Why do I need brake pads and the car only has 42,000 miles on it and a small oil leak and it ts only 2 years old?
You need brake pads to stop the car when you apply the brake. I suspect you need to replace the brake pads because you wore them out.
Wednesday I had a 2017 Lexus RX350 in the shop with 14,500 miles, the front brake pads were worn down to 3 mm, the owner must drive it like a race car.
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Just pads? Not rotors also?
It’s not unreasonable to replace brake pads at 42,000 miles. I’d have to look back at my service records to be sure, but I think that’s roughly the mileage I normally get.
As for the oil leak, is the car still under warranty? If so, take it to the dealer and let them handle it.
If you would quit using the brakes so much you might have gotten 42,001 miles out of them
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because brakes are a wear item that need to be replaced as they get used up? 
Brakes should be an expected wear item that you need to have budgeted with your car maintenance
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Unusual brake wear is usually caused by driving habits.
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When my Father taught me to drive in 1965 he stressed that the accelerator and brake pedals were “rheostats” not “on-off switches”. My last service for my 2010 Kia Forte was in May at 50,000+ miles. All 4 brake pads were 8mm with minimal highway miles.
quite often, I see cars accelerating while having brake lights on
it looks like a lot of people are driving with left leg controlling brakes
this is a perfect recipe to get brakes worn much faster than intended
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Generally speaking, that is true, but poor design is sometimes a factor.
Consider the “H-body” GM subcompacts of the mid-late '70s.
These cars (Chevy Monza, Pontiac Sunbird, Olds Starfire, and Buick Skyhawk) usually needed to have their brakes relined every 15-20k miles because the brakes were so under-sized.
However, I have not seen any evidence that the Altima suffers from that type of design problem, so the OP’s situation is almost surely a reflection of where she drives, and how she drives.
I have to laugh when I see them braking while going uphill. The brake pedal is not a foot rest!
But there is a “catch-22” in the salt belt. Use the brakes lightly, as I do, with periods of 2-3 days with no use, and the brake rotors rust out before the pads get worn.
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I had to replace the brake pads on the 2011 Toyota Sienna that I used to own someplace between 40,000 and 45,000 miles. I am.a.conservative driver, but I often have the van loaded.with my musician friends and their instruments. I didn’t think this.was unreasonable. The replacement pads.lasted longer. At 92,000 the pads still had about 5-8000 miles of service left but we were selling the Sienna to our son, so I had the pads replaced.
I’ve just looked up when I replaced my OEM brake pads on 2012 Altima, and it was on 60K miles, they were on the low side, but would probably last another 5K miles or so before getting to the legal limits.
My driving is not aggressive, I regularly drive above the average flow speed, although I tend to “overthink” it and minimize both braking and acceleration if I can change a lane to maintain a steady speed.
42K miles on OEM pads seem to be on the low side, but it not extremely low, it is in a ballpark of what is expected
Isn’t that type of behavior amazing?
Clearly, those drivers are very uncomfortable behind the wheel and are also blissfully unaware that their car will decelerate quite rapidly on an upgrade by simply lifting their foot from the gas pedal. These folks are essentially clueless, as well as very insecure behind the wheel.
Yep, doing 15+ over the speed limit, weaving in and out of traffic and their brake lights are on.
Why don’t they just get into the HOV lane and risk that ticket instead?