Car trouble - brakes $#*@!

[AlbinoRhino]

Ok I'll admit up front that I'm not the most handy when it comes to cars ( i know i know -100 man points). I have a 2008 wrangler and I knew my brakes were getting kinda low and a few days ago they started grinding like they were into the rotors. I couldn't tell which wheels it was coming from ( felt kinda like the front ) and I didn't notice any drastic wear. I took another look at them tonight and the front rotors look fine, doesn't look like there is any damage or abnormal wear. looked at the rear passenger side and it looks perfectly fine too. Came around and looked at the drivers side and holy $#*! the damn thing is near destroyed with visable damage from a few feet away probably beyond machining.

Anyway It's going into the dealership first thing in the morning ( it's a lease, still under warranty). I'm just wondering is it common for one single rotor to get this bad when the others look fine? I've never had something like this happen to one of my vehicles. I only have about 17k miles on it. Also I had it in for an oil change about 4 months ago and my brakes were making some noise so I had them check them. They said they looked fine and that it was probably just dirt and noted it on my invoice. I realize rotors are a wear item but just didn't think this was normal wear and tear. Anyone have any thoughts or reasons why this might happen? Is this normal or does this sound like a faulty part? Any input is appreciated.

[Lycanthrope]

It's not uncommon if one pad hangs up and wears faster. Everytime you change brakes on a vehicle lube the caliper bolts and slides with some decent grease. Kinda rare on a new vehicle.

Rear brakes wear slower than the front so you definitely had some sort of issue like that. Shoulda lasted longer on a new car. I've only seen that on cars who have more miles and quick brake jobs without the greasing.

Lycanbutstuffhappensthrope

[ScaredOnce]

Lycanbutstuffhappensthrope

Butt stuff does happen...

[XACEX]

is the pad worn down to the screw? how about the others? does the rotor have a knife-like circle cut into it or general all over wear? is the rotor warped?

[AlbinoRhino]

It's not uncommon if one pad hangs up and wears faster. Everytime you change brakes on a vehicle lube the caliper bolts and slides with some decent grease. Kinda rare on a new vehicle.

Rear brakes wear slower than the front so you definitely had some sort of issue like that. Shoulda lasted longer on a new car. I've only seen that on cars who have more miles and quick brake jobs without the greasing.

Lycanbutstuffhappensthrope

Thanks for the info. I also thought it was weird that it was on the rear brakes too because they usually last longer like you said.

is the pad worn down to the screw? how about the others? does the rotor have a knife-like circle cut into it or general all over wear? is the rotor warped?

I couldn't see how far the pad was worn down. The rotor has all over wear, it looks completely shredded like somebody took a grinder too it, even has metal burs around the edges.

[nlcrsn]

Tell dealer up front you want the parts back! They may be more inclined to cover this under warranty.

[XACEX]

lol, sounds like theres no pad at all. if you've been doing some hard breaking, you might have warped the rotor too to get wear like that. pads start to squeek when they wear down and their screws pop through and start scraping the rotors. if thats been going on for awhile, you'll destroy the rotors, but it usually looks more like dug out circles where each of the screws on the pad makes contact when that happens. if you have a wrench to take the wheel off, or a flashlight and a good eye, its easy enough to check. pad should be about as wide as your pinky finger when new.

[AlbinoRhino]

Thanks to all. I'll check it again in the morning and see how much ( if any) pad is left. I'm just more curious as to why the wear was so drastic on just that one rotor when the others don't seem to have any problems and if I should really push/demand the dealer replace it since it seems like there's more to it than normal wear and tear.

[XACEX]

if its just pad and rotor wear to blame, dont sweat it. weird shit happens. lucky for you, they are hella cheap to buy and replace yourself. its easy to do even if you aren't a car guy and will cut the cost in half. if its a caliper or mechanical problem, then id demand a replacement.

[Exbiker]

Now days with 4 wheel anti loc, traction control and stability control the computer uses the brakes and even uses them individually to do these functions. There are a ton of things that could go wrong from a computer glitch that needs a flash to just a simple piston hanging up. Let the dealer fix it even if you have to argue to get it warranted. The service manager has some leverage in approving stuff up to a certain dollar amount. (We owned a dealership and my son is currently a service manager for Dodge)