Rotors have scratches. Normal?

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iamlegion

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Marky kind of answered, but specifically disc brakes job are to turn kinetic energy (your vehicle moving) into heat through the action of friction between the pads and rotors.

As soon as a scenario develops that removes the contact surface area (rust, warping, lodged debris) or clamping strength & uniformity (stuck pistons, stuck caliper slides) you remove some of that conversion ability. The front brakes generally do 75% of the stopping, so problems up front are disproportionately more important than the rears.

Generally once rust or abrasion occurs on the rotor, that flat smooth surface of the rotor turns to sandpaper and just grinds away the pad. That situation you have will never resolve itself without replacing the rotors (I don’t even know if they turn these any more). It’ll just grind the pads down forever.

Everyone’s finances, personal commitment to safety, multiplied by how much that’s affecting stopping results if it will get fixed. For me, I drive with kids and the finances don’t matter much to me - so I’d replace them, at least when I rotate or bought next set of tires.
 

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