Should i turn my rotors everytime i change my brakes? i have 123k miles and have had the honda dealership replace my brakes and turn my rotors a total of 3 times.

 

No, I do not think you need to turn the rotor every time you change pads. I do not think I ever had my rotors turned and it has 178k miles on it. I think only time when you need to have it turned is that if they are warped that the car shakes when you use brakes and also if you have deep ridges or scratches on the rotor. (Also you need to replace the rotor if it is below the minimium thickness.)

I think the reason why mechanics turn the rotors so often is that they do not want to take a chance of hearing customers complaining about a bad brake job, if anything, plus they get more $$ if they turn rotors.

I am not sure where in manual or repair manual saying that you need to turn rotors every whatsoever miles?

correct me if I am wrong.

Jim

 

after some google research, I came up with this comment - for your info. guess you can disregard my comments above- your safety is #1 priority.

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Lay the pads aside and inspect the rotor. Can you see yourself in it? If the pads were worn into the metal, your rotor will be scored; you'll have trouble seeing yourself. Run your fingernails along the surface of the rotor -- first the side facing you, then the side facing away. Is it scored? Deeply? This next point is very important. If the rotor has any grooves at all in it, remove it at once. Now you have a decision to make.

If you have a scored rotor, you must decide whether to have it "turned" or to replace it. If you're short on money, take it to a local mechanic and ask him to "turn" it for you. What they do is put it on a special metal-cutting lathe and shave off several thousandths of an inch of metal until the disc is shiny again. Remember, though, one of the real advantages of disc brakes over drum is their heat-handling capability. By removing metal, you reduce the system's thermal transfer capacity. We recommend turning the discs only when you are short on bucks. The better way is to take the disc to the auto parts store, match it up with a replacement, and buy a new one. Last time we did this, it only cost us twenty bucks for a new rotor, a cheap investment in safety. You have to go there anyway to buy the new brake pads, as well as a few other things, so why not make it one trip.

Good Luck.

 

The Honda dealership tells me to ALWAYS turn the rotors! Who is right? All comments appreciated.

 

to do a brake job right I would suggest that you turn your rotors every time you replace your pads. But sometime you can get away with just replacing pads without turning your rotors if they are in good shape.

 

You get better adhesion with a newly turned rotor and new brake pads. Slapping new pads on an existing rotor (not damaged or warped) is okay but you won't stop as good, and you'll have a tad more heat (IMO) while stopping, which could eventually lead to warped rotors.

By turning them, you have a nice flat surface for which the pads to mate up against.

IOW, I have mine turned.

-Ian