How long do your brake pads last?

[JrzyTom]

Here's the scoop:

You all know I had tire balancing problems. On last rotation & balance (1000 miles ago), my trustworthy shop said I had a little less than 50% left on my front pads. Shop w/ the hunter balancing machine didn't make any mention of needing brakes 3 weeks later.

Yesterday, (a subsequent 2 weeks) I had my ball joints replaced under the recall. Toyota dealer says I have 3/32 left on the front pads & recommends replacement. Says that last 1 or 2 32nds goes really quick & will eat into the rotors if I don't get them done soon. I tell them no & now need to go back to my trustworthy shop to have 'em rechecked, as I don't trust the dealer (major issue w/ them not doing work for a friend, but charging him).

Problem is, I went to high school w/ the tech @ the Toyota dealer AND he's brother-in-law w/ the trustworthy shop owner. I don't know who's zooming who @ this point & I don't have time to deal w/ it myself.

How many miles do you guys typically get out of your front pads - OEM?

Mommy drives it every day & is fairly hard on the brakes. We used to only get 20k on pads in our Explorer prior to this.

Thanks for your comments!

[devillar]

SOunds like it is time to change the pads. Pads are easy to change. I just jack the truck up remove the wheel and remove the pads. Look at the rotor. I tend to change my pads before I need to. Pads are cheap and easy. I do not turn the rotors unless there is a problem and as I change the pads more frequently, there is no worry. Brake action is gooooood. Do NOT put OFF!

Here's the scoop:

You all know I had tire balancing problems. On last rotation & balance (1000 miles ago), my trustworthy shop said I had a little less than 50% left on my front pads. Shop w/ the hunter balancing machine didn't make any mention of needing brakes 3 weeks later.

Yesterday, (a subsequent 2 weeks) I had my ball joints replaced under the recall. Toyota dealer says I have 3/32 left on the front pads & recommends replacement. Says that last 1 or 2 32nds goes really quick & will eat into the rotors if I don't get them done soon. I tell them no & now need to go back to my trustworthy shop to have 'em rechecked, as I don't trust the dealer (major issue w/ them not doing work for a friend, but charging him).

Problem is, I went to high school w/ the tech @ the Toyota dealer AND he's brother-in-law w/ the trustworthy shop owner. I don't know who's zooming who @ this point & I don't have time to deal w/ it myself.

How many miles do you guys typically get out of your front pads - OEM?

Mommy drives it every day & is fairly hard on the brakes. We used to only get 20k on pads in our Explorer prior to this.

Thanks for your comments!

[Johnnny Rock]

Here's the scoop:

You all know I had tire balancing problems. On last rotation & balance (1000 miles ago), my trustworthy shop said I had a little less than 50% left on my front pads. Shop w/ the hunter balancing machine didn't make any mention of needing brakes 3 weeks later.

Yesterday, (a subsequent 2 weeks) I had my ball joints replaced under the recall. Toyota dealer says I have 3/32 left on the front pads & recommends replacement. Says that last 1 or 2 32nds goes really quick & will eat into the rotors if I don't get them done soon. I tell them no & now need to go back to my trustworthy shop to have 'em rechecked, as I don't trust the dealer (major issue w/ them not doing work for a friend, but charging him).

Problem is, I went to high school w/ the tech @ the Toyota dealer AND he's brother-in-law w/ the trustworthy shop owner. I don't know who's zooming who @ this point & I don't have time to deal w/ it myself.

How many miles do you guys typically get out of your front pads - OEM?

Mommy drives it every day & is fairly hard on the brakes. We used to only get 20k on pads in our Explorer prior to this.

Thanks for your comments!

I am VERY hard on my brakes...I have 11000 miles going on 12000 miles I just put new tires and on and I noticed I will need new brakes within the next 2000 miles....So, I am getting new brakes next oil change....These things eat them up!!!!!! Johnnny

[sequoiasoon]

20k out of the first set. Wife is not easy on brakes. Comparison factor. '94 Ford Explorer was prior vehicle. 12k if I was lucky and a couple cracked rotors just too top it off. in 6 years I has seven sets of pads and 3 replacement rotors.

20K from the Sequoia that's heavier, I'm ecstatic! Pads are real easy too change and not real $$. If in doubt, change them now.

[THarms]

somewhere between 20k-30k miles seems to be normal lifetime for the oem pads with typical driving patterns (50% city/50% hwy). Some have gone 50+k miles when driving is mostly hwy.

I would recommend replacing them now and upgrading to the Hawk HPS pads. Always a good idea to have the rotors turned if they have any visible ridging on the wear surface or if you feel any vibration/shudder when braking.

[JrzyTom]

Thanks guys! Guess it's time. I definitely subscribe to the same theory of when in doubt...

[DJ]

By sheer coincidence, I rotated the tires on my '00 Tundra yesterday. While I had the opportunity, I inspected the brake pads and shoes and cleaned the rear brakes.

The rear brakes are working just fine and the pads look almost new. The front pads are worn. The outer pads are down to 5/32 inch; and the inner pads are about 1/4 inch. Sometime in the next month or so, I'll replace the pads.

The best part is that these are the original pads and shoes, I've never done anything to the brakes except clean the dust and such out of the rears, and the truck has almost 71,000 miles on it.

[student's tundra]

Just changed my brake pads yesterday. I had the pads changed and the truck test driven in about a hour to a hour and half. Gotta love how easy Toyota makes it change brake pads. Which is definitely a good thing as it looks like I am only going to get 15,000 miles for a set of pads. Rears still had about 75% material so they were ok, I simply just put on my 3rd set of pads (2nd OEM replacement). Definitely easier than a ford and a lot cleaner.

[DJ]

I changed my original front pads this afternoon at 71,109 miles. I underestimated the wear, so it turns out I really didn't need to change them. Next time I'll check more thoroughly.

New pads are 15/32" thick, and my old pads ranged from 7/32" to 10/32" thick. Leaving 1mm minimum, I could have gone about 122,000 miles.

My wife's Sequoia has 54,xxx miles on it and has much less wear on the pads. I think I'll let 'em go a mite longer ...

[2004SeqLmtd4x4]

Got new tires yesterday and today checked the brakes as a couple oil changes ago said they only had about 10k left on them.

I've got 37k on the Sequoia right now and looking at the OEM brakes I doubt I'll have to change them for another 20-30 easy. I would expect (given our driving patterns) that the fronts will last around 50k minimum.

OEM Dunlop tires lasted around 35-40k. Replaced the plugs yesterday for good measure.

[Johnnny Rock]

I am VERY hard on my brakes...I have 11000 miles going on 12000 miles I just put new tires and on and I noticed I will need new brakes within the next 2000 miles....So, I am getting new brakes next oil change....These things eat them up!!!!!! Johnnny

Well, I drove to Florida and back to Jersey within the past month and put about 2500 miles total on my Sequoia. This past Friday I got my oil changed and new brakes front and rear at 14500 miles. I had the front and rear rotors cut as well. I didn't need rear brakes at all but I had it done anyway. The front brakes where shot, the wear sensors where just starting to touch. I managed to get the entire brake job covered under warranty. When I bought my Sequoia they threw in free Oil Changes for 3 years so when it was time to pick it up it was nice to just have to sign my name and not have to pay a dime! Now I just can't wait till we get a major snow storm so I can try out these Revo A/T's. So far I like everything about them. Johnnny