Brake Pad life- how long?

[edwardh1]

I know it varies but what mileage on brake pads are people getting. My 94 camry went 115,000 miles, now have an 04 Hil

[soulstalker]

I just changed the brake pads on my '04 Highlander @ 58,000 miles.

They were making grinding noises, but the pads still were over 1/8" thick, so they were far from reaching the "wear indicators". I chose to replace the pads anyways and the grinding noise has gone away.

[columbusyota]

i did the fronts at 60k. i had a local garage do them so i don't know how warn they were. i just did the rears at 85k. they had maybe 1/8" of pad left.

[LifeTech]

Originally Posted by soulstalker

I just changed the brake pads on my '04 Highlander @ 58,000 miles.

They were making grinding noises, but the pads still were over 1/8" thick, so they were far from reaching the "wear indicators". I chose to replace the pads anyways and the grinding noise has gone away.

1/8 inch left (2-3mm)?... Your wear indicaters were reaching the rotors and yu were due...hopefully without rotor damage.

FYI, I find that the Inner pads tend to wear slightly more on a floating single piston designed caliper. Just my Observation over the years.

But yu got your moneys worth on the pads for sure!

LT

[Digger]

LifeTech~

My wifes Highlander had a service check and new pads put on 9 months ago. THis included turning the rotors and new pads. We heard this metal on metal grinding Friday and took it in to the dealership on Saturday. They said that both rotors were shot and needed to be replaced. I asked for the old parts back. The outboard pads on each rear rotor were ground down to the metal plate, but the inboard pads still have 1/4" of pad on them, they look brand new.

My question is what would cause this? Aren't the pad supposed to wear evenly (almost)? Could it be that the dealship did not replace all of the pads on the rears, like they said?

Any help understanding this would be appreciated...


~Digger~

[LifeTech]

Hi Digger!

How many miles were on the pads both front/rear in the 9 months?

Which wheels had the worst wear?
Yu said it was a four wheel brake service??

I find that generally the inner pads will wear slightly more. But that's
keeping all other components within acceptable service limits.

If, 9 months ago, your brake service was NOT performed properly, anything can go awry.

When pads are replaced ,they come boxed in pairs, ...unlikely only one pad was replaced at each wheel 9 months ago??? That would be ludicrous...even criminal !

I suspect that the 9 month old brake service was NOT done properly and the caliper slider pins ,bushings,seals, clips and anti-vibration pads, were not installed correctly and were not Cleaned and Relubed.
There are several key componenets which should be cleaned and relubed with The CORRECT High Temp brake Lubricant.

The calipers were probably not floating properly I.E sliders were not releasing as designed.(Binding) I seen this with bogus quick brake services .

They just remove old and slap on new!!
Very bad work does exist out there. I don't care if it's done at the Dealer. It does happens.

Yu said that 9 months ago the rotors were cut? Could have been a bad cut on the lathe or even cut beyond rotor thickness limits.(causes brake overheating and premature wear)
Also, the Torque Plate had to be removed to get off the rotors. This plate MUST be torqued to spec.

There are many reasons that can cause your complaint. I feel it was a combination of many bad re-installed parts.

I would be fuming if my brakes ended up like yours too.

How many miles were on that 9 month old Brake job? Get back to me.

LT

[Digger]

LifeTech~
11K miles on the brakes. Oh yeah, I forgot. We had all of the brake done. THe dealer said that her front brakes were at 55% when we took it in Saturday! How in the @#!* do the front only loose 45% and the back go to a negative %???!!!

BTW - she only does hwy driving and no towing. It doesn't make any sense to me at all.

I am meeting with the Service Manager today to find out what THEY pooched!

[LifeTech]

Aside from my aforementioned post, Something IS ROTTEN IN DENMARK!!

If it smells like a fish ,walks like a fish ,swims like a fish, talks like....

Very Fishy to me dude.
Approach with caution and skeptism, (Try to educate yourself on brakes) when talking with the Service Writer that is... etc.

I am a retired Toyota Tech . Brakes was my passion years back at the dealer when I was kid. There is only one Right way to do Toyota brakes. When it's done right, They ARE like New from day one!

If not ,than something was done Wrong!

Rear brakes went before the front?
Is this a 4wd? curious... with Star Safety System? i.e. VSC/ABS/DBFD/Snow mode. (stability program).
Just trying to eliminate other contributing factors in this ugly picture.

For instance, Mercedes benz had a recurring problem with Their Stability Program that over reacted to less than extreme conditions and caused excessive auto braking . This ate up $600+. brake jobs every 6k miles, left and right for MB owners... largely (USA built) 1st gen. ML series..There were lawsuits re. this.
Just got my brain kicking into overdrive at this point.

LT

[Digger]

LifeTech,

Well we just met with the Service Manager and they ate the $500 cost of the brake repair. THey admitted that they did not lube the slider on both rear rotors.

All is good in the Land of Yota....


Thanks for all of your advise!

[Digger]

Edwardh1~

Sorry for hijacking your post!

[LifeTech]

Originally Posted by Digger

LifeTech,

Well we just met with the Service Manager and they ate the $500 cost of the brake repair. THey admitted that they did not lube the slider on both rear rotors.

All is good in the Land of Yota....


Thanks for all of your advise!

I hope I was able to help yu . Non lubed sliders and pins?

Sure was right about that..

Can't fool with brakes. You and your family are at risk! Dangerous to cut corners.

Glad the dealer fessed up!

I would not use their service again however. (even though they admited guilt) Too much at risk with a Dealer who did this just once to yu . Yu are not an isolated case.

This is your Dealers PRACTICE on the whole. Just to save time and labor. To save 3 cents. One doesn't expect this from even a Mom and Pop auto shop employing Beginner mechanics. The dealer does this on lots of types of service.

The dealer screwed up on a fundamental aspect of brake service.
Can yu Send me a PM with the dealers name and location? If yu feel comfortable with that.

They belong in a Hall of Shame of some sort for Auto Repairs.
Thanx.


LT

[vikecowboy]

We got 30K out of our first set of pads in an 01 AWD HL. Dealer said they usually go out at around 20K - go figure... Mostly city driving though.