Hello! My 2006 Pontiac Vibe is quickly approaching 50K miles, and still has the original breaks. I have been expecting to hear that I need to breaks for over a year, and everytime I get the car serviced, the mechanics tell me that they are fine, and are shocked to hear that they are the original brakes. It is a stick shift, and so I know that takes some of the strain off the breaks and about 25K of the miles are high way miles. I am wondering if I should go ahead and replace the brakes based on the number of miles, or should I keep them going until the mechanics say that they are shot?
Brake longevity depends a lot on how you drive your car. I have a friend who can’t get more then 30k out of his brakes…mainly because he accelerates and brakes hard all the time…I can’t drive in the car with him…sea-sick.
There is no need to replace the brakes if they aren’t showing any signs of wear. We’ve gone over 100k miles on my wifes 96 Accord. The rear brakes went to almost 200k miles. Her Lexus now hast 60k miles and the brakes are fine (just had the safety inspection last month). I don’t plan on replacing them for at least another 30k miles…maybe 50k.
Good driver.
wait for the actual need to replace.
my 1979 pickup has its O.E. brakes at 70k
the 92 Explorer with 140k has O.E. rears and is on only its second set of fronts.
Yep, you must be good to your brakes - enjoy! As long as you’re having them checked periodically, no problem. I’m at 140k with only one replacement.
My compliments on your gentle driving style, and probably not living in San Francisco.
The record for brake life was on a Popular Mechanics article on long car life. This was a Mid Western cattle dealer with a 1970 Chevy 6, with drum brakes, who drove mostly in rural areas with light traffic. At 333,000 miles, his rear brake linings had still not needed replacing. His front ones probably lasted half that, or 170,000 miles or so.
I once regularly used a limousine service to get to the airport. The driver told me they “did” the brakes at about 150,000 miles out of safety concern, not because of wear.
In view of that you have a long way to go yet.
I once regularly used a limousine service to get to the airport. The driver told me they “did” the brakes at about 150,000 miles out of safety concern, not because of wear.
Can’t be the same limo service my company use to use…I’d be surprised if they go 20k out of brakes the way these guys drove. You were literally risking your life in there…
These guys were uniformed black caps and all, and the limos were long wheelbase Caddies or standard black Mercury Marquis. The windows were blacked out and all they did was drive to airports and intercity jaunts. Not local taxi type service. When they picked me up at the airport around 7 pm, I would ask them to stop off at the nearest KFC and pick up a dinner for one, so my wife would not have to keep dinner warm till 8 pm. The girls at KFC must have wondered who the mysterious stranger was who always liked KFC.
We had them pick up a bunch of visiting Russian dignitaries who were very impreseed with the service and vehicle’s cleanliness. When I told them how much money these guys earned working long hours (more than a Russian engineer) they seemed a bit dismayed.
These guys were uniformed black caps and all, and the limos were long wheelbase Caddies or standard black Mercury Marquis
So were the guys our company used…Even had a couple of stretches…I never knew you could drive a stretch at 95mph weaving in and out of traffic. It was either the limo service…or pay for the $40/day parking at Logan.(which the company would NOT pay for)…or get my own transportation.
I guess there are limo companies and limo companies!
I love C&J bus. $40 round trip to Logan from Portsmouth(5 mins from my house) with wifi and comfy seats.
50K is not that unusual. I get 60K out of my first two sets of front pads and 120K out of the rears.
Know too that brake do not just suddenly stop working from worn out pads. They let you know by making noise. Between that fact and the fact that you’re having them checked periodically (nice work, by the way), you can sleep soundly. When they’re ready to be changed you’ll know.
Thanks Everyone (and thanks for your graciously not mentioning my horrible spelling errors!)
I am not in SF, but I lived in NYC for half the car’s life, and Philly for the second half.
Glad to know that I can keep on keeping on!
I’ve used Flight-Line before…they are pretty good.
I had now choice in what limo company the company I worked for choose…My guess is…it was the cheapest…And I know why. I no longer work for that company…the limo company is still in business…I see their limo’s every now and then pass me on I93 doing about 90.
I’ve had similar concerns with my Jeep. I’ve always replaced brakes by 30,000 miles on my previous vehicles but am past 60,000 miles on my Jeep. There’s no squeaking and my mechanic said they look good.
That means you really love your vehicle… Pretty strong brakes you have there. Keep it up! Been doing same thing here with my car…
The same thing happens to my auto parts, the brakes to be specific. I am always getting squeaking sounds from it, maybe i really need to change it after a 40,000 miles.