I was told by my dealer that my back brakes had 2mm left and front brakes 4mm left. Do I need a brake job now or can I wait??
If it’s true, you should have the pads on the front and back replaced now. That’s a little over 1/8" on the front and a little over 1/16" on the back. About 1/8" is when to replace the pads.
2 mm and 4 mm equals about an 1/8 of an inch of friction material on the brake pads/shoes. So they’re basically worn out. You can continue to drive the vehicle until the friction material is totally gone. But in doing so damage to the rotors/drums will occur. But these would probably be replaced when the brake job is performed.
But you have to look at the safety aspect. Worn out brake pads/shoes don’t perform as well as new. There could be a braking situation where the friction material is totally gone, and if you’re on the backing plates, you’re not going to stop as quickly.
It’s important that a vehicle goes. But it’s more important that a vehicle is able to stop.
Get a brake job and you’ll sleep better.
Tester
It can wait, but not for long. Maybe another two or three months if you have to prepare financially for the expense. I’m in agreement with Tester on the safety aspect. I would rather deal with a day my car won’t start than a day my car won’t stop. Won’t start = unplanned day off work or taking a cab home from the grocery store. Won’t stop = personal injuries, property damage, possible fatalities, lawsuits, traffic tickets, higher insurance premiums for the next several years, etc.
You might want to shop around a little for the brake job…Prices can vary quite a bit…Today, it has become very common to to replace the rotors whether they need to be replaced or not…On my own cars, I can’t remember the last time I replaced a rotor…
Thanks everyone. I will get the brake job done in the next week or two. Very helpful to me.
Marge