Hi guys, I'm back.

This time with a rant and hopefully a solution from the collective.

This is my 3rd RX. Love the car. Not so much the brakes.

I pull a lightweight trailer. Lightweight means not a beast, not a boat, just a 4x8 utility to go to art shows etc. Living here in Colorado and doing shows all over the West, I find that at times I must use brakes and lower gears to safely descend mountains.

Apparently under load the brakes get hot and warp the front rotors. The earlier models I took to a mechanic who specialized in brakes. He declared the rotors warped, said Lexus is known for warping rotors and so forth. He refused to turn the rotors saying they are a regular and recurring problem and he would not stand behind a "rotor turn-job". I let him put after market rotors on and they did the job but I traded it pretty soon after and did not experience the longer term with after market rotors.

Unit number 2 had a similar problem. but not to the same degree. We were not doing that much out of town art then.

This 2011 RX is the best yet... until a few months ago... more art shows on the road, more hills to negotiate and I can feel the warping and pulsing starting. This unit has barely 50k miles on it.

I think that is too soon to have brake replacement.

What do you guys think?

Am I the only one with this issue.

Am I just crazy?

if it gets worse, and I think it will... what do you guys like to do? Replace, turn/reface? etc?

etc...

Thanks,
Bob

 

what pads are you using? What alot of people call warping is actually rotor runout. Often its caused by poor and uneven bed-in with the brake pad or from uneven pad deposits causing high spots.
Nominal thickness is 28mm new and minimum is 25mm.
I would try using a rotary Flex-hone tool to remove high spots before resorting to having the rotors turned.

One thing that i noticed in the RockAuto catalog is a category of rotors recommended for towing. They all appear to be slotted to prevent pad glazing.

 

Thanks for the replies... As far as I know the car has the original rotors and pads. I do not know the brands.

As for trailer brakes... the trailer I have is a 4X8 enclosed. No brakes and it carries a fairly light load.