I'm at 22k as well.. and they're starting to warp.. getting some pulse in the peddle

 

Surprisingly, I was told today that Honda will pay for a 1 time turning of the rotors. Getting it done next week.

 

I had my 12's rotors turned by the dealer for free at around 19 K.
At 34 they needed it again. Dealership refused. I had a shop nearby turn them for 5$ a piece. They had plenty of thickness left. Now at 41 K they are still smooth.

I was tempted to put the new ones on since they are cheap (20-30$) but glad I've waited and saved them, at least for now.

My dad's 2010 is at 65 K and still on the original rotors which are smooth.

I think the issues you and I are having are due to a bad rotor that was manufactured with some metal stress/density issue so it goes out of shape quickly.

 

If the pads or disk wear out that is a wear issue.

Disk warping is a product defect, not wear. The dealer should replace (not turn) the disks. Turning them simply leaves a temporarily-repaired defective part on the car.

If the dealer won't do that, go up the ladder to Honda. Emphasize that this is a safety issue and subject to whatever lemon law your state might have.

 

Discs can be considered a wear items. Depending on use, warping is not necessarily a defect. Imagine someone who routinely descends steep hills and overheats the brakes, then stops the car and leaves them to cool off with one side shielded by the pads. This can result in premature warping.
Someone who tows a trailer, can get the discs warped sooner too.

Finally, unevenly toured lug nuts can result in unplanned warping.
Honda can't always be responsible for people doing damage to disc rotors during use.

 

If this were 1975 I might agree with you. Brakes of that era weren't as robust as modern brakes.

The OP lives in the Bay Area. While San Francisco is known for hills, they aren't exactly mountains and unless you're filming a remake of Bullitt the speeds are low.

One can always abuse brakes if you drive like a race driver or ride the brakes all the time. I'll make the assumption that the OP doesn't do this.

It is not reasonable for Honda to assume that every brake failure is due to abuse. Failures of that sort are usually accompanied by evidence, such as blued rotors or toasted seals.

Recognize also that the dealer would rather do the repair at full retail rates rather than at the lower warranty rates that Honda will pay. Shadier dealers will call any failure the owner's fault. If owners aren't proactive about involving Honda Corporate in the situation they will end up holding the bag.

 

I decided to test drive a 2016 Fit EX while at the dealer today due to an issue with my 2016 Civic EX-T. After putting the transmission in Drive and taking my foot off the brake, the vehicle did not move. I proceeded to press the accelerator slightly and still nothing. I pressed a bit more and then I heard a loud thumping sound as the vehicle moved forward. I thought I ran over something, but that was not the case. I allowed the vehicle to coast through the parking lot without pressing the accelerator. When I pressed the brake, I felt a looping sensation combined with a grinding noise. I stopped and the salesman and I exited the vehicle. The salesman pointed out a mark on the left front rotor which was very rusty. The salesman directed me to return the vehicle to its original parking space. The salesman speculated the brakes and rotors were problematic due to the vehicle sitting on the lot for some time. I test drove another EX, but I wondered if the dealer would service the vehicle with the brake issue before it was test driven again or sold.

 

^^ This was not a warp issue, rather it was probably caused by the pads sticking to the rotors after rain (or sitting a LONG time). The open or exposed areas rust a little, except where the pads shielded them.

Our cars do that to an extent after I wash the car (or one sits in a damp garage for a long time). There has been no long term effect on my cars...the grinding and pulsing goes away with two or three stops.

 

No, they'll just send the porter to drive the car around the block with instructions to ride the brakes a bit. Rotors are cast iron and do rust easily. The rust scrubs off with use. If left wet (say, from washing the car a few times without moving it) the pads will sometimes stick to the rotors.

On old VWs you'd never leave the emergency brakes engaged after driving in rain because the rear shoes would sometimes stick to the drum so firmly that you'd have to climb under the car with a hammer and drift to knock the shoes loose.

 

I've xperienced what you described after washing a vehicle, but never to this severity.

 

This is why most modern disk brake cars have a mini drum for the e-brake rather than a caliper e-brake. The caliper brakes were horrid for damaging rotors.

Both the fit and my BMW's all get a sheen of rust on the rotors if it rains and they sit. Doesn't cause any issues.. After 1 good hard stop..

 

And, the issue would feel much worse if you washed the car, then let it sit outside for a few WEEKS (as dealers cars do).

 

i started having the shudder at 19k miles cars about 9 months old it really started happening after they did an oil change and tire rotation at 28k at first it was not that bad but last couple of weeks its been bad to a point I'm scared to press the brakes. went to honda they said a basic tech can look at it for free but might not be able to diagnose it. for 99 bucks a master tech can tell me whats wrong I'm like thank you but no thank you. i live in florida no hills here rain not too too often no hard stops really. and i also find it ridiculous to have to do any kind of brake work on a car with 28k miles i don't know what the next step is either. i caught a tech outside and started talking he said sounds like the rotor might be warped. so yea i don't think ill be keeping the fit much longer.

 

In your case, the rotors could have been warped due to incorrectly torqued lug nuts. Difficult to prove, tough.

I always re-torque my lugs after a shop touches them. Don't trust anybody!

 

I'm trying to figure out how, when bolting a round flat plate to another round flat plate, one can cause one of those flat plates to warp by tightening some nuts more than others? As long as the rotor is seated before you start tightening it down the relative torques shouldn't matter.

Picture a sheet of glass resting on a flat tabletop. You can push down with a lot of force on any location or locations on the glass without breaking it. That's the situation of the brake rotor on the hub.

Obviously many claim that uneven torque causes brake rotor warpage, but I wonder if most of those incidents are actually due to something else. It's easy to blame an invisible "tire monkey" for screwing things up when the real problem might be bad design in the hub or lack of seasoning time for the cast iron rotors.

 

It happens, and I speak from experience.

By practicing anti-pad redeposit practices, and by re-torquing the lug nuts on our cars, I have not needed to replace front rotors on any of our vehicles unless the edges suffer from 'rust blooms' where the pads don't rub. (Which takes more that 120K miles and 5 or 6 years here in saltly NJ)


Interesting, that the issue occurred to the OP after tires were rotated...

 

That's great, but I get the same longevity without any special attention, other than replacing pads before they go metal-to-metal.

 

The dealer did the "one time turning" Honda allows for the Fit. So far so good. Gotta wonder, though, why so many Fits are having the problem. Thin rotors? Bad steel? My 2010 Camaro has over 62,000 miles on the original brakes. Same roads, same mountains...no issues. Very un-Honda like.

 

They are un-aged cheap cast iron. Iron has to be stress relieved or the first time its heated it will warp. Good rotors, are cast then left on racks for a couple weeks then re-heated to 500 or more then allowed to hang again. THEN machined..

As far as torque warping, the hub is turned steel, the rotor is cast iron or soft steel. I can warp a rotor if I torque 1 lug to 120 lbs and the rest to 80 then get them hot and quick cool them. (Like driving through a puddle. ) the warp will align with the tight lug..

 

I wonder if the Japan built ones have the same issue, or if it is more Mexican problems.