Good for you, but your experience may not be typical. My original calipers did last over 400K miles before one of them began to seep. I have also replaced calipers on other cars. I have no idea of the quality or longevity of Saturn’s OEM calipers, but I don’t take chances with brake components. If I don’t trust them (i.e., they are not perfect), they get replaced.
Auto parts stores seem to stock plenty of brake calipers, so I must not be the only one who has to replace them occasionally.
In any event, none of use can really knw whats going on without looking at it ourselves.
I was referring to the “silly” calipers with pistons on only one side where the entire caliper has to slide for the other pad to make contact (a pretty cheesy design, IMHO). If the caliper does not slide freely the pads will not have equal pressure. I understand they are cheaper, but its just not a very good design. Others have pistons on both sides and the calipers are fixed in place. Each brake pad moves independently on the guide pins, but there are no slides for the caliper itself. As an example, mine look like this:
The dividing line is when the operation of the brakes becomes affected. If the car is stopping straiht and smooth the rotors are fine. A swept clean area the surface of which is depressed from (into?) the rust are is normal, as is a “misshapen” brake pad surface.
I’ve only had to replace a caliper on a pickup that I used regularly on construction roads to haul wood and stone. Dusty, sandy, dirty driving may have been a factor. Driving environments vary, and I’d be reluctant to suggest that none affect calipers. Calipers sticking on vehicles that drive dusty roads often may be common, I really don’t know.
How about THIS explanation. Someone replaced the pads and ignored the damaged rotors during a backyard brake job. That’s the only thing, really, that explains this…Two times?? That’s because the first shop never replaced the rotors either…
No backyard brake jobs here. Dealer only for that kind of service (if routine). The independent shop removed the rotors (I requested that I be shown them), and I saw the replacement new rotors being delivered, so it would be incredible if they put the bad rotors back on (and the brakes passed inspection 12 months later at the dealer, only to be red-tagged 4 months/6K miles later during 120K routine service). Go figure…
The Saturn service manager says that the calipers would be fully inspected for rusty/damaged/sticking slides during the rotor and pad replacement. I asked him specifically about that when we talked. So, the rotors went from acceptable to the dealer at 114K to bad at 120K 4 months later. Note that most of those miles were put on in the first month, with very light use the last 3 months (and a very wet summer).
I have had this same problem for as long as I’ve been driving cars with brake rotors instead of brake drums. My AMC, two Toyota Corolla’s and two Subaru wagons. I live in the rust belt, SE Michigan, to be exact. The cars have always been parked outside and winter with the accompanying road salt accelerates the problem. The cars didn’t get much use, perhaps once a week or even less, but get used on long cross country trips and occasional short trips. Rust starts to form on the rotors as one would expect while the car sits. When taking the car for a drive after sitting, you can hear the pads being ground away by the rust, which stops after applying the brakes a few times. However, the most wear to the pads occurs at the edges of the rotors, where the rust is the greatest, so the pad wear is the greatest there. With time, the rust wearing the pads creeps inward and soon only a small section of the pad is making contact with the rotor and you have problems. When a car gets driven more frequently, this doesn’t occur and it seems most of the respondents here have never seen it. I see it all the time with my cars and I do most of my own work. It’s extremely frustrating, not to mention expensive if you don’t do your own work. After two years and about 15K miles, I once again need to replace all of the rotors & pads on our '09 Outback. I had a shop do it last time when it was -20°F out and it was over $900. Doing it myself is under $200 in parts. The rear rotors only had about a 3/4" of contact area with the pads when I put on the snow tires this winter and on my last trip I was experiencing brake fade. No wonder. Time for $ceramic$ rotors?
Replying to a 9 year old thread, OMG. Have to tell you bought an 03 voyager I think, dealer replaced under warantee at 13 k mile, though usually brake parts ar 12k warantee because the rotors were so badly pitted. It happens is all I can say/ MADE IN GINA
Wow, this 9 yr old thread is interesting. Specifically to the rust belt responder I just bought a 2007 11 yrs old, totally rust jacked rotor surfaces, from Manitou lin ont, lots of salt. Costing me 240 canadian all around to be safe, ironically the inspection station says it’s ok, what do you guys think? Rears rust jacked way more, but 110000 miles already on them.
I think rotors so pitted they were replaced at 13k miles would qualify as a manufacturing issue, evidently the dealer thought it was not normal and replaced them 1k miles out of warranty at no charge.