# Brake issue, post everything that you know.



## freddy2081 (Aug 1, 2007)

I'm a little confused about the front rotors issue. My steering wheel shakes very badly, at 55k miles. Rotors and pads were changed at 18k, and that was under warranty. 
What is the issue about? Is it a design flaw on the van's side or simply the actual rotors that they used are crap? 
Is this going to stop once I replace rotors and pads?


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## bpbevins (Feb 14, 2007)

my understanding is that if they were replaced under warranty, then yes, the dealerships used cheap parts. find a good american or german company and replace them. i have a 09 with 65k and havent had the brake issues everyone talks about. its the wifes van, but i drive us on weekends and out of town. i have raced cars for years and tend to be easy on brakes, maybe thats why i havent had issues. heat kills brakes. when i first bought it and read about the issues, i planned on running brake cooling ducts to the rotors, but havent had the need yet. best of luck.


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## cscsc (Jun 14, 2009)

There are two problems with the front brakes on the pre-2012 Routans [as well as their Chrysler and Dodge cousins]. One is that the brakes are undersized for the weight of the vehicle. This causes more heat when braking and warps rotors prematurely. The other problem is the poor quality of the OEM components.

After two replacements [last one at 36K] under warranty, I replaced the pads and rotors with Bosch components at 65K [available from Amazon, CarID and others]. Now, at 87K, No problems.


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## freddy2081 (Aug 1, 2007)

Awesome! I'll look for bosh replacements, thank you!


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## 58kafer (Jun 27, 2007)

I used brakepreformance.com cross drilled. I put probably closer to 50k on them. They were just starting to shimmy. I needed front pads. So I bought another set now I'll be good till 140k. The first time I put cross drilled on the rear, second time I put their premium rotors on the rear. Both times I used akebono pads. I could have gotten about another 6k out of the front pads but we had a state inspection due and I didn't want the dealer breaking my balls even though the pads were just with in spec for passing, 

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk


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## freddy2081 (Aug 1, 2007)

I ran akebono pads on my b6 for a long time and currently run them on the rear of the van. Always loved them.


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## freddy2081 (Aug 1, 2007)

bpbevins said:


> my understanding is that if they were replaced under warranty, then yes, the dealerships used cheap parts. find a good american or german company and replace them. i have a 09 with 65k and havent had the brake issues everyone talks about. its the wifes van, but i drive us on weekends and out of town. i have raced cars for years and tend to be easy on brakes, maybe thats why i havent had issues. heat kills brakes. when i first bought it and read about the issues, i planned on running brake cooling ducts to the rotors, but havent had the need yet. best of luck.


I actually put a lot of miles on the van myself. Wife uses it during the week (seems to have gotten over the fact that it is automatic, after all you can't beat the comfort of that thing) but on the weekend, especially during skiing season I drive 200 miles round trip to go to the mountain usually twice a week.


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## burndtjammer (Feb 11, 2009)

*replacement brakes*

I felt the same way as OP after dealing with having to replace the brakes on my own after the dealer argued only the first set was under recall. So, at 51K miles when they warped again I decided to go with performancebrake.com We went with the cross drilled and slotted. We are at 75K now, but being in the NE with 2 "bad" winters back to back the pads have seized so I re-ordered the same set. They've lasted 24+ months and would have lasted longer. no warping, just pads worn out because i didn't realize what had happened. 

We've replaced the EGR valve 2x under warranty. Replaced outer tie rods on front end. All 4 wheel bearingsreplaced, and the fronts we took in just before our coverage under the extended warranty ran out but they wouldn't cover it. I have so far spent this weekend replacing the front wheel bearings, both front axles, front brakes and changing out the transmission fluid and filter. I should have done the shocks/struts on the fronts at this time just because exposed but didn't think of it until we were in there. I'm certainly learning how to take this thing apart and put it back together again.


