Brake Pads Worn Early....

[jackson]

An inspection report on my Corolla E12 mentioned the front pads being 80% worn -

the rear pads are 70%worn.

Considering the car has only covered 17K miles, I find this disconcerting...

165 quid to replace front and rear seems a bit steep - any comments please.

Peter

[nrgizerbunny]

I would suggest you do it yourself, the pads will cost little over £40 for decent EBC/Black Diamond ones and you can easily change pads with a set of Halfords spanners. OE pads are crap, avoid them like the plague - you can pick these up for £20

https://sslrelay.com/buypartsby.co.uk/discs...p?recordID=7932

here's a guide to changing discs and pads, but you only need to get to step 6

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56738

[anchorman]

An inspection report on my Corolla E12 mentioned the front pads being 80% worn -

the rear pads are 70%worn.

Considering the car has only covered 17K miles, I find this disconcerting...

165 quid to replace front and rear seems a bit steep - any comments please.

Peter

It should be virtually impossible for them to wear in that way. The front to rear ratio of wear is usually in the order of 70/30. This is to comply with adhesion utilisation regulations during the Type Approval of the car. In other words, taking into account weight transfer during a stop, the fluid pressure to the rear wheels is limited by a valve to stop the rear wheels from locking.

So, if the fronts are 80% worn which is quite feasible at that mileage the rears should be approximately 25% worn. Unless you have been carrying a lot of weight which will have opened the pressure limiting valve and may have balanced the wear. You should be able to see the pads through the wheels.

You can buy good quality brake pads from any good motor factor and fit them yourself. Follow the instructions in a haynes manual or similar. I would expect to pay around £25. Ferodo are pretty good (where I spent 17 years in brake development!) but avoid their target range which are cheap bought in budget range.

[Fidgits]

its a common thing for manufacturers to quote low brake pads during a regular service.

Im not saying they are being dishonest, but it is a visual inspection - and 30k ago i was told my fronts would need replacing at the next service - and ive done 30k and they still have 20% left according to the last service

(all from the same dealership)

[jackson]

Many thanks for the comments folk...I'm not particularly happy about this

situation - for gods sake, motoring is expensive enough.

Over the years, I've noticed that whenever I have put a car in for service

/MOT I nearly always get a phone call asking if I want the pads changing

whilst they have it on the hoist. Dont pads have a sensor that gives fair

warning they are getting down?

Anyway, I have just done a quick check on the Web and am pleasantly

suprised how much decent pads can be purchased for.

Thanks again

Peter in sunny Durham

[jackson]

An inspection report on my Corolla E12 mentioned the front pads being 80% worn -

the rear pads are 70%worn.

Considering the car has only covered 17K miles, I find this disconcerting...

165 quid to replace front and rear seems a bit steep - any comments please.

Peter

It should be virtually impossible for them to wear in that way. The front to rear ratio of wear is usually in the order of 70/30. This is to comply with adhesion utilisation regulations during the Type Approval of the car. In other words, taking into account weight transfer during a stop, the fluid pressure to the rear wheels is limited by a valve to stop the rear wheels from locking.

So, if the fronts are 80% worn which is quite feasible at that mileage the rears should be approximately 25% worn. Unless you have been carrying a lot of weight which will have opened the pressure limiting valve and may have balanced the wear. You should be able to see the pads through the wheels.

You can buy good quality brake pads from any good motor factor and fit them yourself. Follow the instructions in a haynes manual or similar. I would expect to pay around £25. Ferodo are pretty good (where I spent 17 years in brake development!) but avoid their target range which are cheap bought in budget range.