Is this true, rotors & brakes can rust from not driving much??

Hounddog409

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Not my 2021 Ranger, but my 2003 Mountainer. I keep all my maintenance records. It was due for state inspection & oil change so I had it in to shop that did my rear shocks on my Ranger (closer to where I work, more convenient than the shop I used in the past for decades for all my vehicles once they were off warranty). So I knew I had new brake pads put on front not long ago (I couldn't remember exactly when) and rotors were good at that time (the old shop suggested I replace brake pads front at that time since they weren't completely shot, but said to do them before they ruined my rotors).

So I got a call today that my Mountaineer needed new brake pads and rotors front. I was shocked. Told him the same as what I just wrote above. He said he'd show them to me, he said they were the worst rusted brakes and rotors he's seen yet this year and totally not safe to be driving.
So I picked up the Mountaineer just now and got my service records out of the glove compartment. It was January 2021 when I had the front brake pads put on!!! That was only 2,600 miles ago!

My brother told me that they can rust from not driving much (I only use the Mountaineer to drive 700 ft. back and forth from our house to my horse barn and maybe to Tractor Supply every two weeks and to Walmart because I refuse to take my Ranger into a parking lot with shopping carts... yea, one reason I kept the ole Mountaineer for a slider and plus I figured it's worth more to me than book value and it's been a good 8 cyl vehicle all these years).
So now I'm wondering if I'm going to go through brakes and rotors from rust on my Ranger too! We don't have a paved driveway at our home in the country, so although it's not parked on grass, it is only parked on a gravel driveway (which has good drainage, our house is pretty much build on a field of shale with about 4" of top soil). I usually only put 5,000 miles on a vehicle a year... I only have 2,200 miles on the Ranger since I got it in April 2021.

Its metal. Of course they will rust.
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paval3

paval3

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He showed you pads. But did he show you YOUR pads from YOUR truck? Hard to tell
sets from one make or another as they all are very similar.
I would imagine someone wouldn't be in business very long before those kind of tactics caught up with them.

When he called to tell me the fronts wouldn't pass inspection, he did ask me if I had someone to put them on for me or if I wanted him to put them on. So why would he take that chance if he was trying to fleece by saying my brakes/rotors were bad if they weren't?
 
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Jason B

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When he called to tell me the fronts wouldn't pass inspection, he did ask me if I had someone to put them on for me or if I wanted him to put them on.
In my state, and I think Texas, the shop doing inspections are not allowed to perform repairs needed to pass inspections on items they flag as faulty. This was set up to prevent owners from frivolous fails and subsequent repairs.
Maybe I'm just a skeptic and leery of repair shops.
 

JimJa

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Lots of good advice here, BUT do not go cheap on rotors. Most cheap rotors are made in China and are not properly heat treated. They'll warp in short order and you'll get that pulsing in the brake we all know too well. Doesn't mean you should go with the most expensive, just don't go cheap.

Good friend with a Jeep Cherokee was replacing his rotors every 20K and turning them in between every 10K. He lives in the city and always brakes late, and standing on them means he puts a lot of heat in the rotors which doesn't help. Because he was replacing them so often he bought the cheapest rotors he could find on e-bay. I suggested he buy something a bit more durable (and expensive) and he did. About $90 vs $35/ea. Never replaced the rotors again. 400K on it when sold. Of note, if you purchase rotors with cooling holes or cooling vents, be advised most of those rotor types cannot be turned and must be replaced if warped.
 

Hounddog409

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Yup. Not driving a vehicle is one of the worst things you can do.

Can probably get those turned.
 


Stevedbvik1

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Shyte...my 2020 Escape, after sitting for two days, the last in the rain, my brakes are pooched. This is going to be costly. I'm at 25000km....I doubt warranty will apply??

Insert sarcasm for those that don't know

20220319_141556.jpg
Rust never sleeps
 

halligan1201

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Seized brakes would've have made a crazy racket and then smoked and then caught fire if you drove them any significant distance. Surface rust comes off after a few stops.
 

Blmpkn

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This is the first I've ever heard of this.

Metal rusts if left outside in the elements?

Please explain with science
 

Langwilliams

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Shyte...my 2020 Escape, after sitting for two days, the last in the rain, my brakes are pooched. This is going to be costly. I'm at 25000km....I doubt warranty will apply??

Insert sarcasm for those that don't know

20220319_141556.jpg
These are the high performance "textured grip" rotors I've seen around.
 

remtv

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Shit, my rotors will rust overnight here in Florida, its bare metal so what do you expect.

I just replaced my Subaru outback rotors last year (and promptly broke a timing belt:mad:) and they were rusted to hell but i've never actually had any issues with them for the 200k miles (I know should have been done at least at 100k) that were on them besides some squeaking that started recently. I put some power stops on myself and they looked nice enough. You can get coated rotors as well that will inhibit some rust although the braking surface will still be bare metal.
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