I've read some threads on here that the 08s and 09s have been having problems with the rear rotors. I even read the thread with the TSB on it. The past couple of days I've been noticing that the rear brakes were getting louder by the day....almost like I was driving with my ebrake on. So I took it to the dealer today and this is what they found on the inside of the rotor:


Notice the f-ed up brake pad and the deep cuts in the rotor....Sorry that the pic isn't the best...I took it with my iphone. So the dealer is covering this and put me in a rental. Hope fully it will be done tomorrow.

 

update....the new rotors are on National backorder! Big shocker right?
Well, at least they are still paying for the rental car...I just hope this doesn't take too awfully long.

 

Wow, last time I saw rotors looking like that the brake pads were gone....right down to the steel backing. Never seen a rotor like that when there was still friction material left.

They give you any idea why? Bad pads, bad batch of rotors, assembly line problem, anything?

Hope that you at least got a decent rental, not an Aveo or something

 

No they seemed a little baffled by it. (car only has 6000 miles on it) They just said that they were "shot". lol

And they gave me a Malibu for a rental.....it smells like an ash tray...but it's better than nothing!

 

YES I HAD THAT PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!! ******* mechanic told me that it was "abuse" i had 6000 miles on it at that point, more than 4000 was highway...... fixed under warranty

my pads were not gone, just deteriorating bad

 

you need to find yourself a set of saab brakes or you will be in a malibu for a good while just do a search.

 

Say, were the rears brakes sounding odd? Maybe seeing that pic has made me paranoid but I get a real low groaning noise from the rears, worse when bscking up and braking. Not near as bad when warm but quite loud when cold (-8 c this am) Rotors look ok so far but the way my luck goes.....

Malibu.....not a bad ride. One of my co workers just bought one a couple months ago, full load, fire mist red......even has a 2.4 lol

 

man my rear rotors look EXACTLY like that!! only have 8000 miles (13,000 kms) on them as well! makes a hell of a noise some of the time! especially when backing up! LoL

 

This is embarassing. GM finally makes some kickass cars and they are STILL having problems.

 

Ford would say "that's normal". I heard that the replacement pads/rotors will still have that problem. Either the pads are too hard or the rotors are too soft.

Has anyone tried Cryo treated rear rotors with Hawk HPS pads?

 

Yes, I had the low groaning for a while...then it sounded like I was dragging the e-brake....that is when I took it in. That pic that I posted is the inside of the rotor, it was the side that was tore up. The outside of the rotor looked normal...but it had thermal stress marks all over it.

 

Craaaap, mine have a bit of what looks like heat checking on the outside, groans real bad if its cold out when I back out. Gonna stick my head underneath when I get home, see what the inside looks like. Gonna check that tsb as well.
Hope there is nothing wrong, hate the thought of yet another trip to the stealer, er, dealer. Twice now with hanging revs, slow idle return issues (as yet unresolved) and they never keep the car overnight so I'm on my own for mooching a lift to work and back. 3 times in 6 months just doesn't seem right somehow

 

Does anyone have the TSB number for the rear brake problem?

 

9k on my car. found this issue right before i was due to drive 550 miles home from vacation. dealer said they would order new pads and resurface my rotors. to which i stated i wanted new rotors because that decreases the life of my rotors. we'll see what happens.

they said the pads are at fault. faults in them where somehow impurities got in.

 

tell them you want your rotors before they go out of buisness lol

 

uhh ohh.... the dealership is gonna hate me.... just got my entire sunroof assembly replaced under warranty today...my rear brakes sound like my ebrake is on too... like a low grinding sound when i'm almost stopped and the inside of the rotors look just like that ( big deep grooves) and i have an 08 with about 20k on it but the fronts are fine. now shouldn't the fronts go out first considering thats where most the braking power is? will they replace these under warranty do you guys think? just curious cause i was gonna replace them myself but if i can make them eat another couple hundred then why not lol

 

brake pads should wear rotor evenly, no giant grooves like this. i was told there was a service bulletin about the issue by dealership. gm is aware of the problem and should fix it under warranty for you

 

I couldn't find any TSB's on NHTSA's site for the 08-09 SS/TC. Is there a TSB # for the rear brake issue?

 

yeah this would be helpful so the dealerships dont give us the typical..."you abused them so we cant replace them" runaround....

 

ha ha. I got a malibu. not a bad ride. got my lsj headers and dp to install still. at least you don't have to drive a buick as a rental like I did when I wrecked my car

 

I placed the order for Hawk HPS rear pads from Summit Racing, $79 shipped but it is backordered for several weeks. If GM goes bankrupt and can't make my Cobalt, I can always cancel the order for the pads.

 

does anyone got a name/number to their dealer that dealt with their car, mine is giving me hell since there is no recall and i have 24k on the car, damn rotors are grinding for god knows how long, my g/f drives the car up and down the interstate daily 100+ miles a day so hardly any of the miles been city. I need to get some more info on this to provide them with enough reason to warranty this.

thanks

 

I would call GM Customer Service @ 1-866-790-5600 and complain... Then they'll transfer your case to a "******** Specialist" I mean "District Specialist" and they will go: Ummmm ummm ummm and then tell you that they'll cover the rotors, but you'll need to pay for the pads and labor to install the pads... Its a bunch of BS and I'm really starting to think the Ol' Faithful Warranty is a huge F-U to anyone that actually tries to use it.

 

same thing happend to my friends rears that had only 2,500 miles. this **** is ridiculous. almost makes me not want to save up and get one if i have to take it to the stealership every other month.

 

well talked to the d- specialist and tomorrow he is supposedly is calling me back with a authorization number to have the rear brake componets replaced. probably just end up replacing it myself though, can't stand dealers

thanks for help though