Dreaded Warped Rotors

[angel jeronimo]

Yep. Emailed them asking why my pads weren't replaced, haven't heard back.

I don't really think KIA cares that much, they are too busy trying to capture new buyers, they don't care about the existing customers.

True! Dealership scratched my car and then kept car for two weeks, returned it with 50+ miles and a new scratch mark!!!!!!!!

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

The rotors are not Brembo rotors.I spoke to a technician at KIA who is familiar with this.This is also a gripe I have because when you see Brembo brakes--you expect a whole system.I am hoping R1 or another very good--decently priced company comes out with rotors.I already filed a case with KIA and the dealership has agreed to put on performance rotors when I get them.Facts are this car goes 165 mph plus and normal rotors are not meant for those speeds.Also I doubt you could do any real track time with these rotors.I assumed--wrongly--that these brakes were similar to a ZL1 camaro--in which they are Brembo--or high performance rotors that were not cross drilled or slotted--and instead find out it is a normal rotor--bigger then most--but still normal.KIA does not even offer any upgrades for the rotors which also is not that great.Reminds me of cars in the 80s and 90s like 5.0 mustangs that had drum brakes in the back and just normal brakes and rotors up front--with like 80% of folks reporting brake problems --including wrecks because the brakes were not any good after 80 to 90 mph.I know to keep the price point they had to make compromises--but brakes on a car like this is not the way to go.

 

[Thumper]

The rotors are not Brembo rotors.I spoke to a technician at KIA who is familiar with this.This is also a gripe I have because when you see Brembo brakes--you expect a whole system.I am hoping R1 or another very good--decently priced company comes out with rotors.I already filed a case with KIA and the dealership has agreed to put on performance rotors when I get them.Facts are this car goes 165 mph plus and normal rotors are not meant for those speeds.Also I doubt you could do any real track time with these rotors.I assumed--wrongly--that these brakes were similar to a ZL1 camaro--in which they are Brembo--or high performance rotors that were not cross drilled or slotted--and instead find out it is a normal rotor--bigger then most--but still normal.KIA does not even offer any upgrades for the rotors which also is not that great.Reminds me of cars in the 80s and 90s like 5.0 mustangs that had drum brakes in the back and just normal brakes and rotors up front--with like 80% of folks reporting brake problems --including wrecks because the brakes were not any good after 80 to 90 mph.I know to keep the price point they had to make compromises--but brakes on a car like this is not the way to go.

K8 and Khartunerz have some nice rotors, how much are they worth to you ? Actually that was a dumb question. How do you plan to drive your car, there are a few options depending on your planned use ?

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

K8 and Khartunerz have some nice rotors, how much are they worth to you ? Actually that was a dumb question. How do you plan to drive your car, there are a few options depending on your planned use ?

Less then 1000 dollars total.I had R1s before and they were only about 100 a piece for their best street car cross drilled and slotted rotors--which could also be used at the track They have midline rotor which is perfect but not made for the stinger yet.I drive my car slightly fast and have always had great brakes on cars because I put low miles--around 6k ( last car had 25k on an cross drilled and slotted system with ceramic pads and they were still at 70%)a year and want the extra stopping ability.I saw the kella brakes from korea--but anything that more then that is for track use and I do not need that.i still want the brakes to be quiet and not wear out too fast.

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

Less then 1000 dollars total.I had R1s before and they were only about 100 a piece for their best street car cross drilled and slotted rotors--which could also be used at the track They have midline rotor which is perfect but not made for the stinger yet.I drive my car slightly fast and have always had great brakes on cars because I put low miles--around 6k ( last car had 25k on an cross drilled and slotted system with ceramic pads and they were still at 70%)a year and want the extra stopping ability.I saw the kella brakes from korea--but anything that more then that is for track use and I do not need that.i still want the brakes to be quiet and not wear out too fast.

I have no plans to track the car--but you never kniw--I have said this before and wound up doing a weekend event in one of my cars--and luckily it had a nice brake system--less then 1k and had no problems at all--even after many laps--in fact the calipers on the car heated up and some of the paint flaked off--but the pads and rotors were perfect.

 

[YEH]

The weird thing is that the rotor/pads on the Euro-spec Stinger are a good bit better.

