Anyone else having issues with their brakes? Mainly them having a rather short lifespan... my pads were GONE at 15k miles and I had to have the rotors turned as well. Now that I'm coming up on 32k miles, I'm in need of brakes AGAIN. It's only the front ones, too. Right now I'll be driving and either one or both of the front calipers will start dragging intermittently on the rotor, which is extremely annoying AND not supposed to be happening. I don't drive it like a race car, don't slam on the brakes... just normal, comfortable stops and driving. I haven't driven through or exposed them to anything that could deteriorate them, either. Should I just get the rotors turned/replaced then slap on some of the pads offered in the Parts section? Thanks for any insights... this is getting expensive AND annoying.

 

Though I don't have a xB (yet), I have to replace the pads on my TBird yearly, and occasionally the rotors too (every other year or so). I use carbon fiber pads and cross-drilled rotors, so a complete overhaul of the front brakes (pads and rotors) costs me close to $400.

I hope the xB isn't as "brake hungry" once I get it!!!

 

I just checked mine at 11,400 miles. They are just fine. The rotor is smooth, no ridge or grooves, and the pads ar at least 5/16 to 3/8 thick. From past experience they should be good for another 25000 to 35000 miles. Wish my wife's Olds was as good!!

Walt

 

The box being as light as it is, brake pads shouldn't be an issue!

But, driving habbits, and heavy aftermarket wheels will change
that drastically. I'd consider looking at how you drive your box!

 

And I know the rims aren't the culprit either - they weigh less than the stockers :D I wonder if some crap just stuck on the pads, I just went out and took a closer look and the rotors have a mirror finish to them... they look chromed, with tons of little grooves in them. Is this normal? The only car I really know my stuff on is my old Bug, and that uses drums

 

Do you ride your brakes at all? Also were did you get new brake pads/rotor turned at? Finally how did you know that your pads and rotor were going bad. What were the signs that you saw?

 

Usually it will be due to your driving habits. However, check if you have even pad wear.

 

Weight of the rim plays a role in braking, but it's also the size and distribution of the weight. . . a common misconception about lighter wheels of larger diameters. Rotational inertia is calculated by the weight AND the radius of the weight from the axis of rotation. So in theory, a heavier wheel of a smaller diameter may still outperform a larger wheel of a lesser weight.

But I don't know how your wheels in particular stack up. If the weight is all on the circumference of the wheel, that's bad. . . but if it is even distributed, than it might outperform a smaller wheel. Might. Which doesn't really say much.

 

whoa 15k and its gone? I have the new expedition and at 40k and no brake change yet

 

pads are cheap.

do not turn rotors just to "make a smooth surface". Your new pads on grooved rotors will seat-in, and this way you are not throwing out rotor life

changing pads is -ez-, right? and cheap, right? do it yourself!

turn rotors ONLY if they are demonstrably warped out of lateral trueness.


sidebar: in conversation with a taxi driver/owner many years ago I noted to him that his car seemed to be very high milage, but ran great. "over 140K miles". We spoke of the rotors... "NO don't ever turn them. Just change the pads"

-that's my 'authority' for making this statement.

If old mechanics here know better, do set the record straight, please.

bear in mind, your new pads on grooved rotor will not brake efficiently until they've bedded in. Do not punish the pads until they've gained -full face contact- or nearly so. Otherwise you just char those spots of the pad that -do- make contact.

 

Ok, so before someone else mentions driving habits and brake punishment - I drive it normally, like you're supposed to. Smooth, gradual stops and no riding the brake. As for the last service center, they were done at the dealership and worked fine. Visual hints as to something being wrong consist of my rotors appearing to be made of polished chrome.. looking at them is like looking into a mirror with millions of swirl marks. It's also making the exact same sounds and exhibiting the same symptoms as last time - sporatic dragging of the front brakes while rolling, squeals and dragging while starting from a stop... These are normally cured by a quick rap on the brake pedal. It's also only the front brakes, the rears are perfectly fine and are the original pieces from day one... the last job at 15k miles checked them out fine too, only thing that was addressed was tightening of the e-brake cable.
The rims don't make the list of probable causes because the first brake job was done with OEM rolling stock. I think I'm just going to have it checked out, and if the rotors are fine then I'm going to slap some of those NA-P street pads from the SL store. The reason the rotors were turned in the 15k was due to the pads being completely gone, so the calipers were clamping directly onto the rotors. However, I still have some pad left so hopefully the NA-P's will be the only thing required. Thanks for the input everyone :D

 

SciFly, I don't *know* myself, but the old wrench benders who maintained our company fleet of cars and trucks would have agreed with that taxi driver - they didn't 'turn' rotors unless they were REALLY bad.

Where they right? I dunno. I do know that our fleet was well maintained and safe...

 

I'm surprised your pads went so quickly. 15000 miles is rather a short time.
I would make sure the dealer is aware of your concern. If the car was dealer serviced why didn't they pick up on the brakes before 12,000 miles? If they would have been reported worn out at 12,000 miles they would have beeen covered under the warranty.
Even though it's a maintaince item, during the first 12 months or 12,00 miles, they usually are covered.

 

im at 17 and my brakes are fine...but once I change them going to get ones that have less brake dust.

 

I got it serviced at 5, 10, and 15k miles... I guess they weren't that bad at 10k? Not sure really, but I DO know that when the pads went, it was extremely quick. It wasn't like two weeks of squealing, those suckers started getting really obnoxious and disappeared in about 3 days. I'm going to be taking it in probably tomorrow for my 30k service, at which point I'll bring up my incredibly short brake life.

 

what kind of pads are you using? Material plays a big role as well.

On the other hand, you should be glad you don't drive a tahoe. Man, those things love eating pads and shoes.

 

and gas

 

xtremeOrange what dealer do you go too. Maybe you should try a brake shop not the dealer. When somebody comes back with the same complaint they usuallly let the tech did it last take a look at it again. Maybe he does not know what is wrong so try something else. True story my brother went to have his truck (Mazda) inspected for the 30,000 mi and the tech at the dealership sayed that every thing was fine. A week later he moved to D.C. and notice his brakes were not working as good. He took it to a brake shop up there and the guy told him that he should of had them done a long time ago and that there was almost no brake life lift. The guy was shocked that he made such a long trip. It just goes to show that not every tech knows what they are doing.

 

Star Toyota in League City. I'll probably swing by a Just Brakes or similar location and have them checked out.

 

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