You are correct about the third set. I can only speculate, but the first set lasted about 54k, the 2nd about 22. My guess is lousy installation, or better yet, lousy rotors via China. I had no idea the pads were poor, but I could feel the pulsing when braking hard, thus warped rotors.
Are you sure that wasn't the ABS doing what it's supposed to do? They pulse to prevent skidding.