Hyundai uses them on the i30N and Veloster-N and they have gotten a ton of praise from reviewers driving them on the track.

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

The weird thing is that the rotor/pads on the Euro-spec Stinger are a good bit better.

Hyundai uses them on the i30N and Veloster-N and they have gotten a ton of praise from reviewers driving them on the track.

Yep--senseless why KIA does not offer better rotors for the Stinger.

 

[HDTurbo]

I'd love to see comparative rotor specifications...

 

[NS_Stinger]

As far as I'm concerned the rotors aren't the problem here it's the pads.

 

[YeaStung]

My car is 1.5 years old, 18K miles, GT2. I was experiencing steering wheel vibration when I would break at any speed. I took it in only to find out that the rotors used were of inferior quality (dealer admitted it) to the Brembo brakes and rotors are only warranted for 12K miles and 12 months, so forget the "great" 100K warranty. They turned the rotors and resurfaced the pads but said this is just a band-aid and I will keep experiencing the same problem in the future. They recommended I upgrade to better quality rotors, great to hear after spending more than $50K on the car. This was a dishonest and deceitful move by KIA as obviously they knew the rotors wouldn't hold up so they slapped on the 12K/month clause.
This is a buyer beware car, in many ways cheaply made but then I should have known to look beyond the car design. KIA should replace the rotors at no charge since I have read this is a common problem and KIA put a poor quality rotor and pad teamed with Brembo brakes, that is like putting retread tires on a Ferrari.

Kia should do the right thing and have an open recall on front brake vibration issues. So many of us have had the issue, my GT1 as well.

 

[YeaStung]

This is why I never buy first year launches of cars. They often do not have all the bugs sorted yet.

My suggestion is to find a way to trade this vehicle in for a 2019. Get your lawyer to lean on them.

My 2019 GT1 has the issue and I am pretty sure there was a 2020 model with 5k on it already having the problem too...

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

I already replaced mine with R1 and KIA gave me some money to put them on.I also wrote to them that what they did was unacceptable to mislead us into thinking we had a full brembo.The rotors are just normal rotors.Any car that can do 155 mph needs performance rotors.

 

[YeaStung]

I already replaced mine with R1 and KIA gave me some money to put them on.I also wrote to them that what they did was unacceptable to mislead us into thinking we had a full brembo.The rotors are just normal rotors.Any car that can do 155 mph needs performance rotors.

How do you like the R1, and where ftom/how much did you pay?

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

How do you like the R1, and where ftom/how much did you pay?

They are excellent--had them before for 10 years.I got the Geomet all 4 for 359$.They are also whisper quiet like stock--no dust--and stop the car way way better now.KIA charges about 350 to install but I had a credit because of some issues--one of them being these cheap rotors they put on.

 

[CeramicGT001]

They are excellent--had them before for 10 years.I got the Geomet all 4 for 359$.They are also whisper quiet like stock--no dust--and stop the car way way better now.KIA charges about 350 to install but I had a credit because of some issues--one of them being these cheap rotors they put on.

Did you change the pads too? Stock pads suck..

 

[Flaniganskywalker]

I have a 2020 and luckily on many 2020s they already had performance pads--so no I did not.I had the rotors done by KIA and he assured me that the pads were HP pads.

 

[Drakkon.ri]

My advise is to a big two-day track event with lots of 20 minute sessions and lots of hard braking. Then you've used up the OE pads and can put EBCs or Hawks on. More dust. Lots of rotor wear. But the feel is so much better and no more shudder/warped feeling. See on my fronts that the markings on the disc are all radial. Good pad. On the rears, you can see the swirl. That's gassing and that the shudder you feel. The good news is the front pads are shared with EVO10 so you have lots of high quality options. As best I know KIA is the only source for rears. The frustating thing is the rest of the world gets better pads than we do. Value engineering for the US market. Or low dust because people care more about looks than feel.

 

[jondyer]

This brake disk issue with the multiple threads is very reminiscent of the paint issues.

I will see where this goes without barking too much here, as I did get quite opinionated with that issue and spent many hours on calls with Kia NA and various dealers.

I had my brakes done by the dealer last Autumn and have not really driven the car much since (thanks Covid-19!).

