The Effects of Not Changing Brake Rotors

Because your brakes are essential components of your car or truck, maintaining them in top shape is critical to avoid an accident and keep you safe. This is why you should check all the parts of the braking system, including the rotors, each time you service your vehicle.

Brake rotors are expected to wear out over time. The friction generated between the brake pad friction material and the rotors grinds both down, causing them to get thinner. Replacing these components is the most common work performed during a brake job.

All manufacturers publish both the original thickness of their brake rotors and a “discard thickness.” Replace any brake rotor measuring the same or less than the discard thickness.

Brake Rotors Deterioration Effects

If you don’t replace worn brake rotors, they will continue to deteriorate at a more rapid rate. As the rotor gets thinner, it absorbs more heat that cannot dissipate into the air. The excess heat then causes the rotor to warp.

Warped Rotors

When a rotor warps, the brake pads fluctuate along the surface of the rotor as it rotates, causing vibrations you can feel in the steering wheel.

The thinner the rotor, the more it can warp and the greater the vibration gets. A rotor measuring below discard thickness cannot be machined to remove the warp. Machining a rotor removes even more material, causing the rotor to warp further.

Increased Stopping Distance, Vibration

Thinning rotors will increase your vehicle’s stopping distance and vibration. If left too long, the rotor will crack and break apart or even explode. When a rotor breaks or explodes, the wheel and tire continue to rotate. The vehicle will swerve toward the other wheel where braking is still occurring. This dangerous condition can cause an accident, either pulling the car or truck into oncoming traffic or pushing it toward the curb.

For your safety, replace the rotors any time they reach their discard thickness, avoiding the danger of a brake rotor warping, breaking apart, or exploding.

About Goodyear Brakes

Goodyear Brakes manufactures premium quality brake bundles, calipers, rotors, brake pads and all the hardware required to successfully install brakes, all backed by a national warranty, decades of production experience and one of the best-known names in automotive excellence. The brake pads are manufactured in the USA using a proprietary green production process by a company with more than 50 years of experience in friction science. The Goodyear Brakes product line is available through Goodyear Brakes at Amazon, CarID, Buy Brakes and AutoAnything.

Goodyear (and Winged Foot Design) and Blimp Design are trademarks of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company used under license by FDP Virginia Inc., 1076 Airport Road, Tappahannock, VA 22560, USA. Copyright 2020 The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Goodyear Brakes and FDP Virginia are not responsible for its products when they are subjected to improper applications, installation, or accident.