Hi guys,

Newbie on the board. I apologize in advance if I am not using the correct technical terminology in describing my symptoms.
Background: 2007 IS350, 44K current miles, staggered fitment, still have the winter tires on the vehicle- they will be replaced next week with some Hankook's

I'm having problems with my brakes making a "humming / thrumming" noise when I'm braking. The steering wheel is not vibrating and I don't feel the brakes "skipping or jumping" when I apply them.

I had the front brakes replaced in Jun 09 with 34K miles (by the dealer- I know don't mention it); I'm now at 44K miles and I'm hearing this noise- almost as if the brakes were wearing out. So, perplexed that I'm hearing this noise I take off the two front tires and check out the pads- they look fine to me <attaching pictures- sorry for quality they were taken with my iPhone>.

I used some brake cleaner to clean the rotors off best I could while the tires were off- nothing jumped out at me to explain why the noise was being made.
Since the rotors were clean, I used my finger tip to feel them and see if I could detect any grooves on the meat part of them (I couldn't but I'm not an expert), but I did notice that the meat of the rotor on the driver side was lower/indented than the outer lip of the rotor. The passenger side was slightly less so. I do recall the dealer resurfacing the rotor's when they swapped out the original OEM brake pads, so that to me seems the logical explanation why.

I also tried looking at the rotors from the top and sides- I did not notice if they were warped or concave in shape. Would it be very obvious?

I also took a picture of one of the rotor's; if someone wants to see that I can post it; but again it was taken with my iPhone...

I'm hoping someone could help me out/shed some light as to why/point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance for the help guys...

 

Your brake pad guide pins seem to be missing, unless you removed them before taking this picture.

 

My apologies; yes I removed them to have a better look at the back part of the brake pads. I also want to point out these are the original vehicle rotors and the brake pads currently on there are the dealer recommended pads.