Warped Rotors

[casique]

I towed my trailer this weekend, total weight 1500lb and the rotors gave up the ghost. What a piece of crap. Today the dealer replaced the pads and turned the rotors. A bandaid fix, since the next time I tow it will warp again.

[rawze]

i have towed my boat numerous times and so far haven't had any rotor problems

[vansd1]

welcome to the club.....now imagine if you tow about 6000lbs twice a week. well i just got my truck back from the shop, new rotors and pads and guess what... i am towing on friday so any guesses on when my rotors are gonna warp again. gotta love it, nissan will either have to buy my truck back or make a change to this brake system.

[Zardoz]

While towing or carrying heavy load if improperly treated all rotors will warp. Now before you flame me I know the Titan has some brake problems but certain behavior
can make things worse.

Don't stop at the bottom of a big hill where you have used the brakes hard and sit
at a light with your foot on the brake. If you can keep moving slowely toward the
light or stop sign. Many rotors die after getting them hot sitting at a light or stop
sign with your foot on the brake.

Coming down steep hills I use my brakes hard for 20 seconds and don't use them for
40 seconds. I keep repeating this going down the hill. Now I know some of you
with heavy loads can't do this because you speed is getting out of control but do
it if you can.

Use your tranny to help keep your speed down. Coming down long bad passes with
my trailer I am sometimes in second gear. This really helps. Does it hurt the tranny?
Well it doesn't help it but I watch the tranny temperature gauge and I practice a
more aggresive service schedule on replacing the tranny fluid and I inspect it after
a trip.

Adjust your trailer brakes. Are they set to just about lock up on pavement if you manually activate them. If they won't lock up they are out of adjustment or not
large enough for the load. Be sure to lower the setting if you go on gravel or they
will lock up. If you hate your brake controller get a progedy and note the setting
when you test your trailer brakes so you can restore them when going from pavement
to gravel or visa versa. I hated my trailer brakes until I bought the progedy.

I do think Nissan should offer better rotors in the front for the trailer tow package but
I personally have not experienced any problems. I have no complaints about the performance of the system. Those brakes yank my vehicle down perfectly fine but I
am not pulling a 6 to 9K lb trailer either.

Zardoz

[rholland]

I have the XE CC, and my brakes will not stop the empty truck like they should. I let my brother-in-law drive my truck last week, and he almost wreck it because the brakes would not slow the truck down to make a turn. I have gotten use to now but they still need to be fixed. If I ever have to make an emergency stop, I'm going to be in trouble.

[Zardoz]

Originally Posted by rholland

I have the XE CC, and my brakes will not stop the empty truck like they should. I let my brother-in-law drive my truck last week, and he almost wreck it because the brakes would not slow the truck down to make a turn. I have gotten use to now but they still need to be fixed. If I ever have to make an emergency stop, I'm going to be in trouble.

Something is wrong. I told someone who was riding with me that I was
going to try a panic stop and slammed the pedal at 70mph on a country
road. It put him in the belts. I could not believe how fast I decelerated
considering we have 11.5" 33" tires.

When you panic stop can you feel a taping coming from the bottom of
the brake pedal? I am wondering if you have an ABS problem. Maybe
the ABS is not letting the full power of the brakes occur before activating.
I know we have some mushy pedal and warped rotor issues but I feel
and the reviews feel it is a pretty good performing brake system.

Scary, get to the bottom of this. See if you can drive someone elses
Titan and let them drive yours and see if it feels different. My old
hardbody would behave like this when heavily loaded and I know it
is a scary feeling when it happens.

Zardoz

[vansd1]

i have the prodigy brake controller and i agree it is the best. however the brakes are not. Zardoz, you are right about shifting down when going downhills and i ALWAYS used to do it because it does save the brakes BUT........brakes are relatively cheap especially when it comes to replacing a tranny. as i said i always used to downshift untill a realized that i could replace the brakes 10 or more times for less than the cost of a new tranny so form then on i have never downshifted unless totally necessary to prevent an accident. so on that note i dont downshift my truck but i do have my brake controller set very aggresively but still the rotors warp. nissan designed a great truck and if it wasnt so superior in all other areas the brakes probably wouldnt be that obvious but when everything else is way above par it makes the slightly under par brakes look horible.

