I have a 2013 F150 lariat with 52,000 miles. At approximately 25000 miles the rotors were warped and Ford turned the rotors under warranty. Now I'm at 52000 miles and the rotors feel like they're warped again. I had a 2007 and a 2010 f150 and never encountered this problem with brakes. I don't tow or drive the truck very hard, which makes be believe Im not the cause. I could be wrong though. Has anyone else had the problem and what was your fix

 

Cheap factory rotors. Replace with premium rotors and pads.

 

Yea, I had the same problem. I have an '11 Lariat Supercrew. I took delivery in Jan. of '11. Several times a year I tow my '12 Polaris Ranger 800 HD out to my place in West Virginia. I tow it in a 7x14 enclosed trailer. In late 2012 at around 32,000 miles I started to get a vibration when I hit the brakes. Not a lot but noticeable. Over time it got worse. In about April of '13 with about 36,000 miles on her, I had the front rotors replaced. The vibration slowly returned. In Aug. of '14 at about 47,000 miles I had the front pads replaced and all rotors turned. It slowly came back. That was it. April of last year at about 63,000 miles I upgraded all rotors and pads to aftermarket. I went with Brake Performance Slotted and Dimpled rotors with semi-metallic pads. One of the best upgrades I've made to the truck. The complete set was $426.00 and about $100.00 for the install (I have a bad back). I'm now at about 70,000 miles. Stopping power is miles above stock, no more warping, and pedal effort is about half of what it was. Brake dust on the front is minimal, and on the rear is nearly nothing.

 

With regards to rotors, I have run (for 20+ years) OEM replacement rotors that are cryogenically treated at Diversified Cryogenics, making them almost as hard as stainless steel

DC purchases the highest grade rotors made, laser mic them for quality, scrap the ones that are out of spec and cryogenically treat the good ones.

For street use, slotted/drilled rotors are just “cheese-graters” for the brake pads IMHO, because unless you are involved in true racing conditions, the brake linings do not produce the gases which slotted/drilled rotors are designed to relive. In some cases, brake testing indicated reduce brake efficiency in street-based operations using slotted/drilled rotors when equal comparisons were made., but I am very satisfied with the performance & wear of these products.

 

Cryogenically treated rotors might be just the ticket for you. The rotors are subjected to a minus 300F treatment followed by a +300F treatment in a 24 hour period. The treatment to the cold side relieves any stresses that might be in the steel. The stresses inside the metal is what causes the rotors to get whacko. The heat then sets the steel for a compacted steel that should be stress free. The additional hardness is really irrelevant. Drilled and slotted is not an issue for any vehicle on the street. They are known to crack at the thin points even under normal usage. I'd skip the drilled and slotted rotors. Look around and get pricing. Most of the rotors are cast in China, even those claiming to be made in the USA. They are machined in the USA but cast in China. That should take care of the issue. Use a decent brand of semi- metallic pads if changing pads too. AVOID ceramics. They push all of the heat generated into the rotor and no rotor will last long having to deal with all of the heat.

 

A few days ago I looked for new rear rotors for my 02 since they have been warped for a while and are aggravating. The only rotors that rockauto offered for my truck were Powerstop with ceramic pads. The highest priced ones were listed for towing. They were all drilled and slotted and were quite expensive. I ended up buying Autozone's best. Fedex delivered them today. I'll see how long they last before they too are warped. My 2000 Supercab was bad for warping the rear rotors. This one 2002 didn't warp the OE rotors for about 100k miles.

 

I got 115k out of a set of Centric premium rotors and ceramic pads. Only reason I had to change one was a brake hose collapsed and locked up the right front wheel. The left rotor was turned, right rotor replaced, and put ceramic pads back in. Did not have any rotor issues till the hose collapsed, they were still stopping smooth and true with virtually no dust.

 

Stopping and sitting in a fix position with your foot on the brake can cause a rotor to warp due to the difference in temperature where the brake pad and rotor contact versus the rest of the rotor as it can cool more quickly. I always stop and try to provide enough room so I can slowly creep the vehicle forward to minimize this 'hot spotting'.