Hey everybody...I'm a newbie...really glad I found this site.

Had a front brake job on 4/21/07 performed by my mechanic of many years. Total cost was roughly $400 for new rotors, pads, etc.--all genuine Honda parts. Within the past 2 months, I noticed a slight pulsation when braking. Brought the car back to the mechanic, as all parts & labor are covered under a 12-month/12K mile warranty.

He said that the rotors were in fact warped, as I suspected, and said it was a design flaw that occurs only on 94-95 Accords. He said he could grind them down (using a special machine that "mounted" to the car, since these special rotors didn't pop-off). When I asked him how much, he said he'd give me a "fair price". Right away, I'm thinking I shouldn't pay anything, since these brakes were only 4.5 months old. He also said that his brake supplier (& Honda) recommends that the rotors be sanded while they're new...something he said he does not do, in an effort to lower the cost for the customer. He also gave me the option of replacing the rotors for free, under the warranty, but warned me that the problem could re-occur, due to the "design flaw", and basically wouldn’t do it unless he sanded them down first (for which he would charge me).

I should also note that shortly after getting the car back after the original brake job in April, I noticed that it would pull to the right when braking, though very subtle.

Long story short, we decided to keep the existing [warped] rotors, and grind them down, at which point I received a bill for $184. Suddenly, a $400 front brake job turned into a nearly $600.

I was very reluctant to pay, since parts & labor was still under warranty. The mechanic said that this was the first time he's had a problem with rotors. He had no explanation for the problem, and noted that he would have had to charge me the $184 at the time of the installation back in April, had he known this would be an issue. So my question is: Do you think he is justified for charging me $184 after the fact, since he had no reasonable explanation for the problem? Would the slight pull to the right while braking contribute to warping, and does this reflect his workmanship? Thanks in advance for any help—this site is a great resource!

 

Sounds like you didn't "bed in" the new brakes. Look up bedding in brakes and you'll find many methods. Basically you have to do a series of light braking stops to "sand" the rotors and pads. If you brake hard in the first 500 miles without bedding the breaks, warping is very common.

If the mechanic was willing to replace the rotors with new, I'd have gone that route, but it's too late now. Usually a good mechanic will bed in the brakes before giving you back the car or at least tell you that you can't brake hard for the first month.

300k!?! That's awesome!!!!

 

i have replaced a crap load of rotors ( hub over rotors set up.. ) and i guess i have been lucky not to come across that problem especially when using Honda factory parts,, I have come across a few times using some cheaper quality parts as per customer request ,,,,,,,
Design flow in the 94-95 accords ?? He is full of it ...

YOUR MECHANIC should not have even given you the option.. He should have replace the rotors since parts and labor were still under warranty ,, at NO COST TO YOU ,,I do not know how long you have known this mechanic but i feel that you got screwed ,
There is no way in hell that he should have resurfaced the rotors while still under warranty ,, I feel that He did not want to do the work all over for FREE , gave you some BULL CRAP and talked you into resurfacing the rotors for an extra $ 184 ..