[Zardoz]

Originally Posted by vansd1

i have the prodigy brake controller and i agree it is the best. however the brakes are not. Zardoz, you are right about shifting down when going downhills and i ALWAYS used to do it because it does save the brakes BUT........brakes are relatively cheap especially when it comes to replacing a tranny. as i said i always used to downshift untill a realized that i could replace the brakes 10 or more times for less than the cost of a new tranny so form then on i have never downshifted unless totally necessary to prevent an accident. so on that note i dont downshift my truck but i do have my brake controller set very aggresively but still the rotors warp. nissan designed a great truck and if it wasnt so superior in all other areas the brakes probably wouldnt be that obvious but when everything else is way above par it makes the slightly under par brakes look horible.

I spend alot of time going up and down wicked mountain passes I avoid
using my brakes as much as possible so I have them in reserve if I need
them. I admit when you are driving crowded roads it is kinda hard to avoid
using the brakes but where I drive this is not a problem. My brakes are
great in terms of power. I don't understand the differences we are seeing.
Maybe because I am old and grew up with bad drum brakes with single
circuit systems that I drive differently than you folks. My Titan stops on
a dime but one thing I thought about is I have a canopy and two solar
panels on the roof with a big tow motor battery in the bed. Could this
weight cause more braking from the back brakes than some of you with
empty beds. We are discussing two problems here the brake rotor warping
problem and the I can't stop problem. Not sure these are related. Could
on the I can't stop problem be caused by a bad master cylinder? I have
brakes up the wazoo when I panic stop. I did a couple of stops last night
and they are the best brakes I have ever had on any truck.

Wierd

Zardoz

[swi2]

I pull a 16 foot tandom axle trailer with a john deer 1050 and bushhog all the time,and have had no problem with my breaks. Maybe i have just been lucky up to this point but my truck stops good. Matter of fact it stops better than any truck i have ever had and i had two Z71s before i got my titan.

[FLA-Titan]

Never had problem with my brakes. I tow a 3500# boat. Close to 3000 miles on the Titan.

[Tom Roper]

Well Vansd1 *is* having brake problems, and he's not alone or there wouldn't be scores of posts on the subject, or TSB's from Nissan. It's obviously a significant problem.

[Squid]

5500 miles and no brake problems.
But I'm over 40 so I totally understand Zardoz and the driveing style theory.I still own a 56 chevy stepside and a 72 toyota landcruiser and drum brakes make you how should I say (more thoughtful ) especially in the rain on steep grades and towing.If you don't think about your brakes in these vehicles you very well may not be stopping at all.
I also feel that I've seen way more rear enders since the introduction of anti-lock brakes.Some people think they are anti-wreck breaks so tailgateing is A-OK.
My two bits from an old has been.
(Remember the days when a cupholder was a GLASS bottled beverage wedged between your legs )

[casique]

I have the Prodigy brake controller as well. The rotors warped after a hard stop from 65 mph. But gimmy a freaking brake, punn intended, this truck is supposed to tow over 9 grand. Iwas towing 1500lb. there is no excuse for this. They need to save money somewhere else thand the brakes and the seatbelts..

[vansd1]

let me clarify what i am saying be telling everyone that i actually love the way the brakes operate. they stop well and provide excellent feedback and feel while braking. BUT they warp and there is nothing i can do about it. I must admit that i drive the truck hard but I live in San Diego CA i do alot of stop and go driving along with going up and down some serious mountains to and from the dezert. i drive 2-3 days a week towing a 5k pound trailer and at least once a month i tow around 7k lbs worth of toybox, 2 yz 250's and a yzf 450 to the dezert so my truck hasnt had an easy life by any means. I am not bagging the operations of the brake but they need to find a fix for the warping. and dont blame it alone on my driving habbits because i had an f150 prior to the titan and didnt warp one set of rotors.

[billaku]

Looks to me like same rotor dimensions 2005: 2005 Front Brake Rotor

Anyone know if different calipers, brake pad material, etc. 2005?