Why? So that you will not have any surprises when it is time to replace a normal-wear item such as brakes, as you will have known well in advance. This story goes like this...
My friend called and said her 2009 Fit is not stopping well. I drove it and it stopped fine to me, though the bite from the front pads was a bit lacking. There was only an occasional squeak from the pads, though I did notice some groaning and grinding as you came to a near stop-- in other words, from a test drive, there were no symptoms which indicating that the brake system required immediate attention.
But still, I took the car to a well-regarded local tire shop and they did a quick brake inspection. After removing one of the front tires, it was revealed that the inner pad was worn to less than 2mm. There was a fraction of a millimeter before the squealers would kick in. So, obviously the pads have been low for quite sometime, and this should not have came as a surprise had the car been thoroughly inspected at each maintenance stop, but it had not been.
Since the various aftermarket brake suppliers seem to be undecided about the correct pad shape for this car, I decided to go with another set of OE pads. Strangely, the dealer did not have any pads in-stock-- but was able to order a set in the late afternoon and I was able to pick them up early the next morning. $47 for the set of front pads after the Critic discount
and I paid the same tire shop $100 to install the front pads, resurface the front rotors and clean/adjust the rear drum brakes. Plus, thanks to the yelp app on my iPhone, when I "checked in" at the business, I also got a free 4-wheel alignment. So, $147 for all of that work was a steal, since the dealer wanted $292 to just replace the front pads and resurface the rotors!
Anyway, after a bed-in, the pads now stop terrific. The pedal feel is more progressive and the bite comes sooner and stronger. I find this interesting since I used the new pads are suppose to be identical to the old pads, unless of course, Honda has changed the formulation of the pads. The old pads were in great shape-- no cracks, heavy glazing or uneven wear. So, it is a bit puzzling to me as to why the car now stops so much better with a new set of OE pads. Any ideas?
In conclusion, this story teaches a very important lesson-- it is important to have your vehicle inspected on a regular basis. A lot of people cannot afford (or do not understand the need to) to pay the dealer or a repair shop for the scheduled maintenance services (where the vehicle will be inspected in additional to the oil change service), and instead trust that all of their maintenance can be handled by quick lubes. Sure, the quick lube will change the oil and upsell filter changes as-needed, but the brake, suspension and steering components are never inspected. My friend bought tires at Costco, so she had been taking the car there religiously for regular tire rotations. However, Costco only does tire work-- they do not check your brake, steering, or suspension components at each tire rotation. So for my friend, the whole surprise of her car needing immediate brake service could have been avoided if she had been having her car inspected on a regular basis.
My friend called and said her 2009 Fit is not stopping well. I drove it and it stopped fine to me, though the bite from the front pads was a bit lacking. There was only an occasional squeak from the pads, though I did notice some groaning and grinding as you came to a near stop-- in other words, from a test drive, there were no symptoms which indicating that the brake system required immediate attention.
But still, I took the car to a well-regarded local tire shop and they did a quick brake inspection. After removing one of the front tires, it was revealed that the inner pad was worn to less than 2mm. There was a fraction of a millimeter before the squealers would kick in. So, obviously the pads have been low for quite sometime, and this should not have came as a surprise had the car been thoroughly inspected at each maintenance stop, but it had not been.
Since the various aftermarket brake suppliers seem to be undecided about the correct pad shape for this car, I decided to go with another set of OE pads. Strangely, the dealer did not have any pads in-stock-- but was able to order a set in the late afternoon and I was able to pick them up early the next morning. $47 for the set of front pads after the Critic discount
Anyway, after a bed-in, the pads now stop terrific. The pedal feel is more progressive and the bite comes sooner and stronger. I find this interesting since I used the new pads are suppose to be identical to the old pads, unless of course, Honda has changed the formulation of the pads. The old pads were in great shape-- no cracks, heavy glazing or uneven wear. So, it is a bit puzzling to me as to why the car now stops so much better with a new set of OE pads. Any ideas?
In conclusion, this story teaches a very important lesson-- it is important to have your vehicle inspected on a regular basis. A lot of people cannot afford (or do not understand the need to) to pay the dealer or a repair shop for the scheduled maintenance services (where the vehicle will be inspected in additional to the oil change service), and instead trust that all of their maintenance can be handled by quick lubes. Sure, the quick lube will change the oil and upsell filter changes as-needed, but the brake, suspension and steering components are never inspected. My friend bought tires at Costco, so she had been taking the car there religiously for regular tire rotations. However, Costco only does tire work-- they do not check your brake, steering, or suspension components at each tire rotation. So for my friend, the whole surprise of her car needing immediate brake service could have been avoided if she had been having her car inspected on a regular basis.
