHR on the expressway causes the pad to oscillate and create a series of small "dings" in the surface of the rotor. The ceramic pads being very hard in nature exacerbates the problem and when the brakes are applied they shudder. I installed cheap pads from AutoZone and I have no more braking issues. With ceramic pads it was repaired three times and recurred about every 3,500 miles. I have at least 12,000 miles on the organic pads with no shudder. Guys, it is NOT your rotors. It's the factory or aftermarket HARD PADS. Go to a pad with a softer compound and say good bye to brake shudder.