Brake Job Gone Bad
 

Ok, so brought my car in to get the brakes done rotors, pads, and everything. So got the job done. Then about 1000 miles later my car starts shaking. Brought back into the independent, he says "You didn't break them in properly" and the rotors were warped and he needed to redo the whole job. He redid them under warranty but said that was the last time he'd do it and that to properly brake them in I needed to not slam on the brakes and basically treat them with kid gloves for the next 500 miles, which sounded like complete nonsense. So I did that and the brakes went bad again after 1500 miles.

This 500 miles break-in sounded like complete BS because this is my second Porsche 911 and I have the brakes done on both at different places and they worked fine right out of the shop. My old shop confirmed this was BS and that the brakes are "seasoned" before they hand the car over to me.

So now I brought the car back into them and it's at the shop now, I will obviously not give them any more money. What would you do? I just want my money back now.

You need a new shop.

Brake changes should require a proper break in but any recommended procedure I have ever seen or used is the opposite of treating them with kid gloves.

It sounds like you have other issues if you are warping the rotors. Either you have really cheap rotors or maybe a stuck caliper. The shop may have also improperly torqued the wheels which can lead to rotor warping. 911 brake rotors don't typically warp with heat as many other vehicles may. There are a lot of us that track stock rotors without issues and that would typically put much more heat in the rotors than any street use.

+1 on the new shop. Its pretty hard to screw up a brake job.

More importantly, what rotors and pads did they install?

He says Zimmerman

Total BS. Breaking in pads and rotors isn't rocket science and actually has to be done with medium stops and then numerous aggressive ones.

Sounds like you and I need new shops (my last oil change done by my indi was 1 quart overfilled). Brakes and oil changes should be routine for a German car repair indi. Consider doing the brakes yourself in the future. You know it will be done right.

As above, consider doing it yourself. It's an easy job. Not requiring a lot of tools, strength, knowledge, or expertise. It's kind of a rip off to pay for someone else to do it, much like an oil change.

(there are youtube videos for the whole thing)

Except if you blead brakes, you need a PIWIS to tell the PSM box to me in purge mod or something like that I think ? If you don't I read the purge is partial and you can damage the PSM

I bet that if you clean the pad deposits off the rotors and bed them in properly you will have no further issues.

I would go back to the old shop if I were you.

Brake jobs are not hard for a DIY. I've done a few over the years on my Porsches and I don't consider myself very mechanically inclined.

For street use, you don't even need to do the rigorous bedding process that track cars do (a series of aggressive braking slowdows, not all the way to a full stop and then gradual cooldown).
Rotor/pad manufacturers often have their own guides on their website for these.

I once bought a car (non-Porsche) where I felt I had to bed the brakes, as I found that first bite was causing a vibration, which went away after the bedding procedure. But I wonder if that is usually necessary. I never hear anyone bedding the brakes on a brand new car... the car manufacturers do not pre-bed the brakes. I welcome comments from brake experts.

It honestly depends on the pads used. Yes many oem on cars do not require bedding in the sense that we are using in this thread. I have personally never seen a "warped" rotor from braking. Yes some aluminum hats can be over-torqued which would give one the impression of a warp. Pretty rare. As for the rotor being warped from use, well your brake fluid would have boiled long before that would happen. Racing pads are great for scrubbing the old deposits off of the rotors. One can also use metal sandpaper (I personally have not had much luck with this). Also getting them up to smoking temperature works :-)

Yes get a new shop. Yes do the job yourself to save money. Yes it is easy and there are plenty of us on the boards to help you along!

found this on autoanything.com. seems reasonable. thoughts?

Brake pad bedding is an important process that removes impurities from the surface of the brake pad and lays down a thin layer of pad residue on the rotor surface. This is accomplished through repeated heated and cooling during braking. These cycles are like Goldilocks and the three bears: temperatures need to be just right to prevent scarring of the brake pad and rotor surfaces, or uneven pad transfer. Follow these easy guidelines and enjoy quiet, smooth and long-lasting braking. While every manufacturer has a different method for bedding in their brake pads, the basics remain the same—regardless of brand.

• Find an open stretch of road that will allow you to safely stop your vehicle multiple times
• Accelerate to 35 mph and apply moderate brake pressure to reduce your speed to 5-10 MPH
• Repeat this process 3-4 times, the goal is to warm up your brake pads
• Now turn up the heat even more by increasing your speed to 45 mph and braking down to 10 mph
• Repeat this process 3-4 times
  • Pro Tip: It’s important to avoid coming to a complete stop during this stage as it’s possible to melt brake pads against hot rotors. Of course, should a deer, pedestrian or Sasquatch run onto the road, feel free to mash the brake pedal. Safety first!
• Your stop-and-go session is now complete. Park the car and allow the brakes to fully cool for an hour. For best results, avoid pressing down on the brake pedal when parked

While bedding in your brakes can sound like a sensitive procedure, one funky stop isn’t going to ruin your efforts. Gas-off and heat will occurr. Drive safely and avoid emergency stops, if possible.