Braking issues - where to start?

[arracado]

2004 stock Vibe, it's a daily driver. Had the front brakes done last year (resurfaced rotors, new pads), but lately I've noticed that when stopping, the car sort of drags, as if the brakes are catching more in some spots than others. So my first assumption is warped rotors. What I don't know is whether that could be a caliper issue perhaps instead. So I'm wondering where to start...just pull the wheels off and start poking around? Any help is appreciated!

[Salsa Guy]

Are they the orginal rotors? Of so they could have gotten to thin and started to warp

[vibedrivermatt]

well I have no idea but I bet sublimewind will be in here soon to help troubleshoot this. My guess would be to replace the brake fluid but I have no idea if that will fix the problem or if you've changed the brake fluid aleady during some point in the cars life.

[RWatters]

The slight drag when slowing to a stop is exactly what you think it is. Warped/hot-spotted rotors.Did the rotors have this problem before-hand? A lot of times resurfacing them only masks the issue for a little while and then they come back. If they didn't, it's possible that the resurfacing grinded away enough caliper to make it thin enough that it's now having your current issue.Caliper issues aren't typically on, off, on, off like that. Either they work badly, or they work too well (meaning they're stuck clamped onto the disc). I wouldn't think it'd be an issue with them.

[jkm311]

Shot in the dark:I'm in the rotor camp, too. But in a different way. They may have resurfaced one rotor more than the other. Thus, one caliper is having one of the pads grip a split moment sooner. Especially if they didn't adjust/reset the pistons in your calipers when your new pads were put on. I too am waiting on SublimeWind's take...