Dealer says it's time for new brakes

[mk378]

The groove in the middle of the pad is a wear indicator. If it's worn past the groove it's definitely done. If it's getting close that's a judgment call based on how long it might be before the next inspection. Those of course aren't even close.

There is usually a slot in the caliper so that area can be inspected without removing caliper.

 

[Luftmasse]

My aunt had her "BRAKE" light on on the dash for the second time in a month on her 2016 Toyota Avalon, 67k miles. It displayed a message on the dash each time saying something to the effect to stop the vehicle and contact the dealer. The first time she had it towed there. They said there wasn't anything wrong.

Last week it did it again and the light stayed on for about 80 miles then went off while driving to the dealership. This time they said the brake fluid might be a little low and they recommended a flush. She did the flush since the car is 4-1/2 years old.

Anyways, they said her front brake pads are at 4mm and they recommended she had them replaced and the rotors turned. She declined for the moment and asked how long she can go, they said 1-2 months. They also offered a $30 discount since "they already had the calipers off for the brake flush". Who the heck removes the wheels, let alone the calipers for a brake flush!?

Today I rotated the tires and pulled off a caliper and measured the pads at 8mm.

Does anybody know how many mm they are when new? Sounds like a scammy dealer to me. I'm not gonna worry about the brakes until at least 100k miles.

View attachment 57971

Those looks like mines.

 

[Nick1994]

Well, had it in the dealer here 13 months and 9k miles later to tint a front door window after it’s replacement.

Funny that this time the brakes are good, and at 8mm.

Also funny that the air filter that has 16k miles is dirty (76k on car). And the cabin air filter with 6k miles is dirty too. I replace the air filter every 20k and cabin air filter every 10k and they are always clean at replacement time.

Oh well, I just thought it was funny.

 

[WylieCoyote]

Before any emails are sent, check the pads in all 4 corners. If a caliper is sticking, she could be down to minimum on that corner.

 

[JustinH]

How sad. Its 100 degrees this week in San Antonio. I'm taking my Escape with 76k miles to Brake Check for an oil change and brake inspection.

They are a fairly interesting company. They bring you in the bay and show you what the problem is and make recommendations.

$37 for the oil change, and they put the car on the lift and show me the brake pads thats good enough for me.

Front brake service with new pads, machine factory rotors, and flush all four calipers with new fluid is $189 out the door.

If more businesses were ran like this one they would get more customers I think, other than using dealer scare tactics.

 

[Nick1994]

Before any emails are sent, check the pads in all 4 corners. If a caliper is sticking, she could be down to minimum on that corner.

I emailed the managers a year ago when this happened and sent pics, and told them they were being dishonest. I was nice though.

I took it to get new tires on Tuesday and while it was jacked up I checked all 4 corners again, they looked great.

 

[LostInTransit]

One of the best things we did right after buy the 2020 Connect was to have our buddy in Goldsboro NC install a set of the Powerstop carbon fiber brake pads. Although I wanted the full set upgrade bake kits with painted calipers, we've had to settle just for the pads. The best thing about the pads, is there's less dust and they will last us 8x-10x longer than standard pads. The only drawback to this upgrade is that when there's moisture in the air, pulling the van out of the garage in the morning, the rear pads squeak. But this goes away once the rotors heat up. So, No there's nothing wrong with the pads.
Connect owners who have the precollision warning system need to be aware that when the system is active, the auto braking is engaged. Although the Precol can't be deactivate, unless you rid out the camera nd guts of the system, the autobraking can be disabled, but will reenable every time you start the van. Sort of like the ESS system.

 

[demarpaint]

One of the best things we did right after buy the 2020 Connect was to have our buddy in Goldsboro NC install a set of the Powerstop carbon fiber brake pads. Although I wanted the full set upgrade bake kits with painted calipers, we've had to settle just for the pads. The best thing about the pads, is there's less dust and they will last us 8x-10x longer than standard pads. The only drawback to this upgrade is that when there's moisture in the air, pulling the van out of the garage in the morning, the rear pads squeak. But this goes away once the rotors heat up. So, No there's nothing wrong with the pads.
Connect owners who have the precollision warning system need to be aware that when the system is active, the auto braking is engaged. Although the Precol can't be deactivate, unless you rid out the camera nd guts of the system, the autobraking can be disabled, but will reenable every time you start the van. Sort of like the ESS system.

8-10 times the pad life. Sorry I don't believe it.

 

[Silver]

8x-10x longer than standard pads.

Won't hard pads like that just wear out rotors as a trade off?

 

[Elroy the Brave]

I’ve seen it happen to younger women too. Many service writers figure that women coming in for repairs are single and don’t have a man in their life to advise them. They also conclude that they are not knowledgeable about cars. They are a mark. Most of the time, I see to any repairs on my wife’s car. If I can’t, I write her out detailed instructions on what needs to be done or what problem the car is having and instruct them to call me for any questions.

