Of all the cars I have owned none has had more front end shudder upon braking than my 2000 OBW. Turn or replace the front rotors and all is well but only for a few months before the problem returns. Thoughts?

Does sound like rotor warpage. Do both rotors need turned when this happens? If it is only one rotor, then I would suspect that one brake is slightly dragging due to a caliper piston not fully releasing pressure from the rotor, when your foot is off the brake. If that is the case, replacing the caliper should solve the problem.

Of all the cars I have owned none has had more front end shudder upon braking than my 2000 OBW. Turn or replace the front rotors and all is well but only for a few months before the problem returns. Thoughts?

 

Same problem with my wife's 2000 Odyssey. I hate to have her spill her beer on the way home from soccer practice (I keed, I keed!)

The 2000 OBW had small rotors and Subaru upped the size starting in 2001. You may be experiencing disk material build up on the rotors. When they get hot the disk material will transfer to the rotor creating a buildup which creates uneven surfaces.

 

Getting the rotors resurfaced should solve that problem, and high quality pads should help.

 

You might want to considered ceramic pads to help keep it from happening.

ditto up getting better pads.. I switched to ceramics on my 95 Legacy wagon and I have no more shudder.

are they Subaru rotors or aftermarket? an aftermarket rotor could be made out of cheap steel and not as tolerant.

 

newer generation subaru's warp rotors like crazy though. my 2002 OBW is vibrating like mad now once they get heated up.

 

warping older generation subaru rotors almost never happens for me and i've been driving those since 1993. the newer stuff just warps more for some reason...heavier cars?

I am voting with the "Better pads" crowd

 

 

No doubt, mildy overheated pads are the source of this problem. Sure, it may be due to the discs being under-dimensioned, but you can alleviate the problem with good pads.

 

What's a "good pad"...topic for a whole new discussion

 

 

I would suggest looking in the ceramic materials mentioned above.....part number/ brand names anyone?

I have had good results with Advance Auto Parts store ceramic pads at all four corners of my Subie. I bought their store brand ceramics. Price was reasonable.