You can always ask the dealership what the rotor thickness is measuring. They may even have the minimum thickness labeled on them.

Still, replacing at 68,000 miles is not unreasonable for a SUV. Mostly because the next time it may be serviced is in 10,000 miles, so even if they are acceptable now, 10,000 miles may push it over the line.

I lean to them needing to be replace over them selling you something, maybe 60/40. It is probably just a judgement call and they may be leaning to selling you something because it is so close to replacement.

100%

But, you might or might not need them. Historically you keep rotors and keep resurfacing them until the are under thickness spec. Nowadays, almost no one resurfaces rotors and you change them just about every time you get new pads.

No one EVER replaces rotors when you don't need new pads. If you still have braking surface on the pads, you don't need new rotors.

OK, they might be warped, but if you don't feel pulsing in the pedal, they aren't warped.

No pulsing, pads still have 25% of their life left. No squeaking, squealing, fade, lack of power, etc.

This is one of those times I wish I either had the time to wrench myself or had a mechanic friend I trusted because I’m 99% sure the dealership is trying to sell me shit I don’t need.

I used to file my rotors everytime I changed my brake pads. Rotors have gone down in price, so now buy new ones when I change them. But it's much cheaper when you do it yourself (though I don’t have that luxury anymore, my Dad used to have a 2nd garage that was 2x deep and 1.5x wide but sold and retired to Florida; It was great for working on cars).

You should only need to change every 50-70K miles (same as brake pads), but you would be to the far end or further based on your stated driving habits. 68K is getting there. Have you replaced the brake pads yet?

Watch a YouTube video specific to you car if unfamiliar with process, brake pad and rotor change will take ~1hr or less. The first takes longest while you learn on the car, next 3 a breeze. Besides pads and rotors, all you need is a cheap brake pad spreader. Have a beer or two while you do it, replace some TV time with it. You got somewhere to go...? 😉

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/...BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I'd be interested to know the brand/model of your vehicle, that said...

1) they don't call them "stealerships" for nothing. Your dealer lost credibility when you said you need replacing tires at 10k Miles. Assuming you don't have some super sticky race track tires (pink) - - give me a break!

2) good for you for keeping records about the type of driving you do. As others have mentioned doing brakes is (or should be) easy. Many people just throw on new pads and call it a day - assuming the rotors look decent. I always take my rotors in to be turned (aka re-surfaced, "machined") I've never replaced a rotor. Here's why. Unless theirs something weird going on like warpage, etc... You've got a known quantity. Sure replacement ones are cheap, but they may be sub-par, poor quality. Like, made with a hard spot or who knows. I'd take the ones you got in to have them turned. My old Sienna was on it's last turning after 3 times. The machinist said "Toyota is generous." He'd only take off enough to get a clean even surface. He is awesome.

3) Since brakes are so important; If you do have them done outside of the stealership or yourself, I'd consider going with OEM or at least not the cheapest replacement pads.

Enjoy the journey

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

The biggest problem with newer rotors are that they don't have nearly the amount of material they did 30 years ago and can't be turned as easily. That causes people to think they're not as good, however brake systems are light years better than even 20 years ago. Rotors do run cooler, partly because they're thinner and can shed heat more easily but also because ABS pulsing reduces heat load too. Stopped and full force clamping at stop lights is the real enemy now (try to roll a bit while waiting for the light to change)

Agreed. Brakes are not difficult at all and you save a ton of money doing it yourself. Once you've seen it done on YouTube, you'll see how easy it is to do.

Someone else mentioned measuring wear to see if the rotors even need to be replaced. You just need an inexpensive caliper.

If you don’t feel any problems just wait until the pads need changed.
Pads and rotors seem to be the biggest scam at dealerships. Buddy was told he needed pads and rotors all the way around. Ended up just needing front pads. Parts and some beer and I had it done in 30 min.

If you have the ability to do it yourself you can save a lot of money too.

unless you have warped rotors (pulsation's when breaking) your rotors are fine.

EDIT: -- or if you left your pads on to long and you have grooves in the rotors.

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Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.

Nah no grooves, I can see that. I've got a caliper so I'll measure them. Thanks all.

Then the chances are north of 100%. BTW, what are they charging? Rotors are cheap and labor is next to zero if doing the pads too. And I have no idea why you would do rotors if you weren't doing the pads.

Most rotors fall off when you take the caliper off. Unless they have a retaining screw. Then you can beat on them all day or until you notice the screw.

If you are replacing and they are stuck, just whack them hard. You are replacing them and don't care what you do to them.

Take the 25% time left on the pads to learn how to do yourself. You will probably make over $500/hrs doing it.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Did you look at the tires yourself? Are they telling you the truth about them? 10,000 miles on a set of tires is very low.

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I used to do my own pads. But they would always squeak after I did them. I never did the rotors at the same time though, so that probably was the issue.

Yes I did. They’re fine. Just measured 8/32 of tread this morning. Thinking about doing the pads and rotors myself as some have suggested here. My dealer wants $1,500 (!) which seems absurd.

Just be careful of the quality of the rotors. There are some cheaper brands that are prone to warping. I would suggest going with a name brand like Raybestos or Wagner.

$500 would be high for that job.

Gone both ways, myself... For a while just did cheap rotors, and changed them every time I did the pads.. Actually worked pretty well.

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Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.

Were you lubing the brake pads and contact points with brake pad lube? They sell single use packets of lube by the checkout for cheap.

https://www.autozone.com/...BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Wow, that is absurd! Someone posted earlier that you'd be making $500/hr doing it yourself. With that quote, it would be closer to $1,000/hr.

What's even more absurd is I bet several hundred of that labor is for the rotors. I guess carrying them from around the back takes a very long time.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.