Brakes pads needed soon
ipaqxman wrote:Can someone take a picture through their sport wheels and put an arrow on where the brake pad is? Yes i am that nontechnical.
- Front Brake Components.jpg (224.7 KiB) Viewed 7229 times
- Rear Brake Components.jpg (256.24 KiB) Viewed 7229 times
2025 Mazda CX-50 Preferred Hybrid
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
Very, very, very good advice. I saw a service writer tell the same you have 5% left yadda yadda to three different women with different cars at a local Nissan dealership once. They all bought the $1000 service to replace the pads and rotors. I could visibly still see the pads even from my distance! Just shady dealership tactics to upsell jobs that aren't required.honsonwong wrote:Did you check the thickness of the pads by yourself? I have an experience that the Toyota dealer told me that my Camry (after the service at/around 40,000 km) needed to replace the front and rear brake pads, since the front had 5% left and the rear (drum) had 10% left. After that, I brought my car home and checked it by myself and found the front should have 50% and the rear at least had 80% left. Then I kept on driving my car until around 75K kms to change the front pads and around 200K to change the rear. After this, I really don't 100% trust what the dealer's words. My second experience was also my Camry, I changed the spark plugs around 100K kms, when I unscrewed all 4 old plugs and found that there were 3 different brands and even different types (some were 1 gounding and some were 2 groundings). I changed the oil by myself and brought it to Toyota dealers to do the maintenance only. So, I was sure that the spark plug was changed by the dealers. After that, if I can, I will do all the repairing and maintenance job by myself.
And it never hurts to check anything yourself before or after a job done by anyone other than yourself. You can find serious mistakes before they cause serious damage or worse, a fatal accident. Don't think it won't happen to you. It can.
Best case--do it yourself if possible. It allows you to become more independent, smarter about your car, and the knowledge can help in situations when something does breakdown unexpectedly.
Don't be afraid! I used to only change my own oil. Now, I don't outsource anything.
Keep in mind the Brake Pad Backing is not part of the friction material and is there to just hold the actual brake pad. You never want to wear down your brake pads so low that the backing contacts the rotor. That will cause rotor and possibly caliper damage and cost a lot of money to replace.
2025 Mazda CX-50 Preferred Hybrid
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
Awesome pics KuroNekko!KuroNekko wrote:ipaqxman wrote:Can someone take a picture through their sport wheels and put an arrow on where the brake pad is? Yes i am that nontechnical.
The main thing you're looking for is the brake pad to be like it is in the second picture for the rear--about the same thickness as the shim or maybe a little more.
It's important to also try to see the pad thickness of the pad on the rear of the rotor as it typically gets more wear since the brake piston pushes on it and the rest of the caliper 'floats' into place.
If you take the wheel off, there is an inspection point (hole) in the side of the caliper that allows you to see both pads and their backing all at once. I used that this weekend to check the thickness on my rears.
And most importantly, if your pads get worn down to the backing, you won't be stopping very well. The pad material is designed to contact the rotor and stop you, not anything else.KuroNekko wrote:Keep in mind the Brake Pad Backing is not part of the friction material and is there to just hold the actual brake pad. You never want to wear down your brake pads so low that the backing contacts the rotor. That will cause rotor and possibly caliper damage and cost a lot of money to replace.
But you'll know if you've gotten that low. The grinding noise and what you feel in the pedal will let you know very quickly. Sometimes it will pulse as the rotors may be warped or part of the pad is into the backing material.
Thanks.SamirD wrote:Awesome pics KuroNekko!
The main thing you're looking for is the brake pad to be like it is in the second picture for the rear--about the same thickness as the shim or maybe a little more.
It's important to also try to see the pad thickness of the pad on the rear of the rotor as it typically gets more wear since the brake piston pushes on it and the rest of the caliper 'floats' into place.
If you take the wheel off, there is an inspection point (hole) in the side of the caliper that allows you to see both pads and their backing all at once. I used that this weekend to check the thickness on my rears.
"...about the same thickness as the shim or maybe a little more."
I think you mean the backing and not the shim. The shim is like a few millimeters thick, if that.
Also, by "rear" of the rotor, you mean inner pad, right? The "rear" term is a little confusing. I called them "inner" and "outer" or "inboard" and "outboard" pads.
2025 Mazda CX-50 Preferred Hybrid
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
Be aware that pads can wear unevenly (ie. the opposing pair of pads might not be worn the same amount; or, on a each pad, the leading edge might be worn more, or the edge closest to the wheel centre etc.)
So, you might see a single pad from one side and think there's a lot of pad left - when there isn't on another edge. Or you can look through the wheel and see the outside pad is okay, but the inside pad might be a goner.
It pays to remove the wheel at a minimum. If they're getting thin it could be worthwhile actually removing the pads so you can clearly check all the edges for even wear.
So, you might see a single pad from one side and think there's a lot of pad left - when there isn't on another edge. Or you can look through the wheel and see the outside pad is okay, but the inside pad might be a goner.
It pays to remove the wheel at a minimum. If they're getting thin it could be worthwhile actually removing the pads so you can clearly check all the edges for even wear.
David
Below MAX doesn't mean much, but when it gets down to MIN you probably need pads. The braking distance shouldn't change until the pads are gone. 20K sounds awfully early.krell wrote:Well the reservoir level is below the max and the car needs more room to stop ..
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Thank you for catching that! Yes, backing, not shim. The shim is very, very thin compared to the backing or the pad areas.KuroNekko wrote:Thanks.
"...about the same thickness as the shim or maybe a little more."
I think you mean the backing and not the shim. The shim is like a few millimeters thick, if that.
Also, by "rear" of the rotor, you mean inner pad, right? The "rear" term is a little confusing. I called them "inner" and "outer" or "inboard" and "outboard" pads.
Yes, I meant the inner pad.
I guess in the picture I was thinking in terms of front and rear. since you see the one in front of you, and then there's another one behind the rotor as well.