Hi folks,
I’ve just leased a loaner here (3k miles) but noticed some rust in brake rotors (image attached). It was my first time to lease a loaner, but not sure if this is a typical thing?
Thanks!
Brake rotors love to get rusty like that after not being used much for a short period of time. Doesn’t have much to do with it being a loaner. If you use the brakes a few times, they’ll look good as new.
That doesn’t look too unusual for a car that’s been sitting a while, particularly in wet weather. Most of that should go away with some regular driving.
Completely normal. I get that on my car in south Florida if I don’t drive it for a few days.
Just means sat on the dealer lot outside for a week or so without moving
Hmmm, definitely a bad case of metallic failure. The rust patina develops due to microscopic fractures in the rotor face allowing air to oxidize the steel alloy.
I’d say they owe you an upgrade to the next trim level higher!
Just kidding, it happens to literally every car on earth after a rain or if it’s sat a while in humid weather.
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Everybody says it’s normal and I’d agree if not for the same XC90 loaner, but w/5,500 miles, where rotors needed to be replaced.
I get rust like that after a good rain overnight, let alone a 3k mile loaner. It doesn’t take much to rust rotors. A ride around the block will knock that down quick, and you’ll never know it was there.
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I have had my brakes and rotors replaced 4 times under warranty in 30K miles on my S90. However I doubt this is due to a little surface rust.
I think Volvo is using some ridiculously thin metal on their rotors or something. 5500 miles should not need new rotors from warping, loaner or not, unless someone was consistently running them super hot and driving through ice baths with them over and over again.
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That’s what we call the corona rust, how are the seats? 
That’s my point - I have no idea what happened but it did on an old loaner.
@mp11477 - I think mine was used over the winter for the most of its mileage
This seems to be a common Volvo theme…either they sourced a bad batch of metal or they’re just specced too thin from the get-go.
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I did notice something on this forum over the years. There are a lot of “non car guys” that post here. Funny to see.
Yup. Saw the title. Guessed it was a Volvo.
Rusty brake rotors like that aren’t isolated to volvos…
no, but what the bear and everyone else that has driven a Volvo has said (including the OP), is that Volvo has a problem with prematurely warping rotors. The surface rust itself isn’t an issue.
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I just turned my S90 in on Friday. I had no issues with warping rotors.
I did go through rear brake pads quickly.
maybe you were lucky…there’s a thread on here somewhere of people getting rotors, sometimes multiple times, replaced under warranty
The earlier SPA vehicles, particularly the XC90, had rotors replaced not uncommonly under warranty due to squealing and out of spec rotors, but it’s unclear if that was due to a warp that occurred or if they were manufactured out of spec. That, for the most part, was addressed fairly early in the xc90’s lifecycle, but there were some hold overs that popped up on other models.
The most common complaint now really seems to be due to squealing and aggressive pad wear.