Yes the issues are all fixed. No pulsation! I did do some break-in stops on a side road and have been taking it easy on the brakes since Friday. Thanks for asking.

 

Persistance and not being nasty will get you everywhere. I am glad it is taken care of.

The break in is good and I am glad you did it. you still could have issues if material stick to the rotors later but often it will go away with steady use of the brakes in time. Factory pads are well know for this issue as they are not always real good with heat as some of the better pads are.

Anyway glad it is fixed.

 

I have never had a vehicle need brakes around 10,000 miles due to premature rotor warping. I had a 92 Nissan pickup with 188,000, (yes, you read it right) before the first brake job. I am easy on my vehicles

 

I changed pads at 25K after they got to the "squeal". Now at 42K I am close to needing pads and rotors, but I didn't notice any shimmy until last tire-rotation, and then I only notice it with moderately hard braking.. whats up with the HUB not being bedded properly?

 

i had my brakes resurfaced in mar of this yr replaced pads and i'm starting to feel a pulsation again

 

hi,
so what do you mean by
"seat the brakes"
what needs to be done to "seat the pads" ???

 

Seating or Burnishing is where you make a series of stops that coats the rotors with pad material. This prevents material sticking in one spot more than another that creates the pulse feel so many complain about.

There are many different approved ways to seat or burnish the pads in.

Here is tech section from Bendix

http://www.bendixbrakes.com/techCorner/faq.php

You can check with EBC and Hawk or even Raybestos on how they recomend. They are all similar but each vary a little. How well you seat or burnish pads can effect how well the brakes last and how well they function long term. Note pads are not seated from the factory and the dealer does not do this. Few people ever do and I am sad to say many mechanics do not do this either.

I also recomend the artical in the Oct 2012 page 24 Corvette Fever Magazine. It is a good artical on rotors and how to prep them for better use. They even recomend sanding them with 150 grit before install. It should be a must read for anyone who thinks they know brakes.

The real issue that caused many of the repeat problems for people is that there is a lot more to putting pads on today than many realize. Sometimes some get lucky but if you want no issues it is best to be informed on the latest info. There are a lot of things that used to be true that no longe apply and other things that should be looked at now with the new pad materials. Too often many treat the symptom and not the cause.

 

I'm going to have to disagree a bit here. I think the HHR is a problem vehicle when it comes to rotors and pulsation. I haven't done anything differently with this car or my previous HHR that got totaled than I've done with every other car I've owned during my 25 years at the wheel, and I got pulsation after merely 5-6k using Raybestos Advanced Tech rotors and Wagner Thermoquiet pads on both. I just replaced the rotors again on my HHR and am trying NAPA Advanced One pads this time, so I'll see if there is any difference. I did bed the brakes in on both HHRs. If you look around online, you can see thread after thread of issues with HHRs and pulsation. It simply shouldn't be this hard to not have pulsation issues with any car. On my current HHR, when I replaced the rotors again, the lateral runout was only at .001" when I installed the new rotors with no hub bearing issues.

I'm just not so convinced that the car isn't the issue. I think if this set of rotors warps again, I am just going to put the cheapest rotors and pads on it and just plan on replacing both every year or so. There is no point in putting lots of money into rotors/pads that will still pulsate anyway.

 

First mistake is to too assume warp. That is why so many nevee solve the issue. Rotos could warp a little but generally it is due to damage from a curb or over tightened lugs. You could generally get a rotor red hot on a HHR and it will not warp.

Did you measure for rotor thickness variation GM even has a TSB on this one.

If it were just warped rotors and they were too small for the vehicle etc they all would be doing it. The generally is a condition that leads to pulse in the brakes and it is generally not a warped rotor. This is why so many who have had the issue have repeat issues when others with the same rotors never have the same issue. Cause and effect.

Also you have to consider too that pulsing brakes is a common complaint today on nearly every car out side a ZR1. If you go to the Honda web site, Toyota, Ford etc they all have threads dealing with this.

Also never take for granted that a name brand rotor or name brand pad could be as good as it could be. There are no set standards with these and some rotors cheap out as they may be as thick as the stock one but the vents in the center are wider. This is a sign they removed metal to save money. THis is more common than you think.

Also just because a pad says Ceramic or Kevlar it does not mean it has the same content as another pad. The percentage of ceramic could be low vs another brand but just because it has some ceramic and a lot of cheap filler they still can call it ceramic.

I would suspect you some underlying issue some where that is causing this. I would not be suprised if your cheap pad and rotors will do the same thing because the real issue is yet to be found or corrected.

The pulse issue mostly came into place as companies moved more to the positive offset hubs we have on the new cars. The bearings are sealed and are ball bearings vs the much better rollers. This was done for the sake of MPG since ball bearings have less contact area.

Also todays rotors pull away the pads for no drag to get better MPG. In the past we used to keep the old rollers a little lose with some play to kick back the piston and pads. To day any little movement that let the rotors wobble let them hit the pads and they will wear in a uneven thickness.

I bed my brakes in and even my SS picked up a little pulse last summer. I took it out and stood on them a few times and then drove them evenly for a little while and they cleaned themselves up. Even after bedding lower quailty pads like the OE pads will still stick to the rotors if you get them hot enough. It was just one rotor on the passenger side and it did clean up.

Getting off the freeway and laying on the brakes hard at the light at the end of the ramp is the worst thing you can do. This is where many start to pick up the issue.

Mountain driving too can also cause this if you hold the brakes at a stop off a long steep grade.

 

I've read enough to understand like you say that many people call rotor pulsation "warp" when it normally is not. I used to misunderstand this also before I started doing a bit of reading on the subject.

I did measure the rotor thickness variation with a micrometer and it wasn't an issue.

I really haven't looked around at other brands of cars on forums to see if this is a common issue. I will readily admit that my other two cars are older, rear wheel drive, roller-bearing type cars.

After having run into the same issue twice, both times with Wagner Thermoquiet pads, I have begun to suspect them. I see them recommended and praised, and have never had an issue using them on another car. This is why I switched to the NAPA Adaptive One pads. I figured I would give their best pads a shot and see how they do. I do not suspect the rotors as Raybestos Advanced Tech rotors (same as NAPA Ultra Premium) are repeatedly praised on this forum (and others) and seem to work well.

I even try to pulse my brakes especially whenever I slow down from freeway speeds, and try not to just stop with my foot on the pedal. The next time I start to feel even the slightest pulsing, I will try as you said and lay down on the brakes a few times to see if this evens things up.

Maybe its just the nature of these newer ball bearing sealed hub type cars to be more problematic and temperamental in this area. I guess that's what you get to increase your gas mileage (or so they say), although I can't help but wonder if its worth that 1mpg (or whatever it is) over good old dependable roller bearing setups.