2015 XF Sport with approx 41k miles

If you are on the brakes lightly slowing to a stop, there is some rotor shudder that transfers through into the steering wheel. The dealer said that this is a normal condition inherent in many Jaguar models. If you put any more foot into it, the shudder goes away. Is this accurate? If not what are my options for front rotors on this car. Thanks.

 

If you mean a sort of graunching noise just as you come to a stop that can happen sometimes. Usually 3-5 spirited braking efforts in a row from 50+mph down to say 10mph (not totally stopping) then let it all cool down usually helps to burn off the residue on the discs

If you mean a pulsating in the pedal and wobbling of the wheel while braking, that suggests uneven wear on the rotors. Or overtightened. Easiest solution is to change the rotors out - not usually worth the cost of trying to resurface them as the run out (thickness variation) is quite hard to eliminate

Oem rotors are fine but expensive. I use R1 concepts which I like. If you change them then do pads at the same time (and I'd suggest going to a ceramic)

 

Yes, that graunch just as you come to a stop is pretty much standard on most Jags with the OEM pads and discs these days, I had it on all three of mine (2010 XFS, 2010 XFR and 2014 F-Type). The solution in each case was to change the OEM pads out for ceramic pads (or carbon/kevlar on the F-Type), no need to change the rotors unless they are nearly worn out and/or badly scored.
Not only did this completely eliminate the graunch, but the brake dust is/was greatly reduced and the braking became much smoother and more progressive, no more "on/off switch" in stop/go traffic.
On a 2015 XF 3.0 SC you will have 355 mm front brakes and 326 mm rear brakes, same as I had on the XFS.
I put Power Stop Evolution pads on that car and they were great, other ceramic options include EBC.

 

This is definitely a vibration/wobbling like a warped rotor. We just bought the car CPO with 41k miles on Saturday. Im going to take it to the dealer this week to get it diagnosed. If the dealer wont cough up for new rotors or at least a portion, ill be putting aftermarkets on it.

 

If I get industrious I may take an abrasive wheel to the rotors this weekend.

 

"Warped brake rotors" is one of the most enduring motoring myths out there.
It's not warped rotors, it's uneven pad material deposition, for example see this page: -Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths
Yep, skimming/machining the rotors might solve your problem, but after 41k miles they could be getting down near minimum specified thickness by now, especially the rears which wear faster than the fronts on modern Jags.

 

The second biggest myth about brakes on the internet is that some magical "layer of brake pad material" gets stuck on the brake rotors and can't be wiped off by the brake pads even though those same brake pads are eating through the metal of the rotors.

If that were true, they would just coat the entire rotor with brake pad material from the factory and you would never have any wear in your rotors again.

This is the truth:
Raybestos Brake Tech School, Part One: Rotors Don't Warp | Hendon Publishing

 

I'm at 28K miles on the '15 Sport AWD 3.0 SC I bought a few weeks ago and I too have some minor wheel shake when lightly braking. I assumed warped rotors since I've experienced the same issue on other cars. I'll probably take it through until next spring/summer and do a full brake job.

 

Misdiagnosis? Perhaps.

Myth? No.


If it is a myth, Ive wasted alot of time turning and replacing all those hundreds of brake rotors over the years and magically fixed the concern in the process.

 

Did you buy it as a CPO purchase? Or does it just have Cpo coverage already that transferred over to you? Reason I ask - if they certified it as Cpo it has to cover hundreds of checks incl that brakes work, pads are more than 70pc (I think) etc. so if that's the case they should fix it for you.
If it's just a Cpo coverage that transferred over to you, then prob your problem to fix

 

They said im more than welcome to bring it in and they will look at it. But the car has been thoroughly inspected and niether the tech or salesman felt it. Im not going to mess with it. Im going to take my abrasive pad on an air grinder after the rotors. Next step will be a set of centric high carbon rotors and ceramic pads. In the meantime, told the wife to put more foot in the brake.

 

Sorry if I offended you, what I really should have said is that "warped brake rotors" is an incorrect and misleading term for what is really uneven brake pad material deposition. Problem is people have been calling it "warped brake rotors" for 50 odd years so the term has stuck. Put another way, the brake rotors themselves do not "warp", but it feels like they are warped and machining/skimming them often fixes the problem.

 

It takes ALOT more than that to offend me. lol. I see what you're saying now and I would agree with that.

 

It may be caused by a sticking caliper piston / slider. If it is and you just change the rotors (we say discs) it will occur again after a while, and you'll need to replace the rotors again plus fix the caliper issue - so check the caliper's good before changing rotors (and pads).

 

Agreed, I should have mentioned that as a possible cause.
Fairly simple job to remove the caliper slide pins, clean them (don't forget to clean out the plastic sleeves they sit in as well), lightly grease them with high-temp ceramic brake grease and reassemble.
But you will need a 9 mm hex driver to undo/remove them, not easy to come by, but plenty on Fleabay.