2004 Nissan Altima Brake Rotors Rusty and Warped?

Posted by austin Published in Nissan

Reader Question

Austin,

I bought this car in 2004 Nissan Altima. I have 74,000 miles on the car. I only have had the brake done once before. The other day I saw my rotors were rusted looking and it was the size of my brake pad.

I called a local brake shop to get a price and they said I might need to replace my rotors. I’ve never had them turned or resurfaced before. Can they not resurface the rotors instead of replacing them? Also, can you send me a picture of a rotor that needs to be replace.

One other question, it seems like every time I take my car to the dealer they have a list of repairs versus the local shop that doesn’t notice any. How do I know what they are telling me is reliable? When should the transmission flush be done?

Thanks,

Los Angeles, CA

Hi there MP,

Your rust on the brake rotors is normal, and will disappear on the first brake pedal application leaving your subdivision in the morning, I would not worry about the rust.

Usually the rotors can be “trued”, it just depends on how worn or warped they are and if cutting them will leave enough metal on the rotor after the cutting so they will not easily re-warp again.

More about this here, and some pictures

Brake Rotor Problems

The dealership sounds like they are either OVERSELLING you repairs or they are doing a better job of inspecting your vehicle and recommending maintenance.

Selling maintenance items is where the profits are like transmission flushes, coolant flush, brake fluid flushes, tune ups etc. etc. although all those items are highly recommended and should be performed on a routine basis…those items are the most profitable for the shop, so they get recommended most.

I would flush these fluid at these intervals unless there was a problem

Transmission fluid every 30K miles
Radiator/coolant every 60-75K miles
Brake fluid flush every 60K miles
Power steering fluid every 60K miles

Here is my own scheduled maintenance list, which should be used with your current owner manual recommendations