At this point, if I have to get on the Kia merry go round again, I will most likely bag it and get something else.

 

[djerickd]

The good news is the front pads are shared with EVO10

Good information!!

 

[nmorris]

Bought my car new 6 moths ago, after braking hard at speed one day, the car then began to vibrate when ever braking over 60MPH and it then gradually got worse, so they replaced first the front at 3K then the rear rotors at 3.5K. At 6.5K miles, they have now gone again. This is clearly a manufacturing design fault, they are simply not fit for purpose. I'm in the UK so all the stuff about "they are better pads/rotors" in Europe is none sense. I have ordered in a set of performance rotors now from the states and had them shipped in for the dealer fit, but this is at my cost which I do not feel is fair at all. Also the people who claim its pad deposits - clearly they have not experienced the warped issue. Basically if you brake hard at very high speed, thats it, they warp! I am surprised you guys in the USA have let them get away with it, I though you were all hot on legal stuff there and would have had them before a court long ago when their never ending redress is simply (some time reluctantly), replace them with the same "un-fit for purpose" for it to sit there waiting for this to happen again as soon as you want to brake hard at high speed again. Its a very sad situation and has taken some of the shine off it all for me, not sure I would want another Kia in the future.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

Bought my car new 6 moths ago, after braking hard at speed one day, the car then began to vibrate when ever braking over 60MPH and it then gradually got worse, so they replaced first the front at 3K then the rear rotors at 3.5K. At 6.5K miles, they have now gone again. This is clearly a manufacturing design fault, they are simply not fit for purpose. I'm in the UK so all the stuff about "they are better pads/rotors" in Europe is none sense. I have ordered in a set of performance rotors now from the states and had them shipped in for the dealer fit, but this is at my cost which I do not feel is fair at all. Also the people who claim its pad deposits - clearly they have not experienced the warped issue. Basically if you brake hard at very high speed, thats it, they warp! I am surprised you guys in the USA have let them get away with it, I though you were all hot on legal stuff there and would have had them before a court long ago when their never ending redress is simply (some time reluctantly), replace them with the same "un-fit for purpose" for it to sit there waiting for this to happen again as soon as you want to brake hard at high speed again. Its a very sad situation and has taken some of the shine off it all for me, not sure I would want another Kia in the future.

This is exactly what happened to me.

Bought my car new. After almost 6 months (about a week short of six months) and at barely a dozen miles above 3000 on the odometer the problems started. It took them another 6 months over the course of another 3000 miles and 5 trips to the dealership to finally fix the problem.

What worries me is that you say you're in the UK and they replaced it with UK parts and the problem continues. I guess that will happen to me as well. I think there is a possibility that some Stingers are just garbage from the factory and when people replace with the Euro-spec parts they might still continue to have problems... It's only been about two months and 400 miles since my problems have been completely fixed... I hope they do not return...

Also, with the legal thing, I did get an attorney and I have been compensated for my time lost from this. I'll leave it at that. Plus I still have the car under warranty. If the problem returns again I can have it fixed.

I will tell you, when we were experiencing the problems, it was terrifying at highway speeds. The entire car would shake so violently and the sound was crazy loud. My gf and I both have multiple recordings of it. Even the people at the dealership who watched the video said that was the worst they ever heard/saw it. When I took them on a test drive and showed them they were in disbelief how bad it was. The problem was pretty noticeable even at 20mph which was ridiculous.

I don't blame you not wanting to get another Kia in the future. This was my first one, probably gonna be my last one, but I do like the car a lot. If it wasn't for the garbage brake system and the terrible dealership service/experience I would love my experience much more.

I do find it tiring when others are saying that the problem is with the driver and not the car itself. I drive very calmly and slowly and it happened to me far too many times. It's easy to say the issue is driver related when the problem hasn't happened to the person because they got lucky.

I remember all of my friends with WRX's were spinning rod-bearings and their engines were exploding on each other. Ironically, all of my friends had heavily modified WRX's. Everyone was telling me how smart I was keeping my car stock and that it would never explode. Ironically after the 2nd year of ownership the same thing happened to me on a stock car... certain companies take shortcuts when building nice cars and it shows... I'll leave it at that...