I own a 2007 LS 460 and I'm having a brake problem. I'm getting a brake pulsation when I apply the brakes lightly when traveling around 70 mph.I started noticing this at around 18,000 Miles and the car now has around 20,000.I know I can go to the dealer and be told that the warranty does not cover this and to break out the checkbook.I'm looking for some input.

 

Brake discs can suffer runout issues from overheating that may occur over time. The discs can lose their flatness and may need to be machined if the runout becomes excessive. Manufacturers try to relieve this by drilling holes or machining grooves on the surface to allow heat to escape under severe braking applications - however the LS does not have these. This problem is fairly common, but was less so in the good old days of drum brakes, as drums could handle heat better. I don't think you'll get much sympathy from dealers or Lexus for that matter, as this is a wear item, and they really don't have any control on the car's end use.

 

I have an '08 which had the same problem.

Dealer diagnosed warped rotors and machined them under warranty(28k miles).

Couple of weeks ago.

Good luck,

Alan

 

+1 on that..

our LS had the same issue.. and the dealer machined the rotors.

 

I complained at my 15000 mile service.
the dealer said they didn't see any hard spots like they have seen on some.
They called it normal.
i have complained about 4 different things on my $70k car and that is alway the answer.
"normal"
My 2000 gs was a much better quality car.
Just because it is normal to the vehicle doen't mean it is right.

 

is there another dealer around? or try a difference service advisor?
i never had an issue with them testing/fixing something under warranty..
although all the dealers hate me because i only go in for warranty service.. never any other service..

 

Burnaby is right warped rotors happen real easily. Being a service advisor I see it all the time and pads and rotors are considered to be a wear and tear item. Its really at the discretion of the service manager if they want to resurface the rotors, because typically warranty will not pay for it meaning the department eats the cost.

 

Yes i know that is true but if the Manufacturer is trying to save weight on a vehicle they also under size the rotors and make them thinner that make the rotors much more susceptible to warping.
I don't drive my ls anywhere near as hard as I drove my 2000 gs. It got to about 40000 before the brakes started having any pulsation.

 

just to be fair, i am not sure if it's true to say lexus under size the rotor design on the ls460. if anything the brake design is far superior to the gs400 imho. for both gs400 and ls460 personally i don't see a lot of warpped rotors issues