Is there anyone who has rotor warps? What are your situation and experience? Mine is MY2019 XC90. All 4 rotors were replaced at 24k miles under warranty free of charge. At around 52k, I started feeling vibrations from high-speed brakes or deep downhill brakes. Dealer replaced the two front rotors with charge. My neighbor also had his four rotors on his V90 replaced recently around 30k miles. Wondering what's Volvo's warranty policy on service parts of rotors. I know rotors are wear-and-tear parts, but should not be so soon under normal daily commutes. I read lots of premature rotor warp from another Volvo owner's forum.

 

too many variables for a poll. What's your daily commute? do you drive in the mountains or in traffic where there's frequent "firm" stops? do you pull a trailer or drive with a car full of passengers regularly? In terms of rotors, they will wear depending on your driving conditions and with the type of pads installed. I'm assuming the dealer gave you some good will by replacing rotors after 25K miles and again after 52K because you were close enough to the warranty window and they used genuine Volvo parts vs some after market brands. I think replacing brakes at 30K miles is reasonable for a big heavy car driven in hills and stop and go. The fact that the rotors warped says they overheated or were worn beyond their minimum thickness (lets face it, Volvo buys rotors from the same vendors as other makes).

 

Mine are usually replaced before they warp. FCP Euro is my sugar daddy for car parts. I do mostly highway driving and smooth back roads so I don't use my brakes a lot.

Most dealerships I see will warranty the labor 100%, and part warranties are up to the manufacturer.

 

yes, you are right, the status of a car and its parts really depends on how they are used. my daily commute is a 20-mile round trip, which includes highway and neighbor hood roads. totoal elevate variation is less than 30 feets. no trailer towing, but only 3 bikes loaded on the towing receiver for weekend trip. regular maintanance, good tire conditions.
The first round of rotor replacements (all four rotors at 24k miles) is under OEM's vehicle warranty by law, not good will. The 2nd replacement (less than 30k after the 1st rotor replacement) was fully charged by the dealer, who claims rotors are wear-and-tear parts. I got it, but it was too soon for servere rotor warps. and my neighbor's MY2018 V90 has similar incidents. That's why I am seeking peer's opinion and wondering about service part warranty policy. Even wear-and-tear parts, they should have a reasonable service range and warranty term, right?
Our family has been Volvo cars owners for decades. We love the brand. My first Volvo XC90 is MY2006 and it was a fantasic car. I believe I am a responsible driver. I drove more than 100k miles with my MY2006 XC90, and the rotors on that car is still intact by now, according to its current user. For this MY2019 XC90, I am not sure what's wrong. Maybe I am using the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)/ Pilot Assist function too often on highway driving and it may cause overconsumption of rotors? the braking pads on this car survived much longer than its rotors. This is not right.

 

I can't imagine any pilot assist feature warping rotors unless its causing the brakes to drag. Ask the dealer if there's a calibration to be done and to check the electronic emergency brake to make sure its fully releasing. when it comes to rotors warping before pads wear out, heat's the enemy. If your driving conditions are average, then I'd think there may be something that is causing the brakes to drag or not fully release. Do you have another dealer in your area to consult with?

 

Speaking from experience, this *may* be a driver issue.... MAY....

Let me explain.... I used to have an IS200. Bought it new from Lexus.... Within, say, 3 months, I started having vibrations under braking.

Took it in: Diagnosed rotor warp. Had them skimmed.

Drove for another couple of thousand miles: Same issue, same resolution

On the 3rd time, dealer principal had a word with me and told me not to keep my foot on the brakes at traffic lights: I went through a bit of a phase of driving like an idiot and used to come to a stop quickly: Hot spots were forming under the pads and warping the brakes.

The IS200 is a MUCH lighter car than an XC90, so the XC90 takes a lot more stopping, thus more heat...

Now, it could be something else, but....

 

Not to keep your foot on the brakes at traffic lights? Are you not going to just roll into the intersection?

In my experience, once a rotor is warped, it's warped. You can try turning it, but it will just wear unevenly again because of the original heat stress. But obviously every case can be different depending on how much warping is going on.

Rotors are also being made to replace, not machined, now too which stinks.

 

The idea of not keeping your foot on the brake at a stop is a bit of a misnomer but there is some merit to the suggestion after a hard stop to let the car creep a bit to keep the pads from staying over one spot when the brakes are really hot. (this is an old school recommendation from the days when people were told to bed new brake pads my making several hard stops! - don't...) This shouldn't apply when you are stopping in normal city traffic but is a consideration should you run down a long hill etc.

 

That makes more sense, thanks

 

Interesting thought. I often use the 'auto hold' function in my XC90, it automatically applies brakes when the car comes to complete stops, and the braking pads are pressed onto the rotor, just like manually keeping foot on brakes. I will seek comments from Volvo's in tihs lead. Dealer changed both rotors and braking pads at 24k miles. Now, the front rotors warped but the front braking pads were almost ok.

 

Auto hold was intended to keep the car from rolling back on a steep hill. If you've just done a long brake to stop, I'd probably avoid using that and just let the car creep a foot or two while stopped. LOL, I used to live in San Francisco - driving a manual. I got really good at heel/toe starts :-)

 

An update on my car status:
The dealer service manager agrees that it is abnormal for rotor replacements at 24k mile intervals on my car. The main reason is that 1)they found my rear brake pads remained 50% (5mm) after 38k miles, which means the driving behavior/condition is above average; 2) normally rear brake pads wear faster than the front. They cannot explain why my front rotors warped at 24k and 57k and the front rotors could not survive one pair of brake pads, which are abnormal.
Raised this issue to Volvo Cars Customer Care. Waiting for their response.

 

I've had my rear rotors warped by my 10K service appointment and front rotors deemed to be warped at my 20K, and 30K warranty service appointments. Those first 3 were fixed under warranty. Now I'm at my 40K appointment and...you guessed it...new Front Rotors. This is the first time pads need to be replaced which implies my wife isn't driving too aggressively. An independent Volvo technician says "these cars have always been under-breaked". Basically, I've come to the conclusion that this $80K SUV can't be driven in the mountains and can't be braked fast on flat surfaces without warping the rotors. Anyone purchasing an XC90 should add $1,000-$2,000 per year of maintenance costs to replace at least one pair of rotors every 10,000 miles (approx every year).