Got my oil changed at dealer and they recommended I get front and rear pads replaced and machine the rotors. Said they were all at 2mm. I can understand the front. I bought the car in April 2018 with I believe 86k miles (138k kms) and haven’t touched those. And the car is now at 117k miles (189k kms). However, I changed the rears in Sept. 2019. Pads, calipers and rotors. That was only 18k miles ago.
Work in 2019:
Disc brake rotor rear - coated EX Carquest Wearever Gold x2
Ceramic Rear Brake Pads GNAD1336
141.40572 Disc Brake Caliper 19B3358 and 19B3359
Most of the 18k is city driving. I’m not aggressive though. But 18k seems way too early, no? Have you seen pads get worn that quickly and rotors needing to be machined?
There was a 2 year warranty on the rear pads but that’s long passed. I did it at a shop in the country because I was up in cottage country for a week and that’s when it was making a lot of noise.
Thanks. Didn’t know about that. I thought with new everything on the rear that it wouldn’t be problem anymore but I suppose the car’s design itself can be part of the problem? I’ll take it to an independent mechanic next week.
Another issue with this car is the rusting out rear wheel wells where there is not plastic piece to protect it from chipping. I only noticed that on so many others after seeing what started to happen to mine. I twice since sanded down to bare metal on the surface and behind, applied rust reformer behind and gravel guard and did primer, base and clear on the outside.
Only getting 18 k miles on newly installed rear pads does seem surprising. Maybe calipers aren’t fully releasing. If rear pads used for parking brake function, maybe that isn’t fully releasing. Ask shop to check that rear wheels spin freely when car on lift. Feel rear wheels after long drive when no much braking involved. If they feel quite hot, something is amiss.
Rotors are generally not machined with newer cars like yours. Replaced instead.
Okay, so brought it to a mechanic and he said the pads and rotors are still good. He said the back is 5 or 6 mm. Not 2. Said fronts are at least 4. He said are you sure the dealer told you they were at 2 and to replace? I said yeah. It’s on the next page of the invoice for my oil change. And the service advisor showed me the display piece they have for brakes and said yours are right at the red, which is for 2mm. When would you like to book an appointment? Fast forward five days later and I called them again just to make sure I heard them right and it was a different advisor this time and I said I lost my invoice, can you check your record to confirm what my brakes are at. Yup, also said 2mm and asked if I’d like to come in soon and have it done.
Anyway, this mechanic also suggested new rotors and not to machine. Both times the dealer said they typicall machine rotors for my situation.
I told the mechanic I appreciate your time. When the fronts are ready to be replaced or the brakes on my Mazda, I’ll be stopping by.
I quit using the Lexus dealer for my then-new ES300 because the service advisor tried to extort transmission fluid changes at 15K miles, saying he couldn’t sign off on warranty service without it.
My worst car for brakes was a 1980 Datsun 310. The front brakes were gone after about 10,000 miles. I brought it into the dealer and they said this was normal wear. After that I kept a set of front pads in the glove compartment and enough tools to put them in if I was away from home. I used the car for work, so it got a lot of new pads.
