2006 Kia spectra EX
Had brake work done at the dealer at 60K, pads, rotors, fluid etc. At my 90,000 mile service interval get a yellow highlight with "future attention required", 6mm on all break linings listed.
Sitting at 95,000 today..question is at what thickness to replace the pads & circa what mileage that would happen in? Driving conditions will be the same, no towing etc.
Getting a free brake check with a 19.99 oil change/tire rotation special next week at NTB, do not trust these guys much.
6mm on all brake linings
- Thread starter LFN
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Most vehicles I've had list the minimum pad thickness at 2.0 mm
I would not be comfortable with anything less than 3mm.
Sometimes the pads don't wear evenly I would make sure the 6mm is at the thinnest point and not just looking through the "window".
I would guess you still have about 10K miles or 20K miles if you do a lot of highway driving.
New front pads generally start between 10-11mm.
New rear pads generally start at 8mm.
So, you fronts have about 60% remaining and your rears are at about 75% remaining.
There's lots of life left. No need to worry.
And I would trust the dealer before I trust any of those franchised tire shops.
I would say "Thanks" because it is time to start looking for sales and rebates on the replacement parts. Just did my kid's Honda brakes at 70,000. Fronts needed replacement. Rear drums still had 60% left to go. Replaced the fronts, cleaned and adjusted the rears. The dealer said I had 10k left. 
BTW, I'll inspect again at 100k.
BTW, I'll inspect again at 100k.
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Got my oil change & tire rotation today done at Firestone(Kendal GTI synblend special $21.99) instead of NTB, no mention of the brakes needing work.
Tech did recommend a coolant flush. I let him know the dealer changed every fluid and filter only 5,000 miles ago, so no dice lol.
My dealer does good work, only time I get anything done somewhere else is those services that only call for oil and tire rotation. The KIA $40.00 conventional oil change and tire rotation "special" is too steep imho.
Shops tend to be quick to recommend brake work because its quick high margin work.
When I took my truck to the dealer for an oil change last year I knew I needed front pads soon. They were OK, but I was planning on doing them shortly anyway. Probably around 3-4mm left, I don't like to run them all the way down.
Anyway since day one no matter what I do my rear drums squeak a bit when its humid out. I can't figure it out so I just ignore it. So the service guy gets all excited claiming I have no brakes when I show up to pick up the truck. He says its unsafe to drive, they are grinding especially the rears, etc, etc. I asked him did he check the rear brakes, he said oh yeah the techs looked it over. I said well they must be blind because I put shoes on it less than 3k miles ago and I know they work fine, since I also bleed the system. Than he recommended shocks and I said whats wrong with my 10k mile old bright yellow Bilsteins, which your "careful tech" inspection must have missed? Do they hire blind mechanics here? He got smart and shut up after that.
That's why people hate dealers...
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Nah, they are just trying to drum up business.
Happens a lot, it's a bit like "Do you want fries with that?"
You are supposed to go "Yeah, go ahead then."
If you have any interest in cars at all, you'd take the car home and check for yourself whatever Mr Mechanic says needs doing so desperately.
Anyway, I wait until the pads get down to about 4 mm by looking through the caliper window, then pull them and look for the thinnest section, and uneven wear that indicates problems. If the thinnest bit is close to 2 mm, I put it back together and plan for a pad change the next weekend. Good time to check sliders for binding, condition of discs, etc and plan ahead.
If everything is fine, I'm good for another 5,000 miles.
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Why would you not trust a franchise shop? I work at a Firestone and how is it that we are screwing the customer when we tell him his pads are at 4mm or 5 or whatever. It's right there in front of your eyes. You can ask the service writer to show you the pad wear before they even think about removing the caliper. They will walk you into the shop and show you your own brakes.
The real problem with shops going broke is not lack of work it's lack of customers wanting to spend money to get repairs. I think every car I've touched needs some sort of maintenance or repair. Some thing that the owner neglected or couldn't afford to get fixed.
We don't need to lie about a persons car it really is a POS or on it's way to becoming one.
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With 90k on the odometer I'd probably go until metal on metal. My rotors usually have lots of ridges on them by that time, and I would just replace when I do the pads anyhow. When I lost a pad and had metal on metal for one brake surface it didn't brake any different (but I didn't drive like that for very long either).
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