Took my truck in for service last week because my steering wheel was shaking while I pressed the brakes. Dealer told me that the rotors needed to be turned in order to get that fixed and my truck only has 19,000 miles on it. To top that off I was told this was "normal wear" items and wasn't covered under warranty. I would have to pay $250 to get the all done to fix the issue!!!

Has anyone else had issues with warped rotors in on their Rams?

I have never EVER had warped rotors on my vehicles until now. I'm very disappointed at my choice in trucks now.

 

Thats ridiculous at 19000 miles. My moms Buick lucerne had the same thing happen at 30-40k miles. She took it in to a gm dealer and they said it was abnormal to happen that early and it was all covered under warranty.

I guess thats chrysler for ya.

 

That's exactly what I said!! No way I could do anything to those rotors in 19,000 miles. They basically told me its covered up to 12,000 after that its normal wear and tear! No way! I have to figure a way around this one. Going to stop by another dealer tomorrow and have them take a look.

 

I had a 2001 Dakota. I warped the front rotors at 10,000 miles. The dealership resurfaced them, under warranty, but then I warped them again at 18,000 miles. So I picked up a set of PowerSlot slotted rotors, and never had a problem warping rotors again.

 

Mine has 6500 miles and they have already been turned. My '98 ate brakes like crazy. I was hoping this one would be better. Doesn't look like it. I'll be looking into aftermarket rotors after the 12k miles is up.

 

I can understand their point after 19K miles. My wife has managed to warp the rotors on every car she has ever owned.

 

Rotor warpage comes from a few sources and the last of these is the most common:
#1: Excessive heat from heavy use (i.e towing heavy loads in hilly terrain, lot's of mountain driving, or track use).

#2: Rapid immersion in cold after being hot. This usually happens when the brakes are fairly hot and you drive through water deep enough to hit the rotors (you do not have to submerge the whole wheel, only about 2-3 inches above the bottom of the rotor can do it) .

#3: Crappy Rotor quality- It's out there, but in reality it's not as common as people make it out to be. Normally one of the other factors mentioned at least contributes to the issue.

#4: (The most common):
Over torqued/uneven torquing of wheels. Watch dealers or service shops use a 1/2 air gun to tighten the lugs. This is much more force than needed and it also is hard to get a consistent torque application using this method. To counter this, many shops use "torque sticks", which are supposed to automatically limit the toque to the correct amount. The issue with this is that they are used well beyond their normal service life and are typically not in the correct tolerance any longer.

I suggest you always have shops torque your wheels with a standard torque wrench (and preferably one that's calibrated on a normal basis, but good luck with that one! The only ones that are calibrated often are ones used for engine work).

 

My '04 Dak did it after the 12,000 miles were up, but wasn't bad enough for me to do anything about it. It never got worse even at 42,000 miles when I sold it. It did keep me on my toes when I pulled the boat though, never wanted to heat them up to make them worse.

 

2003 Ram - new rotors at 10K.

2005 Ram - Aftermarket fronts and stock replacement rear rotors at 40K. Warped at 50K.

I really hope I don't go through rotors that quick on this one.

 

First of all 250 to turn them is bs, second they be shouldn't be warping period. That shows poor quality, they should never warp, that's saying it can't take the heat.. They get worn grooves from braking, but not warpping. If you look into it say like an auto zone or simular, they make cheap roters and life time rotors. Guess we all know what kind we have here! If I had to pay for them or buy them, I'd go with A high performance after market lifetime rotors, screw the dealer.