I own a 2000 Mitsubishi Galant. The car has been very reliable and has required very few repairs, with one exception. I've been having an extremely frustrating problem with the front disc brakes: the rotors keep warping. I've brought the car to 3 different mechanics, a total of 7 times for this problem. After repairs are made, the car is fine for about 24 hours, then the problem returns. I should mention that the rotors get so warped, that the steering wheel shakes when breaking from high speeds (coming off a highway ramp) and the tires sound like they could come flying off at any moment. Every time I bring it to the mechanic, he either machines the old rotors or replaces them with new ones. After giving up on our 2nd mechanic and going to the 3rd, I was told (by the 3rd mechanic) that one of the brake lines got twisted and there was a kink in the line, but he had corrected the problem. But apparently, that WASN'T the problem, because I've brought it back to him twice since then. This last mechanic has given up and says he cannot find ANY reason why this would keep happening, unless it was the way I drive. I assured him I was a reasonable driver. And NO, I don't drive with two feet or ride the brake pedal. So now I've been driving this car for the last 5-6 months in this condition. I'm afraid to bring it back to this mechanic once again, so he can tell me there's nothing wrong. Obviously something is wrong with the brakes on this car! Otherwise the rotors wouldn't keep warping. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have.

 

Bring it to a place that can resurface the rotors ON THE CAR with an on car lathe. This will give you the best and most true cut available as it eliminates any variables that might be caused by the hub. Properly torque the wheels down and have the rear drum brakes properly adjusted to assist the fronts as you brake. Good Luck!

Joel, CA

 

Another common problem with the 8G Galant. Alot of us just swapped out for good aftermakets to stop this from happening. I would go with actual Brembo's or Rotora's. I personally perfer the Rotora's...

 

You need to read how to break them in. You need to heat them and let them cool and keep heating them. If you do it right then they wont warp and they will be very strong. If you dont want to do that then get some aftermarket ones.

 

Break in stock rotors? Never knew you had to do that when you buy a new car. In 99 when the 8G first came out there was actually a lemon law suit against Mitsu because of the rotors. This is a common problem with the 8G and most solve it with just going aftermarket. When you go aftermaket then yes I am aware that you have to break in the rotors for the first 200 miles and not pushing them. Never knew you had to do that with stock rotors....

 

From what i know you should always do it... like a kind of heat cycle. My brother did that to his G35 and they started to go blue lol

 

I have a 2000 galant which has always had the problem of front wheel wobble/shudder/shimmy when you apply brakes after replacing the rotor/pads/complaining to dealer/buying new/yada yada...years this has been going on (14 years - trust me it has been frustrating but we've learned to live with it). Fast forward to March 28,2014 and I read somewhere else on the great internet where someone found that their back brakes were out of adjustment which was causing their front brakes to overheat from doing all the work. Took it to Meineke and asked them to check it and voila. Sure enough the back drums/shoes are not even touching. Adjusted them and had the rotors turned and we're now starting off again without the wobble/shudder/shimmy. We'll see in 2 months if it comes back. A very good indicator that the problem is solved is that now when I brake, the car does not lurch forward like it used to (which means the back brakes were not doing their part of the job). By the way, it looks like the back brakes being mis-adjusted was my fault - I don't use the emergency brake since it's an automatic transmission so who needs it (but pulling the e-brake is how the back brakes get adjusted automatically). Guess I learned my lesson.

 

This exact thing has plagued me also. Indeed, I took it to someone who found the rear drums were out of adjustment. The turned the rotors. It doesn't have slow speed stop issues anymore, but I wish I would have bought new rotors again, because high speed and touching brakes results in vibration, and I think they didn't get it all out on the rotor turn job or something. The jury is still out on this, hopefully I will report back with findings. Forgot to say they said if problem not fixed to my liking, try "organic" pads or something other than ceramic pads combined with new rotors.

 

Well, since my last post, I had someone turn rotors and see if that helped. It did help a lot at below 35mph speeds, but there is still shutter or pulse sound when braking at highway speeds, usually over 35 mph on up.

I put brand new raybestos rotors and organic pads on it today, making sure everthing was installed clean. NOT A FIX. Still having this pulse or shutter, but ONLY when applying brakes at highway speed. Brand new rotors and its doing this. Anyone have suggestions?

 

Is there any issue with the calipers being somewhat stuck and not lifting off of the rotors causing consistent heat build up? If you answer no, the next step I would take is getting stage 1 racing brakes, yes it may be a bit extreme for everyday driving, but these types of brakes can endure more "abuse" and from the proper company they may be slotted and/or cross drilled with holes or dimples, to dissipate heat. I have stage 1 racing brakes from Power Stop and I love them. My braking distance has shortened, plus I have the sport look.

Personally, I would invest into non-OEM style brakes.

P.S. I dealt with a problem similar on a Honda, the cause of the problem was two calipers that weren't releasing all the way, causing the rotors to build up enormous amounts of heat, then as a result would warp.