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## freddy2081 (Aug 1, 2007)

burndtjammer said:


> I felt the same way as OP after dealing with having to replace the brakes on my own after the dealer argued only the first set was under recall. So, at 51K miles when they warped again I decided to go with performancebrake.com We went with the cross drilled and slotted. We are at 75K now, but being in the NE with 2 "bad" winters back to back the pads have seized so I re-ordered the same set. They've lasted 24+ months and would have lasted longer. no warping, just pads worn out because i didn't realize what had happened.
> 
> We've replaced the EGR valve 2x under warranty. Replaced outer tie rods on front end. All 4 wheel bearingsreplaced, and the fronts we took in just before our coverage under the extended warranty ran out but they wouldn't cover it. I have so far spent this weekend replacing the front wheel bearings, both front axles, front brakes and changing out the transmission fluid and filter. I should have done the shocks/struts on the fronts at this time just because exposed but didn't think of it until we were in there. I'm certainly learning how to take this thing apart and put it back together again.


I got the head replaced, and pretty much only oil changes. The front rotors were changed twice (according to dealership) and last time was at 18k miles. The van has been really good, can't say I had any problems at all other than the shaky steering wheel.


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## 58kafer (Jun 27, 2007)

The slotted rotors EAT pads. They were way too noisy for me so I had them swapped to cross drilled. Much better, I hated the sound while driving, so annoying. What's funny is I hear a little buzzing with the cross drilled in the van, yet my Yukon has cross drilled Brembo rotors with Akebono pads and they're silent. The bp's have a much larger chamfer on the hole which is probably the main culprit.

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## MozartMan (Jul 31, 2010)

I have the same issue, warped rotors and shaking steering wheel.
Is it easy to replace front rotors and pads DIY, or should I go to the auto shop?
What brand of rotors/pads can you guys recommend at reasonable price?

Thanks.


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## cscsc (Jun 14, 2009)

Replacing front pads and rotors is not particularly difficult, if you are careful. There are youtube videos on the subject that are helpful. Search for Caravan and T&C brake replacement as well as Routan - they're all the same from 2008-2011.

I like the Bosch pads and rotors, as I mentioned in my reply to this post, above. There are probably several other setups that will work better than the OEM parts. The Bosch parts seem to be well made, reasonably priced and they work well and are quiet. Good luck.


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## rychas1 (Mar 2, 2004)

http://forum.chryslerminivan.net/showthread.php/47257-2013-HD-brake-upgrade-to-2010-SXT

you're welcome.


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## freddy2081 (Aug 1, 2007)

Thank you, the link for the conversion is very helpful.


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## rychas1 (Mar 2, 2004)

Btw, I just did this conversion/upgrade last weekend. Everything bolted up like a charm. No issues and a HUGE (relatively speaking) difference in braking. You can feel your guts move upon braking, and that's not even panic stopping. They really are that big. Pedal feel is the same, but you can feel the harder clamping force. It was worth $400.


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## freddy2081 (Aug 1, 2007)

cscsc said:


> Replacing front pads and rotors is not particularly difficult, if you are careful. There are youtube videos on the subject that are helpful. Search for Caravan and T&C brake replacement as well as Routan - they're all the same from 2008-2011.
> 
> I like the Bosch pads and rotors, as I mentioned in my reply to this post, above. There are probably several other setups that will work better than the OEM parts. The Bosch parts seem to be well made, reasonably priced and they work well and are quiet. Good luck.


Hey would you mind sharing the part number for the Bosh rotors? 
Just want to be sure I get the right part.. 

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## Zambee500 (Jun 23, 2011)

Amazon allows you to add vehicles to your e-garage and you can filter results to fit your vehicle. When you first search auto parts on Amazon, the first return should be an option to Shop by Vehicle or See Parts That Fit Your Vehicle. Clicking that should create/open a "Your Garage" option to add vehicles.

Search "bosch rotors" and a ton of results pop up (not vehicle specific), and then click "filter" by whatever vehicles are listed in your garage.


These _should_ work, but of course I make no guarantee:

Rears ($36/ea.) - Bosch 16011439 QuietCast Premium Disc Brake Rotor

Fronts ($51/ea.) - Bosch 16011440 QuietCast Premium Disc Brake Rotor



Bosch has a couple different options for pads, but Akebonos are comparably priced for rears and ~$20 more for fronts compared to Bosch.

Rears ($38/set) - Akebono ACT1336 ProACT Ultra-Premium Ceramic Brake Pad Set

Fronts ($56/set) - Akebono ACT1273 ProACT Ultra-Premium Ceramic Brake Pad Set


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