ClaytonW

I had to take my LX to Lexus to resurface the brake rotors at 7,500 miles (covered by warranty). Did anyone have a similar issue? Btw, my Sequoia had its rotors resurfaced at about 60,000 miles - quite a difference for a similar SUV.
I am trying to find why. I think that the adaptive cruise control can be a reason. I drive often on steep mountain roads and use adaptive cruise control. My LS460 does not have any problems on the same roads because it downshifts for slowing down, rarely use brakes. I found that LX simply use breaks most of the time and of course, the breaks overheat. It gives maybe a slightly better mpg, but costs much more :-) Now, when I know that, I downshift manually but if this is the reason, Lexus should modify the software.

yakim

Resurfacing brake rotors @ 7.5 k is unheard of. Had this sort of problem on one of my previous cars( I think it was a RR SC, or somethn' @ 15 K miles). But RR is notorious for eating' brakes and rotors. Lexis OTH is not like that. So, its either bad driving habits or defect

T4Fun

whomever thought up of 'resurfacing" rotors should be shot...think about what it does....

you should always just put new rotors on...

UZ214

this cracked me up--but yea I agree have then put new rotors on, By the way my LX570 the rotors around the 20k mark always started to pulse.. so I changed them

REDHORSE

102,000 miles on my original rotors. BUT, whenever it goes to the shop when it comes home I retorque the lug nuts to spec in the owner's manual.

NotADood

As long as the rotors are above minimum thickness, there is no need to replace them. Toyota engineers designed the rotors to allow machining. At the dealer I work at, it is usually 3x the cost to replace rotors vs. machining them.

ClaytonW

I agree, I have no problem with it. I just would like to know the reason. I don't believe that it can be my driving habits as on a similar SUV (Toyota Sequoia) on the same roads I had no problems with the brake rotors until 60,000 miles.
It simply can be bad rotors but I would bet that there is a software issue with '16 LX - as I mentioned above. The adaptive cruise control on my LS460 does not use breaks at all on mountain downhills but downshifts. The normal (non-adaptive) cruise control on my Sequoia cannot use breaks (of course) so it also downshifts. Lexus probably wanted to get a better mpg on the new LX so decided that it will use breaks to keep the speed on steep mountain roads. The rotors may overheat and damage.

NotADood

I'm sure the oversized rims on the new LX570 doesn't help. That is a lot of rotational mass to slow down. I wouldn't doubt a TSB coming out in the next few months to address it.

However, Lexus has their hands busy with the new 16 RX, there are a lot of issue with that model. Once they address all of those problems, maybe then they will address the brake rotors for the LX.

caha14

Indeed, 15k+ is just about as much as I've gotten without pulsation, so not too far from you (though it's still 25% less life ).



Not crazy about cutting rotors either, mainly for technical/functional reasons, as they get thinner and seem to warp again sooner. I do hear you that they leave enough meat on them from the start.

From a practical standpoint, interestingly, it isn't that much cheaper to machine than to replace at my dealership. I wonder if unattended cutting time is part of the cost (similar to how navigation update cost includes a bunch of time where all the work is done by the Techstream computer - again, unattended) .

This is an interesting observation. I've never had adaptive cruise on a vehicle with regular brakes (the 600 switches into regenerative braking, for the most part), so I'm not sure what to expect.

Your LX vs. LS comparison is interesting, though. Fuel economy should not be helped dramatically by the avoidance in engine braking (gravity is doing the work), so I don't know what their rationale for this might be.

MattBianco

My '13 has the same problem. It was resurfaced. That the vehicle weight is x or y is irrelevant. The rotor needs to be of an alloy and casting process to withstand it. My LX470 never had an issue with the rotors, ant it weights nearly the same. Also, I have other cars that weight in mid 5000s LBS and never had an issue with warped rotors.

Just today, I came back from the dealer, and they had to go to bat with Lexus who did not want to cover the rotors, treating them as wear and tear (the engine is also wear and tear!).

I understand "pads and liners" being excluded -how the warranty book reads. However, we should all make a stink about the rotors. They are very low grade for the duty they have to perform.

SaintBart

My 2016 LX just went in for its 10k mile service and had the rotors resurfaced. I experienced pulsing days prior to the servicing while driving on an interstate in traffic on some fairly steep roads. So 70-80+ mph going downhill requiring some semi aggressive braking at times due to traffic. Mentioned it to the dealer and they resurfaced without any opposition, suggesting to me that they were aware of the potential need for resurfacing in this vehicle. I would add that the adaptive cruise does perform some awkward braking when going down hill, not too smooth. I am driving this exact same stretch of road in 2 days and will see how it handles it this time.

DocT

Wow! You have joined this site since 2010 and this is your 1st post. We need to hear more from you and update your LX.

BTW, did they charge you for resurfacing the rotors, if so how much?

ClaytonW

Thank you for your post. It's quite important to know that I am not the only one with the same issue :-)

MattBianco

Me 3. The same components in the pre facelift models, and the same issue.

Ashron

My 2010 LX rotors were great until resurfaced at approximately 50K miles. Once resurfaced, the new brakes wouldn't stop squeaking. So after 5K miles on new pads and resurfaced rotors, Lexus replaced all 4 rotors and put 4 new sets of pads. They charged me a greatly reduced price for the rotors only, which was fair. No issues since then. But they did tell me that the original rotors had a TSB on them and that they replaced them with the newer version that won't squeak after resurfacing. I had the newer ones resurfaced at about 100K miles or so and no issues. I agree that Lexus should really not cut corners on something as basic as rotors. Especially on a 6,000 lb SUV that's supposed to be the "best of the best".