2010 Fusion Brake Problem

My 2010 Ford Fusion has to have the rear brakes replaced. They are also recommending new rotors and probably new calipers. The car has 44,5000 miles on it and the front brakes are just fine! If one searches history on this car, the rear brakes seem to have a problem with premature corrosion and wear. The estimate I am getting are all around $500.00, which is okay, except for it shouldn’t be a problem so soon. My question is this, is there anyway I can prevent this from happening again? I am easy on brakes historically and it is very strange indeed that the rears wore so fast when the fronts are good for another 40,000 miles they said. This car does have a recall on the lug nuts and wheel stems due to early corrosion.

I don’t want to throw good money after bad. If I’m spending the money, how can I be sure the calipers won’t hang up again and need premature replacement? I live in WI, so salt is an issue. I also basically use this car during the winter and not much in the summer, so it sits more than the average car. I sort of feel like this is on Ford, but no recall is forthcoming.

Any suggestions or help is appreciated.

I take it you had a caliper stick and wear the pad(s) off? Then it ground into the rotor?
It happens. You can’t eliminate the possibility of it happening again. Salty, sandy roads accelerate corrosion and also contaminate the caliper slides with salt and sand ground to a fine dust that can make its way past the seals.

My advice? Be happy that the problem is nothing major, get it repaired, and drive on.

As a 38 year parts guy…I have never sold so many REAR brakes…till they went to rear disc brakes.
Even my own 08 Expedition has gone through rears faster than front…even having a sticking right rear caliper.
Lubrication is key there with a silicone base caliper slide lube…and RE-lube over time as well.

I wonder if designers are biasing braking more toward the rear than they used to in order to provide better control under heavy braking? Just a thought, I have nothing to support it.

mountainbike

You are 100% correct

I know this, because I’ve actually seen it stated, on paper, in various training modules, service manuals, etc.

However, this did not automatically happen when manufacturers moved from rear drums to rear rotors

It happened when stability control became commonplace

To sum it up, in a rather non-scientific way . . .

The rear brakes do more work now, so that when you apply the brakes the car doesn’t nose-dive. This means all 4 tires maintain good contact with the pavement, unlike what happens when the car nose-dives. And that, combined with stability control, traction control, abs, etc. leads to better braking

Thanks for confirming that for me. I’ve learned something new today. It’s a good day.

My 2012 Camry needed a rear brake pad replacement at 22 thousand miles due to extreme corrosion of the calipers and slides on the drives side, This is the side that gets splashed with salt the most.
My son’s 2006 Hyundai Sonats had the same thing happen at 18 thousand miles. He moved to Florida and had to replace no brakes in the next 60,000 miles.

On my Passat, I had to replace the rear brakes at 41k and 66k, whereas the fronts lasted to 71k and 120k. The car was traded at 122k. That means the rears lasted 41k, 25k, and >56k, and fronts 71k and 49k.

no real pattern… Car had traction control, no stability control.