Brake pads coating car with rust flakes?

[dparm]

My car is on its original brake pads & rotors with around 53k on the clock. I'm not sure what the deal is, but over the last few months the car got coated with iron/rust flakes. It was the worst on the rear of the car (from the suction I guess) and was also sprayed on the sides. I didn't have this problem until the winter hit.

Are the OEM pads doing this?

Admittedly this is my first white car so maybe just the lack of routine washing in the winter is to blame? Thank God for Iron X -- spray it on, wait, and the iron flakes come right off.

 

[JHZR2]

Weird. All the pads look ok with enough material left? Not every pad/corner necessarily has a sensor. Do the rotors rust up easily after use/sitting outside? I know the rotors on my saab get surface rust just by looking at them on a humid summer day, and that rust has to shed...

 

[SatinSilver]

Normal, my silver Matrix and parents white Camry is LOADED with the stuff. I think all the snow plows make it even worse. Ever see the sparks those things throw off at night when plowing? One of the negatives with having a lighter color.

Iron-X has a version that contains a tar remover in it that I'd like to try out. Plus another version with a lemon scent which is better than the sulfur odor. Many detailers use the stuff on every car that comes through.

 

[dparm]

Pads still have a decent amount of material left, yeah. The rotors don't really rust since they are a two-piece/semi-floating design with aluminum hats. The car is garage parked anyway.

FWIW, the front pads have sensors. The rear pads just have a single sensor on one side.

I figured maybe the OEM pads are sintered or something, which I know can throw corrosive debris onto wheels and paint.

 

[SHOZ]

Must be metallic pads that contain iron. Look at the railroad cars and all the rust from their brakes sometime.

 

[wallyuwl]

This is why I won't own a white car again. We had these little orange specs on the back of our vehicle and they were AWFUL to get off the paint (admittedly the paint wasn't the best). It had to be clayed and even then the clay had to be rubbed and rubbed and rubbed until they would come off. It was from the iron of the drums in the back. But if the pads have iron in them that could do it, too.

 

[Merkava_4]

Go with ceramic pads next time.

 

[SZR48207]

Do you live near railroad tracks or frequently drive near running trains?

You wouldn't believe how much rail dust comes off of those. I used to live in an apartment next to tracks and whichever side of my vehicle was facing the tracks was regularly contaminated with rail dust.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Go with ceramic pads next time.


These are OEM pads, they've never been changed. I suspect it's a high-performance compound. There's probably a disclaimer in the owner's manual saying something to that effect..."this car is equipped with a high performance braking system that may produce extra noise and dust."



Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Do you live near railroad tracks or frequently drive near running trains?

You wouldn't believe how much rail dust comes off of those. I used to live in an apartment next to tracks and whichever side of my vehicle was facing the tracks was regularly contaminated with rail dust.


I do not live near railroads nor any sort of factories or industrial areas.

 

[artificialist]

German and Swedish cars almost always have rotors that wear quickly, leading to extra brake dust. Other European cars may do the same thing. Ceramic pads can't do much to solve the dust problem.

What tire cleaner and shiner do you use? I used the most expensive Turtle Wax tire shine, and even though I sprayed it very carefully, it sill attracted brake dust to my wheels. My car uses ceramic brake pads, and slow wearing rotors, yet I got more dust than any European car ever did. I will use something different from now on.

 

[Cujet]

I got tired of similar "rusty dust" on my Jaguar.

I purchased (from the 'bay, topbrakes vendor) a set of nicely plated "drilled and slotted" rotors, and Posiquiet ceramic pads. The entire set was $200.

Problem solved. The pads did take a good while to "bed in" even with my best efforts. After 20,000 miles, the rotors still look new and don't have significant wear on them. Still have the original machine marks! Pads have very little wear also. They will likely last the life of the car.

Interestingly, the pads have significantly less initial bite than the OEM pads, but once hot, they are fantastic. Not exactly what I'd expect from street pads, but not only am I used to such behavior from "performance pads", I'm totally pleased with the "hot performance". No chance of fade on this car, even when driving like an idiot, doing multiple very high speed stops.