13K miles on my 08V. Went to get the brakes done and had to replace the front rotors too! They wore with high spots and low spots on the surface. Almost like a wave. Any feedback?

I just got a "V" to replace my 2004 XLR. I had to do brakes on the 2004 with rotors and pads.

I have since been told that you may be able to get away with just pads for the first brake job. If you will read some of the earlier posts on this subject you will find that many didn't agree with the replace everything approach I took last year. There are some that did just pads from aftermarket sources and were very happy. Others decided to use aftermarket rotors and pads and were happy.

The high spots--Were you having any problems with the tires in the front?? It could be a root cause. I assume you had/have the cross drilled rotors right??

I am going to be watching my "V" to ensure that the wear on both isn't excessive too soon.

No issues except for an occasional squeak. The breaks got a little spongy in recent days. I had and stayed with the drilled rotors. Just thought it was weird that they wore that way. I guess I could have kept the original rotors, just didn't want to find out after a brake job that the front end wobbled at highway speeds.

This may sound a little weird BUT....I have a GREAT realationship with my dear. So as they were working on my 2004 I noticed that the rear calipers on one side was overly worn. We took it apart and the technician said that they hadn't put any lube on the pins that the pad rides on. As he reassembled the caliper he lubed the shafts with.....BREMBO disk pad lube... apparantly it is waterproof and keeps th pads form sticking and wearig away.

His point is that even tough the pads want to retrun to the proper position they are partially binding due to no or too little lube.

My wife was in the "V" this weekend and said she heard the brakes rubbing as we were going down the road. So it too may be going in to be sure that the pads are totally releasing after use as well.

Just saying.........

I personally am getting just a terrible squeal almost whenever I touch the pedal, which I assume just means the pads are completely worn down to the wear indicators. I had the selling dealer (with the certified pre-owned warranty) investigate for any safety issues and they found none, although I figured they would need to have pads of a certain depth in order to sell as certified.

Anyway, I'll be in to my "home" dealer soon to get this fixed.

Jay

Jay:

I think we both may be experiencing the "drag" thing. It' woth looking inot before no pads are left and it's on them.....

Regards

I am so *#&$# p****ed off at someone at my preferred Cadillac dealer (not where I bought the car). Couple weeks ago, I call them to get brake parts in so I could do all four wheels on this XLR-V like new. This young guy answers on a Thursday and takes my order and gives me the potential price (and BTW, XLR I FL, I did mention the drag issue and that the car is under the certified warranty). So he tells me he'll order the wear parts. I even offer to pay for the parts ahead of time but that's not necessary.

Unbeknownst to me, he goes on vacation on Monday. But he doesn't order the parts on either Thursday or Friday before he goes.

So I wait more than a week, and then I have to call my Cadillac dealer back and ask why the heck I'm still waiting to do my brakes, not driving the car. Because this young guy is out, they have no idea. So I get a new service technician and have him order everything (and he is VERY nice about it of course).

Then yesterday the young guy calls me and says "I'm just back from vacation and I remembered I have to order your parts, so I did that." I told him, there's already an order in because I had to get someone else to order them due to you forgetting.

Very peeved at not being able to drive my baby during this time and having to approach the dealer due to this screw-up. Parts should be in soon, but I'm going to be having a talk with them about excellent customer service at a very nice, very well known Cadillac place on an XLR-V. In this economy and with GM struggling, customer service means a great deal, and even something that might seem insignificant can give a very bad name to a great marque.

Rant over.

2008, 18K miles slight 'grinding' at lower speeds durring stops. "I feel it more than hear it". I've had the brakes inspected, but always "more than 50%". Rotors look smooth, I just "hear and feel everything when driving anything". "Good habit gone bad?"

Try to run your finger over the rotor one they're cool. Is it REALLY smooth, or does the surface have a ~~~~~~~ pattern to it? Like a wave from top to bottom?

Jay:

This is one of the "punch list items I plan on having addressed at my dealer--I am still waiting for my new chrome wheels to show up. Once they are here then its off to the Cadillac Doctor with my list.

I would suspect that it will be late next week before I have something to report back on.

Now be sure you don't just replace the ortors have them tell you that they need to be replaced. At 18k that far too soon. you should have at least one "turn" on them beofore you have to replace them. The pads I do like to hang around on this issue so I see what comes off of the car and exactly what wheels they came off of. (I have a REAL GOOD relationship with the dealer and the technicians).

If you search on my post you should have a "in the ballpark" price for a complete replacement of pads and rotors.

Regards

Fortunately, there was absolutely nothing wrong with my brake system except some crystallized pads (this is to be expected of course when buying a used car). Rotors in great condition. So just put on front & rear pads and it's gripping and sounding like new (meaning NO horrible squeals).

Crystallized Pads--Did you get them under warranty???? I hope so.

Hello,
This is actually a VERY common problem for the XLR's and XLR-V's. We have seen low mileage vehicles come in here with hot spots and worn brakes. The brakes are basically inadequate for the vehicle and any type of spirited driving will only magnify the problem. Cross drilled & slotted rotors will certainly help curtail the problem.

Thank you,

Dr. Design
D3 Cadillac

Hey "Doc" Glad to see you are back.

I just got a 2008 "V" and may be giving you a call real soon.

BTW: I like the videos

Regards

Jerry

Thanks :cheers
Congrats on the new car. Give us a call we have a bunch of cool stuff.

Did you see the latest XLR-V Compilation video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JiP9401gpA

Thank you,

Dr. Design


Hey "Doc" Glad to see you are back.

I just got a 2008 "V" and may be giving you a call real soon.

BTW: I like the videos

Regards

Jerry