GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I bought a Vibe GT 2003 recently. This car suffer a crash. Nothing important has been damaged by chance. Damage parts were cosmetic pratically. Main parts not touched by luck. One question remains: I don't know how much long the car remains parked in the snow during the last winter season. All braking disks are rusty. Anyway, my garage tech says to me he will pass the surface of the brakes on the lathe very slightly.Does someone has encountered such a situation where the brakes were rusty completely. My tech has no choice to disassemble the brakes to do a pass on the surfaces. It will lubricates everything that is necessary, test and verify.Does it means brakes are totally scrap if rust attack the disk? Do they need to be replaced?My tech is saying it is not a must...I'm not totally confident.What do you think guys?

depends on how bad i would guess, mine get rusty just sitting in my drive way after 2 days with a day of rain, just a bunch of spots though. have you taken it out for a drive and used the brakes? if you look at dealerships' their cars will have rust to, so i think it would depend on how much rust...

My brakes are rusted beyond imagination. Still stop the car. Dealer still says they're in perfect condition.IMHO, leave it.

im with ragingfish

Are you talking about the surface of the rotor where the pads touch?

all rotors rust... its that simple. A light surface machining of the rotors or taking it for a drive and getting firm on the brakes should clean it off. unless its on thick in which case a machining will have to be done.

Sorry for the delay!Yes. I'm speaking about the rotor surface itself.Unfortunately, I looked at all picture I took from the car during body repair.The pictures are not showing enough details. When I touch the rotor surface with a finger, it feel very rough you know.One person told me that if a car is staying parked for a month approx. the brakes should be replace by new ones. I tought he was a little bit "overkilled" to say that. I was thinking that taking a small cut on the lathe should correct the situation. I think brakes has never been repaired in the past. Car is too young.So, I still have full thickness. If technician is removing a slight cut only, it shouldn't jeopardize brakes performances.

Thats a little over kill... I mean come on, cars sit on dealerships a lot longer then a month sometimes... brakes are never replaced because of that. But a light surface machining will correct that problem... Or take your Vibe out there on a deserted road and see if the ABS will function

Thanks Mavrik!They checked ABS and run as it should.I think taking a sligth cut is the solution too.Will see what happen next.Aurevoir!