I remember hearing a service advisor at a ford dealer telling a guy that while his rear brakes passed safety inspection, (2/32) they didn’t meet fords spec of 3mm, which is just shy of 4/32”
At what thickness do you replace brake pads?
- Thread starter Shel_B
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The inner or outer pad ?
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If you're like my neighbor, you wait till they're thin enough to eject themselves from the caliper on their own.
When disc brakes started to become commonplace in the 70's, I replaced the pads when the friction thickness was at/less than the thickness of the metal backing. I still use this as a rule of thumb. I'm a hold over from the rivet era.
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Try to do it around 2/32 as that’s considered red and fails state inspection here. However me and dad both have been known to wait till we hear metal grinding to do anything about it 
. I need to do the ones on the Escape soon. They are at 5 now maybe closer to 4 at this point. I have to replace the rotors too they are warped pretty good.
. I need to do the ones on the Escape soon. They are at 5 now maybe closer to 4 at this point. I have to replace the rotors too they are warped pretty good.
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At about 2/32" or slightly less. It's important to pull the caliper, and make sure they are even. Might be 2/32" at the top, but almost metal to metal at the bottom.
Since I do them myself I keep a work log of when I did them last. I'll pull a wheel to inspect each summer and if they're at 30-40% or less in September I change them out. Pads are cheap and I'd rather be doing brake work in decent temperatures rather than them needing replacement in the dead of winter. I find the rotors don't need turning or replacing this way as well.
Wasteful maybe but who likes working on cars with frozen hands?
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Seriously, out of convenience, I've replaced at 50% because I was checking them with the wheels off. This is a bit foolish, and to my defense, it was when I considered the cost "negligible." Like when good pads were < $40. Did the same with tires, oh, they seem worn, get new ones.
What was eye-opening was with the Michelin Premier LTX which were sold at 8/32 new. Now are you gonna toss tires because they look worn? Michelin claimed good when new, good when worn. Lots of dissatisfied customers said hmmm 2/32 is worn, and I got 23,000 out of them. Which caused Michelin to:
1. bump them back to 10/32" new
2. discontinue the tire at least for my wife's SUV
So I would say why don't what I did. I like to act the fool and tell everyone, so they won't throw their money away into the garbage.
Replace the pads when they are truly worn, don't replace just because. 3/32 is ok, not 4, not 5, not 8.
It kills me when I'm at costco and I hear, "Fill it premium." I look over and it's a Highlander or CR-V.
What was eye-opening was with the Michelin Premier LTX which were sold at 8/32 new. Now are you gonna toss tires because they look worn? Michelin claimed good when new, good when worn. Lots of dissatisfied customers said hmmm 2/32 is worn, and I got 23,000 out of them. Which caused Michelin to:
1. bump them back to 10/32" new
2. discontinue the tire at least for my wife's SUV
So I would say why don't what I did. I like to act the fool and tell everyone, so they won't throw their money away into the garbage.
Replace the pads when they are truly worn, don't replace just because. 3/32 is ok, not 4, not 5, not 8.
It kills me when I'm at costco and I hear, "Fill it premium." I look over and it's a Highlander or CR-V.
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When I reset my CBC, the fronts go to 90,000, and the rears go to 45,000. This was interesting to me, but real life. Not only do the rear pads wear faster than the fronts, so do the rear tires. This is the first car where I experienced that behavior. My wife's SUV is the 2nd.
They did. Certain sizes of the Premier LTX were bumped to 10/32".Seriously, out of convenience, I've replaced at 50% because I was checking them with the wheels off. This is a bit foolish, and to my defense, it was when I considered the cost "negligible." Like when good pads were < $40. Did the same with tires, oh, they seem worn, get new ones.
What was eye-opening was with the Michelin Premier LTX which were sold at 8/32 new. Now are you gonna toss tires because they look worn? Michelin claimed good when new, good when worn. Lots of dissatisfied customers said hmmm 2/32 is worn, and I got 23,000 out of them. Which caused Michelin to:
1. bump them back to 10/32" new
2. discontinue the tire at least for my wife's SUV
So I would say why don't what I did. I like to act the fool and tell everyone, so they won't throw their money away into the garbage.
Replace the pads when they are truly worn, don't replace just because. 3/32 is ok, not 4, not 5, not 8.
It kills me when I'm at costco and I hear, "Fill it premium." I look over and it's a Highlander or CR-V.
Depends on how he worded it but that’s not really a bad thing to explain.
In my state I think the pads would pass inspection until under 1mm. Ford recommended replacement at 3mm so as an example we’d say “You pass state safety inspection for being over 1mm on your front brake pads but we measured the right front and it was at 3mm. We generally recommend replacement at 3mm. It helps to reduce the risk of going too thin and getting into the rotors. Our brake services are $189.99 which includes machining the rotor. If the rotors need replaced the additional cost for them is $129.99 each”
Responses ranged from “oh that makes sense, let’s do them today” to “well my uncle’s half brother’s cousin is a super mechanic who does everything you tell me it needs when I come in for your cheap oil changes. He uses salvage yard parts he steals at night and I pay him in drugs”
My '07 Tacoma truck still has the original brakes on it at 177k miles 
. Last time I checked them they still had about 4 mm left. Wonder if I'll make it to 200k ?
. Last time I checked them they still had about 4 mm left. Wonder if I'll make it to 200k ?Probably the same people that come up to me at the parts store and ask for a quote for brakes because apparently they’ve been making noise for months and then they say oh that’s too expensive but they then buy $60 worth of dumb accessories or air fresheners
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Hmm. On mine: Front went to 50,000 miles. Rear went to 30,000 miles
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Noise is not indicative of wear. There are groans, and squeals, completely different root causes. I purchased my car new in 12/06, and much as I hate it, the rear brakes start to squeal when the pads have about 19k or so. I absolutely cannot stand the "start assist" and if I feel like it, I release the brake and then engage the clutch, so it doesn't activate for the xxx ms before takeoff. It's the tradeoff I guess with semi metallic pads. The forum and dealer when new chased this topic into the sunset and the conclusion was get new pads even though they're only 30% worn. That's a Hall and Oates for me, no can do. But I hear you, I cap my air freshener purchases to $35 because that already lasts 3 months. During much of 2020 and early 2021, it was really hard to get the pine tree shaped ones so i stocked up