I have 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe with 65k miles on it. As of early this week, while driving around the town to take care of errands, my brake feels off. Whenever I put my foot on the brake to make a completely stop at the light, I feel a grinding and my car shook a little. This never happens before and to be on the safe side, I had my boyfriend driving the car around the neighborhood for a little bit. He felt the same thing and heard it (I’m hearing impaired and couldn’t really hear well). He thinks the problem is just that the rotor is warped and I probably will need it turned or replaced.

My plan as of right now is to go to Brake Max on Monday to have it look at. If it is what we thought it is—I’ll buy parts from Pep Boys and the boyfriend will fix it. (He’s genius when it comes to cars) But I don’t know if my car is 2 Wheels Drive or 4 Wheels Drive? All I know it has AWD and I was told that it’s 4?

So in that case, I will need to buy I'll need 4 total rotors for each wheel? Any advices/suggestions are very much welcomed.

This post has been edited by katers: Oct 24 2009, 06:08 PM

An '04 with ~65Kmi probably will only need the front rotors and pads replaced. AWD is essentially a computer controlled 4wd system, but regardless has nothing to do with your brakes. There will probably be some phillips-head screws holding the rotors to the hubs, so tell your b/f he may need an impact screwdriver to get those to budge and they will probably snap off. No worries if they do since these screws are only benefit the assembly of the vehicle in the factory. You won't need'em w/ the new rotors. I'd personally price rotors and pads from 1) Napa, 2) Carquest, 3) Autozone. The rest is up to you! G/luck

Joel

hi katers and welcome to the forums (IMG:style_emoticons/default/00000732.gif)

the grinding that you can hear is likely to be the brake pads worn right out and are grinding metal to metal on the rotor. (its more likely to be the front brakes rather than the backs ones) however you need to get the brakes examined before you start wasting your money buying what maybe un-needed parts, you may for example only need front rotors and pads.

BTW if you have AWD then that means it is four wheel drive (but this makes no difference to the braking system)

Hi montego, thanks for a welcome.

Here's update: went to Brake Max this afternoon and it turns out what my boyfriend and I thought. My brake pads were wearing down and my rotors were warped. Not only that...it turns out the right rear disc was loose. My boyfriend doesn't think he would be able to do the job (He have Ford Focus and he's used to working on Ford, not SUV). I gave in and paid for parts and labor. It costs me nearly $850 dollars. :-\ (Imagine the cost if I got this done at the dealership!!!)

So.. I live and learn? This is my very first car and it was my late grandfather's car.

Any advices of how I can take care of the brakes (or anything else in general, other than basic car maintenance) that I need to know/be aware of?

Thanks. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Wow -- you just made my day. My 04 with 60K just cost me $832 for rear rotors, front pads, and rear calipers at the dealer -- see New Rotors -- Clunking noise thread. I didn't think anybody would admit to a higher cost.

It's not uncommon for dealers in my area to charge $1000 for pads and rotors all the way around on a full sized SUV so I guess $850 wouldn't be out of line for a SF. FWIW, my cousin recently replaced front pads and rotors on his 2007 Santa Fe himself for ~$200 w/ aftermarket parts. I believe he got his parts from Advance Auto or Autozone. Will it last as long as dealer/OEM parts? Who knows. It's hit/miss for brake parts.

Joel

This post has been edited by PoMansAWD: Nov 18 2009, 06:16 AM