Nice Pic, fairy certain, I've driven that stretch of road, here in the HD!

Will be following your results, as over the years I've had multiple Honda's with your exact issue.

 

There is a fairly easy way to get rid of the deposits of brake material on rotors. Take the truck out on the highway with little or no traffic. Bring up to 60 mph or so. Slow down HARD to about 20 mph then go back to 60 and do it again and again for about 4 to 6 times. You want your rotors to be HOT HOT HOT. Then drive like normal until they are cool again.

Don't just stop and let them cool or they'll cook the pads again. You must cool them by driving.

Again, don't do this at rush hour on the turnpike.

Also check your lug nuts for the correct torque and use a torque wrench to tighten in a star pattern. These new thin suspension parts and rotors warp like crazy if they aren't torqued consistantly at the right setting. Sometimes just doing this will fix pulsating brakes.

 

I tried all that before on a different rig.

Kinda hard to get it as hot as when a 7500 LB boat is behind you and you are in a full pedal stomp scenario heading down a big hill in the hot desert.

The titan rotors were ok to 5K (of 9500) but at 6-7-8K they imprinted like crazy.
Nissan new it and corrected in subsequent models but the first year buy in guys got hosed on that and a few other things like a bigger rear end cover and a locking diff.

IF this things doing this with the weight of the truck alone with what relative load Im putting on it now - this is only going to get worse
Hows it going to be with an 90K 4000 LB boat on the hitch?

Im going to solve the problem with better parts if I can than trying to hot run my brakes back to a semblance of stability.

Ill see if I can get em hot on the drive from Vegas Back to La next friday, but I leave in the morning and its usually too cool for that and of stuff

Im pretty sure the only fix here is better parts, bigger if possible, but if not vented and cross drilled with a SS line upgrade to help the " stepping on a chunk of tofu" feel Im familiar with in standard off the lot rigs, this one included.

Next time Im at the shop Il bust out the torque wrench and see where/if they click but at 3K and a j2807 rating Im a bit surprised I gotta deal with this.

Still love the truck.

UD

 

Did you find a combination that works for you?

 

I'm at 3000 miles, only a few easy tows for a couple hundred miles of only about 2500LB in that 3K, and on a relatively fast road trip to Vegas from LA Im starting to feel the front end shimmy when I get on the brakes.

I developed this issue around 13K miles on my 2019 that is usually braked gently and never tows. It improved after several ABS-controlled slow-downs from highway speeds, but it's still noticeable on light braking.

 

I replaced my brake pads just after I purchased my '17 BE, because of the spongy brake pedal. Turns out it was contaminated fluid causing the problem, but when I changed the pads, I discovered that the caliper pins were completely devoid of grease to the point where they were sticking. I couldn't believe it, because I probably only had about 3k miles on my vehicle. Sticking pins will prevent the calipers from releasing, which builds up heat and causes pad deposits on the rotors.

 

Deposits on the rotor is not always the problem. Rotors warp. I have turned hundreds of rotors. When the lathe is mounted & operating, it is quite obvious. The rotor wobbles.

 

I've turned thousands of rotors in the past 25 years. I was under the impression that rotors warped as well, but there are dozens of studies demonstrating that they don't warp. They acquire deposits and wear unevenly.

Do rotors warp?

Warped Rotors?

 

My/Dodge Grand Caravan did/was known for this exact problem as well on the front brakes from just a few thousand miles from new. I believe in 2014 they finally went to a larger front caliper/rotor to fix the problem. Mine were horrible, the temporary fix was to have the rotors turned on the car. Very important to turn them on the car so you are aligning them with the hub.

When the front pads were cooked at about 30K, I then went to EBC GD slotted/drilled rotors and Greenstuff pads F/R. This was a fix and vast improvement in stopping power. Went through two sets of front greens. Yellow pads were my next upgrade plan when I needed rears as well, but I sold the van at 100k. I went through a disappointing seating experience in a Pacifica for a year and a half, sold it and got my RL last Oct.

I emailed Rotora last week and they are in fact working on a 6/4 piston front/rear set for the G2, but it is salty money.

A little research and I have found EBC offers products...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D5TDRKW/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_4?smid=AM1Z19J7OJ7C&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D5W48QV/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_5?smid=A1RF4QP96FD3LO&psc=1

Of course Amazon say these wont fit my truck. The AWD brakes different than the FWD? After I confirm these will fit my sport AWD, this will be well worth the money IMO. Now to find SS lines.

 

I have EBC's dimpled slotted rotors and yellowstuff pads on my GenI. I also have MDX front caliper's (EBC front rotors are the MDX fittment). Braking performance is SUPERB. Lots of brake dust but superb stopping performance. . . .I did make sure to clean and properly grease all the guide pins and tightened my lugnuts with a torque wrench. I also had a quality shop use their BG brake fluid flush machine to insure that every bit of air was out of the system. It made a noticeable improvement in the pedal feel.
SS lines make only a marginal difference IMHO and I didn't use them on my 14. On an older vehicle they make more sense but on an almost new GenII? I doubt you will feel much if any difference.
Here's the thread i wrote about the brake upgrade I did. . .It's for the GenI but has relevance.

Installed: MDX front brakes with EBC pads and rotors all...

My 2014 Sport has around 45K miles (I bought it at 23Kmiles a couple of years ago) and it was getting close to being time to do the front pads. I’ve driven a Ridge since 2005 and the stock GenI Ridgeline brakes have always disappointed me in terms of overall stopping distances and the feel and...

www.ridgelineownersclub.com

 

Also...my understanding with todays brake rotor warping/imprinting/shudder problems is directly attributed to the brake pads.

When I was dealing with the brake issues on my DGC, my first front replacements were NAPA premium pads/rotors and they were junk within 2-3,000 miles, when I complained at NAPA, the lady said..."stop driving so hard." HAHA.

After that set I reached out and an FCA tech told me, that so many people complained on surveys about brake dust-both being dirty, then it eating wheel finishes because customers didn't keep them clean, the industry has made the pads intentionally hard to try to alleviate the brake dust complaints. The harder pads cause premature rotor wear and the aforementioned issues. He was the one who suggested the on-car brake lathe, which fixed the problem for a few thousand more miles.

Once I switched to the softer EBC yellow, no issues. Brake dust? Don't care, I run black wheels and wash often.

(at least this is the explanation I got)

 

The topic of warped rotors has been discussed numerous times. Here is a low-down; rotors do not actually warp. Most people, even trained personnel, mistake uneven wear for warping. Also uneven deposits of brake pad material, the biggest cause of the shudder, is coined as rotor warp and customers have been made to pay hundreds of dollars to turn rotors.

Switch to an aftermarket rotor that is performance oriented. Also match the pads to that rotor, and you will be fine.

 

The topic of warped rotors has been discussed numerous times. Here is a low-down; rotors do not actually warp. Most people, even trained personnel, mistake uneven wear for warping. Also uneven deposits of brake pad material, the biggest cause of the shudder, is coined as rotor warp and customers have been made to pay hundreds of dollars to turn rotors.

Switch to an aftermarket rotor that is performance oriented. Also match the pads to that rotor, and you will be fine.

Agreed. ?