Front Discs lasted 20tkm (12k miles..) NORMAL??

[6to]

... just needed to have both front discs + brake pads replaced on my '06 3.0d; the front discs were totally warped. The whole truck would shudder when braking; violently so when stopping from 80mph to 50mph. Stealer said reason for such premature aging could be A-) driving into a puddle(s) of water with very hot discs; or B-) the result of repeated agressive driving.

Also, today I noticed my tires have, on the one hand lots of tread left after 12k miles, but the outer corners of both front tires (where the sidewall meets the tread) are worn out almost completely (they're round like motorcycle tires !!) ... I do about 20 miles/day of very curvy hillside driving; uphill & downhill (often at quite a fast pace..); could this be the reason?

Any similar experiences?

[Lambeau]

The curvy hillside driving probably causes the excessive rotor warpage. Maybe you're riding the brakes too much thus building up too much heat? I've got 33,000 miles on my 06 with no rotor or pad wear whatsoever. But, with a manual trans I downshift all the time thus using my brakes much less.

[cmyX6go]

Doesn't sound right 6to. I drive real hard and I got 30,000 miles out of my front rotors and pads. Granted it's not curvy hillside driving but its city/highway traffic and alot of on and off the brake. Post some pics of those winding roads, you haven't given any pics of that beautiful countryside in some time.

[motordavid]

I live in the Smokey Mtns and regularly descend a 4+ mile curvy
road, from 1525 meters high to town which is ~850 meters above
sea level. I got 46,000 miles + out of my front pads & rotors
and rears are still oem at 58,000 miles.

Maybe you are driving it like a taxi in NYC or San Francisco, lol!
GL,mD

[6to]

Gee, from all your replies it sounds to me like 12k miles is way too short a lifespan for the front rotors, inspite of the environmental conditions.. I do drive somewhat aggressively (so my wife keeps telling me..), but I never "ride" the brakes, and always use the engine (manual tranny) to slow down.

Thinking back, now I DO remember one day I was doing the uphill (way home) at a very fast pace (it had just rained & I was testing the limits of X-drive, esp..) suddenly came into a sharp corner with a huge water puddle that I just lunged into.. maybe that was the beginning of the end for those front rotors.

I'll take L up on her suggestion and post some photos of my "habitual route" to work; I'll do it as a new thread; encouraging fellow members to do the same; "Picture Post your way to work" could be a fun thread !

[lo_jack]

Do you have additional weight in/on/behind the car?

Are your rears working? How is the wear on those?

What pads are on the car? Some pads are more gentle on rotors than others.

The front end wear problem can exacerbate brake wear, as the tires are what you are counting on for friction with the road, and you seem to have less of it to use than you should. That is what I would interpret the tire wear as. It certainly will make your brakes work harder to stop if your tires are not contacting the road properly.

The puddle theory is sketchy to me. There are a lot of factors involved on front brakes, and all too often people say "oh, warped rotor" when that is really either a symptom of a different problem, or not actually what is causing poor braking or excessive wear at all.

Did he make you replace the rotors altogether, or did he offer resurfacing as a solution?

[Ajogu]

I've got very similar symptoms 6to. My X has done 60k km (37k miles) and I've chaged rotors 3 times. I drive my X HARD and stealer says the wear and tear is due to my driving. At first stealer tried giving me the "you must have driven into a puddle with hot rotors" story. I've heard that so many times that they just gave up trying to explain why I keep warping my rotors and just admited the X's brakes can't "keep up" with me. I've accepted it and will consider brembo brakes if I decide to keep the X at least another 2 years.

My main problem is with the tires. I seem to have the same issues. I get similar outer wearing. Pics below.

[///Manuel]

PADS: If you use your brakes twice as much as someone, you will wear them twice as fast. No way around it. At the track, you can burn through a set of pads in a couple of days.

TIRES: Try adjusting the pressure to get even wear between the center and the sides. You can flip the tires on the rim too at 50% wear.

[Ajogu]

Originally Posted by ///Manuel

TIRES: Try adjusting the pressure to get even wear between the center and the sides. You can flip the tires on the rim too at 50% wear.

Good point. Off to flip the tires it is. Thanks

[6to]

Originally Posted by lo_jack

Do you have additional weight in/on/behind the car?

Are your rears working? How is the wear on those?

What pads are on the car? Some pads are more gentle on rotors than others.

The front end wear problem can exacerbate brake wear, as the tires are what you are counting on for friction with the road, and you seem to have less of it to use than you should. That is what I would interpret the tire wear as. It certainly will make your brakes work harder to stop if your tires are not contacting the road properly.

The puddle theory is sketchy to me. There are a lot of factors involved on front brakes, and all too often people say "oh, warped rotor" when that is really either a symptom of a different problem, or not actually what is causing poor braking or excessive wear at all.

Did he make you replace the rotors altogether, or did he offer resurfacing as a solution?

No add'l weight; no towing of anything; rear sets are fine..
Puddle theory doesn't fully convince me either
Rotors were replaced alltogether (fortunate to have all-inclusive maintenance)..

Originally Posted by Ajogu

I've got very similar symptoms 6to. My X has done 60k km (37k miles) and I've chaged rotors 3 times. I drive my X HARD and stealer says the wear and tear is due to my driving. At first stealer tried giving me the "you must have driven into a puddle with hot rotors" story. I've heard that so many times that they just gave up trying to explain why I keep warping my rotors and just admited the X's brakes can't "keep up" with me. I've accepted it and will consider brembo brakes if I decide to keep the X at least another 2 years.

My main problem is with the tires. I seem to have the same issues. I get similar outer wearing. Pics below.

3 sets @60k km = 20k km/set = same wear time; I guess we must have similar driving habits

The tire wear looks quite similar too; do you often go hard into corners? The stealer here said the X5's front-end weight coupled with such driving habits will wear down tires and rotors in this manner. I'll seriously consider brembos If I decide to keep the X after the lease ends. (the new X5 hasn't grown on me yet, donnow if it ever will..)

Originally Posted by ///Manuel

PADS: If you use your brakes twice as much as someone, you will wear them twice as fast. No way around it. At the track, you can burn through a set of pads in a couple of days.

TIRES: Try adjusting the pressure to get even wear between the center and the sides. You can flip the tires on the rim too at 50% wear.

I'l definitely go by the tire place to look into a possible flip. This is what the tires look after 20k km / 12k miles: