Help With Warranty Claim - Warped Rotors

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by bruce.augenstein@comcast.

BMW USA has been a long-time supporter of the BMW Car Club (BMW CCA) and the track days that most chapters hold. They encourage this because it's good for sales.

Therefore, their generous approach to rotor and pad replacements. It would be embarassing for them to exclude such replacements because of track use which they actively encourage.

Bruce

Encouraging owners to a track day and replacing rotors cause of racing are two different things. If they will indeed replace rotors and pads under warranty after being raced on, then that's great.

[bruce.augenstein@comcast.]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

Encouraging owners to a track day and replacing rotors cause of racing are two different things. If they will indeed replace rotors and pads under warranty after being raced on, then that's great.

You said "I don't know why anyone would think that they could get rotors warrantied after using them at the track."

I replied in regard to BMW HPDEs. I doubt BMW would warranty brakes that are used in racing events, even if it's club racing.

Bruce

[boarderman23]

Thanks for all the input. I have an appointment Thursday and will let you know how I make out.

[Doctor J]

The OEM pads are probably the culprit. If you are doing track days a few times a year -- I would consider upgrading your pads to a kind that can handle higher temps. Almost any aftermarket track oriented brake pad is going to be much better than the OEM pads which are for street use/light duty

[IFX]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

I don't know why anyone would think that they could get rotors warrantied after using them at the track.

I thought the same thing..

[DivideBYZero]

Discs are a consumable part and you were running them on track. If you can get those on warranty then maybe you should also claim a new set of tyres, too?

[David1]

Originally Posted by immiketoo

One thing many new track fiends forget is to NOT set the parking brake after a session. Don't know if that's your problem or not.

This car uses a drum brake for the parking brake so that is not an issue.

[boarderman23]

I don't see why people are against getting this covered under warranty. This car should not have a problem with warped rotors (if that is the case), especially when much cheaper cars that don't claim to be a performance brand can handle it.

If I went to the track and beat the snot out of it then I wouldn't expect warranty to take care of it. But when I wasn't pushing the brakes to their limits and something like this happens, I would expect warranty to take care of it.

What's the point in promoting the M3 as a good track car if it can't handle it in stock form? I assume there must have been some defect or something with my rotors (again, if that is in fact the issue and not pad deposits).

[ShadeD1]

Cool, I did not know that.

Originally Posted by David1

This car uses a drum brake for the parking brake so that is not an issue.

[von_zoom]

Good luck with your effort at the dealer. I side that warranty should cover your problem. After all, it is the Ultimate Driving Machine, born out of racing heritage, and sold with pride. A day at an educational clinic should have little effect.

Please let us know what happens.
vz

[mkPOTO]

depends on who you take it to, my front rotors make a high pitch squealing noise like when I have my DCT-70s on. They kept sanding the pad and they would tell me it was fine, then it happened several times until they decided to just swap them out. Keep us posted and Good Luck

[swartzentruber]

Originally Posted by bruce.augenstein@comcast.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in this string is that when you pull in with hot brakes and just park it, it's possible to "heat treat' the rotors at a spot just under the hot calipers/pads. Once this happens, the coefficient of friction at that spot will be different than the rest of the rotor, and you'll get some pulsing. Once this happened to me on my '95 (rotors replaced under warranty), I always pushed the car for a foot after a minute or two, then repeated twice more. All done in five minutes, and no more problems.
Bruce

I heard this too in the past from an instructor, and try to do that with my track car. That's really about the only way I can think of for warping the rotors; that, or incorrectly torqued wheels or manufacturing defect. Did you torque them manually by hand yourself?

Otherwise, the pad deposit issue seems the most likely, and if that's the cause, it wouldn't surprise me that it has persisted. Unless you try deliberately (like the Stoptech link), it's difficult to brake aggresively enough on the street to remove track pad deposits. If a pad that lasts 50k miles of normal usage goes by in 500 track miles (speaking very generically), you can imagine how track laid deposits could take a while to wear off on the street.

[SlamMan]

After my first track weekend in the M it took a good three or four weeks before the brake feel was smooth again. Real track pads are the answer. My rotors didn't warp after a day with track pads on and they get just as hot or hotter.

When was this track day?

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by boarderman23

I have a 2011 e93 and unfortunately I warped my rotors at the last track day (only my second track day with this car and I wasn't even pushing the car limits). I really didn't think that would happen, but guess I was wrong...

Anyways, I'm going to try to get them covered as this just shouldn't happen with an M3 (IMO - which doesn't matter). When I search the forums I saw some others have have had a similar issue and seems like it depends on the dealer on whether it's covered or not.

I have an appointment thursday...any suggestions or just gotta hope for the best?

So how did this turn out?

[Grail05]

well you gotta pay to play......

[M3roar]

Dude you got pad deposit..., same thing happened to me... Drove with it for a week or so. It went away. Came back again on the same pads and rotors after my second and third track day. I just recently changed my pads and oddly enough hand quite a bit pad life left on the original pads. I'm sure I could have waited a little bit more. Oh well. But it sounds like your certain they're warped. Personally I think the stealership will not be happy to hear you tracked the car and want parts ( expensive parts ) replaced for free. Hence why I would shy away. Dealers WILL screw you... It's pretty much a certainty.

[boarderman23]

Just an update...I got it back from the dealer yesterday. They replaced all four rotors and pads under warranty, not a single question asked. They must have been able to tell it was mechanical issue and not abuse (hence they are made to handle the track and I wasn't even pushing the limits).

It is so nice not having warped rotors...no more vibrating brake pedal and steering wheel!!!

[MaxL]

Originally Posted by DivideBYZero

Discs are a consumable part and you were running them on track. If you can get those on warranty then maybe you should also claim a new set of tyres, too?

If the tires bubble or cup after first few laps due to a defect then why not? BMW actually did that in some instances with defective tires. Also, unlike tires, brake disks are covered by the maintenance program in US, so they are to be replaced as necessary by BMW at no cost to owner.

In this case the rotors most likely will be covered, but they are also most likely not warped - probably just pad deposits.

[MaxL]

Originally Posted by David1

This car uses a drum brake for the parking brake so that is not an issue.

Still an issue - putting hadbrake on with hot brakes may cause it to get stuck on. Don't ask me how I know

[armyav8tor]

I warped my brakes at the track and I was honest with the dealership. They replaced it no questions asked but this was in Germany. I warped them again, but I didnt take it back to the dealership and just replaced the rotors myself. The stock brakes are pretty awful for track duties. But I used stock pads also, maybe it would have been different if I had race pads installed.

[DivideBYZero]

Originally Posted by MaxL

If the tires bubble or cup after first few laps due to a defect then why not? BMW actually did that in some instances with defective tires. Also, unlike tires, brake disks are covered by the maintenance program in US, so they are to be replaced as necessary by BMW at no cost to owner.

In this case the rotors most likely will be covered, but they are also most likely not warped - probably just pad deposits.

Maintenance program != Warranty.

I have the Maintenance program myself.

[Justin(OKC)]

Originally Posted by SlamMan

After my first track weekend in the M it took a good three or four weeks before the brake feel was smooth again. Real track pads are the answer. My rotors didn't warp after a day with track pads on and they get just as hot or hotter.

When was this track day?

Same thing happened to me. I thought for sure I warped the rotors. The car would shake like crazy while I was braking! 4 weeks later and there are no issues at all. I think it was just brake deposits from the stock brakes.

I know I overheated the brakes at the driving school. On the last day my car was run for 3 consecutive sessions (two with me driving and one with my instructor driving) with little cool down. Not a smart thing, but I learned my lesson.