New front brake rotors for 2006 XC90 V8 at 40k miles?

SteveSD · Post by **SteveSD** » 03 Jun 2011, 13:48

Hi all - my wife has a 2006 XC90 with V8 and 18 inch wheels; we took it in for inspection and service today and the dealer called to let us know that the car needs new front rotors. We bought the car 2 years ago off-lease with 26k miles and so she drives about 7k miles per year. Is it unusual to need to replace front rotors already at this mileage?

Post by **jblackburn** » 03 Jun 2011, 13:49

Sounds about normal. It really depends on what kind of driving you do more than anything. Lots of city driving wears out brakes/warps rotors pretty quickly, but 40,000 miles isn't bad.

Post by **jimmy57** » 03 Jun 2011, 15:17

There is a determination made if the wear that is there today will go below the wear limit before the next set of pads wears down.
You may have rotors that are not at minimum but will be before 80K at the current wear rate.
Yes, European makes and a few models in the domestically built ranges, use softer rotors to accomplish desired brake characteristics and they wear.
I have a 2003 Ford Expedition and the front pads lasted 76K but the rotors were at the min. thickness when the pads wore out.

Hard rotors make for VERY high pedal effort if the engine stalled and you lose brake booster assistance. Softer rotors bring that no power assist effort down to a level that is safe.

G8 fan · Post by **G8 fan** » 05 Jun 2011, 13:22

I put 4 dimpled and slotted rotors from brake performance.com on my 05 T6 XC90 and love them. You can hear and feel the dimples when you brake, which I personally think is kind of cool, but may not be for everybody. They look great and the feel of the brakes is excellent. The brakes have squeaked a couple times after getting rained on then sitting and getting rusty. I can't stand squeaky brakes, but it has gone away each time. When I need new pads, I will either buy their premium pads or shop around. If anybody has a replacement pad recommendation, that might help us all. The rotors themselves are still true as can be with zero pulsation. The control feels great when I stop. Front and rear rotors cost $434 shipped to my door in March 2010 with a lifetime warranty against warping and with free pads.

If your Volvo is wearing parts and tires out prematurely, I highly recommend going to a reputable non-Volvo shop and asking them to ignore Volvo's alignment spec, and point all 4 wheels the same direction. Willis Volvo kept aligning the front wheels very pigeon toed and it chewed through 2 sets of tires, 5 tie rod ends, 3 hub bearings, rotors and brakes, etc., etc., etc. I avoided the Volvo dealer, and had Merrill Axle replace the last tie rod end and hub bearing it needed, then align it to a normal spec, and our XC90 drives way better than when it was new and it is no longer chewing through parts and tires. My wife can tell the difference in how it drives and rides, and she is not picky at all about that stuff. 20K on tires and 40K on rotors is totally unsatisfactory to me, but I think I finally solved the root problem because I have 15K on tires (235/60R18 Yokohama Parada Spec-X) and brakes and show hardly any wear on either with the non-Volvo alignment.