Not sure if my rotors are warped...I get an occasional vibration in the steering wheel when braking. Been trying to determine the types of braking but it doesn't seem to consistently happen.

If they are warped, how important is it to get them fixed? Is this something that can wait a few thousand miles?

Also, I have the safe and sound coverage...has anyone had brakes done under this plan and if so were there any surprise costs?

Only 20000 miles...was hoping this wouldn't happen so soon but...

 

Not necessary warped if you dont see that the rotor is discolored which would be a tell tale sign of overheting.It could be other things like rust built up between the hub and the rotors hat or uneven brake pad material built up on the surface of the rotor.Both could be fixed but I guess dealer will replace the rotor as you dont need to know the real issue but if its fixed for now or not.

 

I had intermittent wheel shake when braking too. It was due to warped rotors. I had lived with some shake for a couple years but it recently got really bad so I replaced them. I found that the driver's side lug nuts were torqued to over 150 ft-lbs. Just happens that that is the side that the dealer had replaced a CV boot a couple months ago.

I could be pretty ticked but they were already warped. It is nice having flat rotors again.

I'd ask the dealer as it may be covered. They replaced rear rotors on my '98 V70 with about the same mileage.
Stan

 

Not sure if the problem subsided or not but I lived with it until recently...and I just had the front rotors replaced at the dealer today. With the Safe and Sound coverage there was no cost to me at this point. The pads were fine, hardly any wear on them after almost 33K miles.

 

Oh no. New rotors should always have new pads.....

 

Actually it is highly recommended that you replace either the rotor or the pads.In this case after the rotors were replaced they should be bedded in with the old ones then a new set of pad should be installed if its necessary.Its about safety for the first couple of corners where if both the pads and the rotors are brand new without bedding them in they are practically useless and downright dangerous.
Now this is for DIY but if one is to seek the help of a dealer then they should install new pads as well and have the brakes properly bedded in before they give the vehicle back to the client.

 

I did ask the tech who test drove the car with me...and their approach was not to replace the pads if they had minimal wear on them, which apparently was the case here.

Car brakes are working fine so no worries at this point. I still have a lot of miles left on the warranty/maintenance plan so if the pads do have an issue then it will likely be on Volvo's nickel.