I feel the cabin shaking when I step on the brakes. The steering wheel doesn't shake so I'm guessing it's the rear brakes. It's a slight shake but enough to make the car feel not smooth when stepping on the brakes.

I've had warped rotors on previous cars and know what it feels like. Anyone else experience this? Can Lexus turn the rotors or will I need new rotors? Car only has 16k miles.

 

Yep, generally, if car shakes when braking, and you don't feel it on the steering wheel, that is a sign the rear rotors may be at fault. Another may be sticking guide/sliding pins, and I have seen my share of dry guide pin galleries - the holes in the caliper brackets. If you are still under warranty, Lexus may fix it. Our 07 ES350 got shaky at 30K and just under 3 years at the time, and Lexus replaced rotors and brake pads all around.

 

I asked Lexus about warped rotors before and they said that's considered wear and tear and wouldn't be covered under warranty.

 

Yeah, brakes and rotors are a wear/tear item. That's just something you have to keep up with regular maintenance. If you have a good amount of pad material left they can just machine the rotors to be true. Then the vibrations will go away. But they're always going to recommend to replace the pads at the same time so the pads + rotors are "matched". Depends on how much money you want to spend. Also, usually the front rotors are what you are going to feel vibrating the most. So at the very least you'd have to re-machine the front rotors.

If you are handy you could remove the front rotors yourself, take them to an auto parts store and have them resurface the rotors for like $20-$30 a rotor and then reinstall.

Also the vibrations aren't anything that will cause damage. Just feels bad. Overtime the vibrations will get worse. But brakes will still work.

 

Is the car under warranty?

If the car is under warranty I would recommend taking this up with Lexus corporate. In general it is incorrect installation of the brake hardware OR incorrect wheel mounting to hub (incorrect torque, using an impact wrench etc). I have never encountered "shaking while braking" as a normal wear/tear phenomenon.
Brake jobs are a big money maker for the dealer and they will never agree to replace the brakes under warranty (unless forced to by Lexus corporate). Warranty repairs generally pay much less than customer pay.

 

Car is 2020. We bought it used 6 months ago. When I brought it up with the service department, they said brakes and considered wear and tear and they don't know what previous owner did. Maybe I'll try Lexus corporate. It's a very little shake (unsmooth feeling) that a normal person probably wouldn't really notice. I notice it as I had warped rotors before.

 

If you bought the car from Lexus and it was CPO, they would replace the rotors and pads since it was only 6 months and they were suppose to give you a fully inspected car with like new brakes. (they have a spec for this) All other purchases, I agree with all the others, that it is a wear and tear item not covered by warranty.

 

So the car is likely within the 4 year/50k mile new car warranty. I am assuming that this vibration is likely "brake judder/vibration". I can guarantee that this is not normal wear and tear at 16k miles. These rear brakes are designed to last twice that mileage if not more under normal driving. Even if the previous owner drove the car "hard" this should not happen. It is incorrect brake hardware or wheel install. Take it up with corporate. Force them to replace under warranty. You will have to be a little aggressive (but nice). Otherwise just live with it. Please do not pay the dealer retail. Even with the vibration, the brakes may last you 50k miles. Service depts routinely use impact wrenches on wheel installation and incorrectly torque the wheels which usually results in brake judder due to uneven rotor/brake pad contact and uneven pad material deposition.

As an example I have had multiple Lexus models where pads were down to 1mm and the braking action was smooth.

The dealer is in the business of making money and will never agree to replace the brakes. They would much rather charge you retail 1000-1200$ to replace brakes rather than do it under warranty at a much lower charge.