Had this happen to my wife, who was picking up our minivan at the Tire shop.

They claimed the rear brakes were going out and needed immediate attention and that there was only 1 mm of pad on them. She told them she'd tell her husband.

I took the rear tires off to replace the pads and they looked like they had about 75% of their life left, with a lot of pad on them. Very annoying.

 

[demarpaint]

Won't hard pads like that just wear out rotors as a trade off?

Yes, and they still won't last 8-10 times longer than a quality brake pad.

 

[drtyler]

Yes, and they still won't last 8-10 times longer than a quality brake pad.

If a normal set of pads lasts 50k miles, then that super duper set would last 400k minimum with the 8x claim.

And if they do, who is going to keep the same pads if they swap out the rotors or calipers along the way. Not me.

 

[demarpaint]

If a normal set of pads lasts 50k miles, then that super duper set would last 400k minimum with the 8x claim.

And if they do, who is going to keep the same pads if they swap out the rotors or calipers along the way. Not me.

+1 if they made a claim of 2x, I'd say maybe, but I'd still have my doubts. 8x-10x, no way...............

 

[LostInTransit]

Agreed Silver, at some point we'll replace the whole system with a big brake kit.

 

[Jetronic]

+1 if they made a claim of 2x, I'd say maybe, but I'd still have my doubts. 8x-10x, no way...............

Back when I was young and driving much harder on public roads, I could wear a set of OEM pads out in 5k miles. Fade was also horrendous after a few minutes of driving hard. I replaced those with Ferodo Ds performance and didn't wear them or the rotors out in the next 30k miles until I gave the car to my sister. She ran it for a year longer (but at a more sedate pace) before trading in. I can't say for sure but expect she put 20k on it.

So that was at least 6x more life, possibly 10x. But it was temperature that wore the OEM pads out so fast. Also, never had fading issues again.

 

[demarpaint]

Back when I was young and driving much harder on public roads, I could wear a set of OEM pads out in 5k miles. Fade was also horrendous after a few minutes of driving hard. I replaced those with Ferodo Ds performance and didn't wear them or the rotors out in the next 30k miles until I gave the car to my sister. She ran it for a year longer (but at a more sedate pace) before trading in. I can't say for sure but expect she put 20k on it.

So that was at least 6x more life, possibly 10x. But it was temperature that wore the OEM pads out so fast. Also, never had fading issues again.

Believable under those conditions. 8x-10x as a stated earlier, no way. That would mean my brakes in NY driving would last 400K-500K miles, it will never happen, ever. LOL

 

[LostInTransit]

It's obvious that if one does a search: "how long should standard or cheap brake pads last" you're going to get different answers. Some say less than 20K while others say 70K or more.. I was merely pointing out that when one speaks to the manufactures of their products and hear these claims like I have I tend to be skeptical also. But perhaps Powerstop is exaggerating on their claims or at least what they told me. if one feels that I'm merely pulling this **** out of the air, their sorely mistaken. I would never boast or claim anything other than what the manufacture has told me. So is the manufacture wrong on both accounts to claim they can/could last 8x-10x longer than standard cheap pads? or for the fact that they told me this and when I relay their message, you automatically assume I'm the only one stating this claim. I guess I'm gullible to the point where when one believes in a product one should stick with it and I have stuck with Powerstop pads since 1999.

But seeing how we have less than 30K on this pads and they still look brand new, I could remove then, clean them up and resale them as new. Technically speaking. So if everyone wants for me to keep a rolling tab on how long our powerstop carbon fiber/ceramic brake pads will last I'll gladly do so. Again our driving habits is going to be different than most of you and the van is not used commercially. It is our daily driver and weekend warrior vehicle. Plus I really doubt anyone would bite their nails waiting for a powerstop brake pad update from us. Merely saying they last an will continue to last for us. Almost like saying, may be Powerstop should offer a lifetime guarantee instead of boast 8x-10x lasting longer than cheap pads.

 

[Hermann]

”Scare tactics“ are often used to sell brake jobs to ladies. ”What if they Fall on the freeway Miss”...I had a woman working for me that had the dealer do 3 brake jobs on an Olds Cutlass that she bought new there...in 24,000 miles.

The people who scam like this hopefully will inherit a extra warm place down below.

 

[tickerguy]

Powerstop Z23s are on both my Mazda and Suburban. The former I drive in a "spirited" way from time to time and the latter I tow with, where excellent brakes are absolutely required.

They're excellent, they wear very well and a also very fade-resistant and linear. I like them immensely; far better than anything else I've used over the last ~20 or so years.

 

[LostInTransit]

@tickerguy Appreciate the feedback. Granted if I wanted better pads or brakes I would have upgraded to the big brake kit as offered by Powerstop and still may opt to doing that at some point within the build.