I did a front brake job on my '15 Sedona about a month ago. The factory pads only had 1/8" left (at around 34k), so I swapped them out for a set of Wagner OEX pads and Raybestos EHT coated rotors.
I was a bit suspicious of the pads due to their strange design; the pad material is sort of a scalloped shape with more grooves and it was clear from photos that it had less surface area than an OEM or similar pad. The product literature also highlights how long the pads last, which is an attribute I couldn't care less about. But heck, I'm all for trying new things (price was under $30), the design intrigued me and reviews were very positive, so why not... I'm pretty meticulous with my brake jobs, and I flushed all the brake fluid since the van is a few years old now.
My initial impression was underwhelming-- pads lacked any sort of bite, and pedal no longer had a linear feel to it.. Just doing moderate stops required very noticeably more pedal input than before. It wasn't a safety issue, if you got on the brakes hard, it stopped well. But totally ruined that first 1/3 of pedal travel. My "break in" isn't elaborate; a few trips around the block with a couple 50-30mph braking thrown in to get the brakes hot (don't confuse that with too hot or scorching), then I advise the wife to avoid panic stops for the first couple hundred miles. Has always worked for me. I thought perhaps they needed more time to bed in, so we took the van on vacation to Colorado putting about 2500 miles on it before passing judgement. Saw no improvement.
I decided to order some new pads, but was open to keep using the OEX if I noticed something about the previous pad install that needed correcting. I also thought perhaps the cheap Rural King DOT3 brake fluid I used might be the culprit. After taking everything apart, I found nothing that would explain poor brake performance, so I swapped pads to Raybestos EHT which I've had very good luck with on other vehicles. Long story short, the Raybestos pads work great and performance is pretty much on par with the OEM pads, which I've felt was excellent for a vehicle this size.
Maybe the OEX pads aren't a good fit for this application, or the reduced surface area affects this particular brake setup more than others. There's too many positive reviews out there for me to conclude it's simply a garbage pad, but did want to share my experience.
On a side note, the Raybestos EHT pads are rated GH for this application, whereas the same ones I currently have installed on my Pacifica are GG. The OEX pads are rated GG. I've always been happy with GG rated pads so I tend to seek them out (I've had mixed results with FF pads), but the OEX is the first GG rated pad I've not been happy with. I realize friction ratings aren't indicative of pad quality or expected performance, but figured I'd mention it.
Here's a couple photos comparing the OEX pad design versus the Raybestos (which is more or less identical to OEM).
OEX:
Raybestos EHT:
I was a bit suspicious of the pads due to their strange design; the pad material is sort of a scalloped shape with more grooves and it was clear from photos that it had less surface area than an OEM or similar pad. The product literature also highlights how long the pads last, which is an attribute I couldn't care less about. But heck, I'm all for trying new things (price was under $30), the design intrigued me and reviews were very positive, so why not... I'm pretty meticulous with my brake jobs, and I flushed all the brake fluid since the van is a few years old now.
My initial impression was underwhelming-- pads lacked any sort of bite, and pedal no longer had a linear feel to it.. Just doing moderate stops required very noticeably more pedal input than before. It wasn't a safety issue, if you got on the brakes hard, it stopped well. But totally ruined that first 1/3 of pedal travel. My "break in" isn't elaborate; a few trips around the block with a couple 50-30mph braking thrown in to get the brakes hot (don't confuse that with too hot or scorching), then I advise the wife to avoid panic stops for the first couple hundred miles. Has always worked for me. I thought perhaps they needed more time to bed in, so we took the van on vacation to Colorado putting about 2500 miles on it before passing judgement. Saw no improvement.
I decided to order some new pads, but was open to keep using the OEX if I noticed something about the previous pad install that needed correcting. I also thought perhaps the cheap Rural King DOT3 brake fluid I used might be the culprit. After taking everything apart, I found nothing that would explain poor brake performance, so I swapped pads to Raybestos EHT which I've had very good luck with on other vehicles. Long story short, the Raybestos pads work great and performance is pretty much on par with the OEM pads, which I've felt was excellent for a vehicle this size.
Maybe the OEX pads aren't a good fit for this application, or the reduced surface area affects this particular brake setup more than others. There's too many positive reviews out there for me to conclude it's simply a garbage pad, but did want to share my experience.
On a side note, the Raybestos EHT pads are rated GH for this application, whereas the same ones I currently have installed on my Pacifica are GG. The OEX pads are rated GG. I've always been happy with GG rated pads so I tend to seek them out (I've had mixed results with FF pads), but the OEX is the first GG rated pad I've not been happy with. I realize friction ratings aren't indicative of pad quality or expected performance, but figured I'd mention it.
Here's a couple photos comparing the OEX pad design versus the Raybestos (which is more or less identical to OEM).
OEX:
Raybestos EHT: