Well so my brakes were grinding...

dsade · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:04 am

My brakes have been grinding for about a month now, and so today i finally had time to bring the KJ into a garage to get looked at. The mechanic said that the brake pads were not infact jeep pads, they were autozone pads, and that because they were 1. not properly installed, and 2. not the correct pads, and 3. were the pads that i had been using since i bought the KJ last march, that i would most likely need to replace the rotors in addition to the pads. He said take it to the dealer, so we did. It is currently at the dealer undergoing repairs (it is also still under warranty). We bought the KJ from carmax and I am just baffled at how stupid that mechanic must have been to install the wrong brake pads. Just wanted to see what your guys reaction was.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:21 am

Never give anyone credit for doing something right.

Are you getting the work done for free? If not, why did you take it to the dealer? Thats probably the most expensive place to have that done. Local shops that you trust are often good for things like that.

Also, if you enjoy working on your own Jeeps and know much about them, brakes are pretty darn easy to replace yourself.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:51 am

Little confused not Jeep pads meaning not OEM brake pads or the wrong ones for the Liberty ( I know would not fit anyways but...) and you had it to a "mechanic" and he could not do the job?
It almost seems like we have a bend over moment

CrossBones · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:25 am

I'm guessing here - what I got from dasde's post was the mechanic suggested dasde take the KJ back to the dealer (in this case, Carmax) and have them fix what they fk'd up. If so, kudo's to the mechanic for his honesty.

Now we wait to hear how honest Carmax was?....

dsade · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:56 am

My bad guys for being a little confusing. To clarify, what we did was we brought it into the local garage, like the BP gas station a block or two away, where we have

gotten a lot of reliable work done, and the guy there said that we might need to get the rotors replaced in which case the jeep dealer would pay for that under out

warranty. We called out to the jeep dealer in rockville, (DC suburb) and they said that they would in fact do the work for free and if the rotors needed to be replaced

they would indeed do that for free. Carmax f'ed it up so we didn't want to take it back there (not to mention its a lot father from where we live). As for the incorrect

brake pads, they were not the right ones for the liberty and according to the local guy, were causing extreme stress on the rotors which was causing them to warp or

something. Warp wasn't the right word but i can't remember exactly what he said. Basically the incorrectly installed brake pads were messing up the rotors.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:54 pm

But then you think Jeep should warranty something that some one else messed up? Now thats messed up! Car max if they are the ones that did it should pay not Jeep under warranty, amazes me what people try and get done under warranty anymore?

So no different than you going down to Joe Scmoo's garage and get a oil change done, he installs the wrong filter and only puts 3 quarts of oil in, motor blows and Jeep has to pay for someone elses mistake?????

I would just get my own parts from NAPA and do it right and be done , plus never go to Carmaxx again , huge ripoff company

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 2:01 pm

Why they warranty brakes is beyond me :roll:

,warranting parts that are designed to wearout is not good business.

Oh and it's almost impossible to install the KJ's brake pads the "wrong way",they only fit one way unless they were stupid and put the metal backing plate against the rotor but then you would have had grinding from day one.Get yourself some Napa rotors and pads and be done with it,takes 30mins max to change the front brakes in a KJ(it takes longer jacking up the KJ and taking the wheels off then changing the rotors/pads).Pads from autozone or advance auto are not the "wrong" pads if they are for a KJ,they are cheap and will wearout faster then good pads from Napa but they are not the "wrong" ones.

CrossBones · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:38 pm

Yeah I would agree with you both. Well except for NAPA. They blow in my book. Of course I have also always believed Carmax was not a good company to buy from but on the other hand, I have learned from two people (to date) that Carmax has offered them better money to sell their vehicle(s) than any dealer offered regarding trade-in values.

Interesting scenario between Carmax and the Jeep dealer to say the least.

dsade · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:51 pm

Well...... we picked up the KJ today from the dealer and all is well. The brakes work fine, and all we had to pay for was a 25 dollar service fee. I have learned not to deal with Carmax again, and luckily not at the expense of my brake rotors. This worked out alot better than i thought it would despite the fact that carmax f'ed it up. I would agree with you guys that it was a little weird that the dealer would pay for the pads. My dad did the pick up today as i was up in baltimore, and he said that they honored the remaining warranty we had with carmax. I have no idea why they would do that but we got new brakes and the problem isn't there anymore so i don't care. :lol:

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:54 pm

dsade wrote:

Well...... we picked up the KJ today from the dealer and all is well. The brakes work fine, and all we had to pay for was a 25 dollar service fee. I have learned not to deal with Carmax again, and luckily not at the expense of my brake rotors. This worked out alot better than i thought it would

go buy a Lottery Ticket cause you are one lucky son of a gun. When I was Service Manager at the Ford dealership I would of laughed all day long on this one

dsade · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:57 pm

You know whats funny, we had a babysitter a couple of years ago for my brother who won some scratcher, won a couple hundred thousand bucks, and moved back home to Portland Maine. But i might take your advice once i actually turn 18. On the other hand, they don't give a rats booty at the convenience stores here in DC. Lottery sales are down like 20% around these parts

Guest · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:37 am

dsade wrote:

My brakes have been grinding for about a month now

This is the part that bothers me.

why the heck would you cruise around with grinding brakes for a month?

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:47 am

ThunderbirdJunkie wrote:

dsade wrote:

My brakes have been grinding for about a month now

This is the part that bothers me.

why the heck would you cruise around with grinding brakes for a month?

come on you have been in the business long enough now to know that answer :wink:

CrossBones · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2009 1:58 am

tommudd wrote:

When I was Service Manager at the Ford dealership I would of laughed all day long on this one

Yeah but that was when Ford had "juice brakes". :lol:

tommudd wrote:

ThunderbirdJunkie wrote:

dsade wrote:

My brakes have been grinding for about a month now

This is the part that bothers me.

why the heck would you cruise around with grinding brakes for a month?

come on you have been in the business long enough now to know that answer :wink:

Well I figured I would cut him some slack - I often have to remind myself this place is *different* from other forums I am more accustomed to. Which leads me to comment on the fact that you car shop guys have it easier than I do. I mean what Mr. Mudd was referring to and such, in my business even if the owner isn't mechanically inclined, they're generally quick to come in for repairs. Well during the riding season anyway. Remember, I live in the midwest, so after a long winter I look forward to those "posers" in the early spring who suddenly realize; "crap, I got a bike and it won't start".

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:32 am

you mean there are people who do not ride year round? Always thought it was funny that people had insurance that ran from March till November rest of the time it was only covered in a garage , not riding

ok back on topic

Guest · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:42 am

tommudd wrote:

ThunderbirdJunkie wrote:

dsade wrote:

My brakes have been grinding for about a month now

This is the part that bothers me.

why the heck would you cruise around with grinding brakes for a month?

come on you have been in the business long enough now to know that answer :wink:

You know, I never thought to ask "What possessed you to drive around with your brakes grinding for a month?"

dsade · **Posted:** Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:25 am

Well, two things:

1. (sadly) I'm still a minor. I live with my parents. They had to take it in. With the way things have been going recently we haven't really had time. We do have other cars so the jeep was definitely getting less milage than it usually does. Between flying to sweeden to play hockey and my dad working for a company on wall st. we haven't had much time recently
2. See number 1

DryBones · **Posted:** Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:55 pm

The original poster probably bought the CarMax Care plan which is honored at local dealers for a small service fee. I bought it with mine when I got the KJ from CarMax. My brakes were brand new from Car Max but must have been the cheapest pads they could find as the threw so much powder my rims would be black in a week. I just bit the bullet and had my local shop install ceramic pads AFTER I ordered some Powerslot rotors to be installed at the same time!

dsade · **Posted:** Tue Jan 06, 2009 3:55 pm

Yea I think thats what we did, I'd have to ask to be sure but I can't imagine (especially in these economic times) that they would have hooked me up like that. Come to think about it my pads were throwing alot of dust.

flair11111 · **Joined:** Mon Dec 01, 2008 1:00 am **Posts:** 25

tjkj2002 wrote:

Why they warranty brakes is beyond me :roll:

,warranting parts that are designed to wearout is not good business.

Oh and it's almost impossible to install the KJ's brake pads the "wrong way",they only fit one way unless they were stupid and put the metal backing plate against the rotor but then you would have had grinding from day one.Get yourself some Napa rotors and pads and be done with it,takes 30mins max to change the front brakes in a KJ(it takes longer jacking up the KJ and taking the wheels off then changing the rotors/pads).Pads from autozone or advance auto are not the "wrong" pads if they are for a KJ,they are cheap and will wearout faster then good pads from Napa but they are not the "wrong" ones.

hey, what makes napa pads better than the others? material i guess?? could you explain?

Well so my brakes were grinding...

Who is online