How long should brakes last?

[sewerrat]

Our 2019 VW Tiguan made this awful noise when stepping on the brakes. I removed the rear wheel and sure enough the pads were worn out as well as the rotors because of metal on metal.
The car only has 60k on it and those are all highway kilometers, so not much city or town driving.

My 2015 F150 has 135k on it with and the brakes are still original and we tow an RV with it.

You would think brakes would last a bit longer than 60K.

and the cost is $645 at the dealer.
Not to happy with VW.
Wife already said next one will be a north American vehicle.

[nimrod]

Im sure even the vehicle manufacture just put half life parts in their vehicle, off to the dealer to put better parts into the vehicle, to help dealers make money, on each vehicle.

[wildalberta]

Vehicles vary. My 6.7 ford ate the fronts quite quickly while rears looked new, mostly highway and a bit of towing but running oversize rubber. Wifes 2018 terrain has 85k and pads look new, mostly highway also.

[Penner]

09 GMC Serria 200k when I sold it original brakes (disc on front, drums on rear). Toyota Venza 250k will need 3rd set of pads/rotors.

Fairly easy level of effort to swap out pads and rotors yourself. Lots of how to vids out there for most makes/models.

[midgetwaiter]

Our 2019 VW Tiguan made this awful noise when stepping on the brakes. I removed the rear wheel and sure enough the pads were worn out as well as the rotors because of metal on metal.
The car only has 60k on it and those are all highway kilometers, so not much city or town driving.


If the rears are gone before the front I would be suspicious for sure.

[Dean2]

German cars in general wear brake pads faster. They use a slightly softer, stickier brake pad for maximum braking effectiveness. VW, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes and the like all demonstrate this behaviour. Many of the upper end Italian ones do too as do the Lexus sport models like the GS and F. You can order OEM pads and rotors out of Rock auto for roughly 1/3 of the cost of buying them at the dealer. It you go to different pads and rotors you can get longer pad life but you won't get anywhere near the braking performance you get with the OEM stuff.

[EZM]

unless your driving habits are abnormal (like two foot driving with the foot resting on the brake pedal or lots of city stop and go) 60K seems very low mileage to have to do brakes on.

on average I'd say ~100K is normal - my wife's SUV was done at around 100K yet my Ford f-150 @ 150K is still ok with no signs of brakes needed replacement. I had some vehicles need brakes at 80K but none ever less than that ...

[big zeke]

60k is not much though factory pads can be fairly useless. I know folks that could roast off a set of pads in 20k but they generally drove with both feet and stomped on the brake pedal.

My 2011 3500 CTD at 130k has factory brakes that are at 50% remaining, mainly highway and almost always loaded/towing. I use the engine brake a lot and brake lightly when I have to.

A brake job is generally simple (esp if you don't have drums). For each of my vehicles I bought pads from Rock Auto and I keep them in the garage. Each oil change or tire rotation I check the pads and replace if less than 25%. You avoid doing rotors so the brake job is even cheaper. When I do a rotation I make sure to lube the sliders so pads wear evenly.

Letting them get to metal on metal is fairly dangerous and can really drive the cost of a brake job thru the roof.

[walleye guy]

someone in your household didn't drive around with the parking brake on by chance did they? Both my wife and mother-in-law have done that! And that will wear out rear pads or shoes really fast.
:angry3:

[sewerrat]

someone in your household didn't drive around with the parking brake on by chance did they? Both my wife and mother-in-law have done that! And that will wear out rear pads or shoes really fast.
:angry3:

Nope, our park brake is electronic, so if you want to drive away and alarm goes as well it will not move.

[straight]

It depends on your driving habits. I replaced brake pads and rotors on my Taco (2.7l, 5spd, mostly hwy)at 250Kkm. They were about 50% worn.

[Drewski Canuck]

You can't say someone left the park brake on, though that could be the cause. Alot of times, the return spring is all corroded or the Park Brake cable itself is corroded. That is just the reality of the so called "pickle juice" that has been applied to the roads in Alberta in winter.

But for parts, you don't want to go OEM from the dealer. You can get the parts yourself and get a local shop to do the install.

Drewski

[EZM]

Nowdays there are few shops that even resurface rotors - cheaper to replace them - (so I am told) .... we are in a throw away and replace society with service industry it seems.

[Dean2]

It depends on your driving habits. I replaced brake pads and rotors on my Taco (2.7l, 5spd, mostly hwy)at 250Kkm. They were about 50% worn.

It isn't just driving habits. Just on the latest vehicles, my 4Runner went 150K, 2500 Dodge goes 200K on a set of pads, my Olds went 275K, my Lexus GS gets new pads all round every 70K. I have never resurfaced or replaced rotors on any of my vehicles, except the Olds as they were getting a slight warp, to resurface would have made them too thin.

[lmtada]

It depends on your driving habits. I replaced brake pads and rotors on my Taco (2.7l, 5spd, mostly hwy)at 250Kkm. They were about 50% worn.

Excellent. I am similar replace pads at 100k regardless of wear (old racing habit). I like tight brakes/rotors, along with fresh set of tires.

[1hogfarmer]

Replaced original Fronts on wife’s 2018 escape @ 90,000km

5 miles of dirt, then 40km of fsj pavement to town, almost every day.

[Stinky Buffalo]

If the rears are gone before the front I would be suspicious for sure.

Same - have gone over 100K kms with newish Toyota and VW vehicles. I'm not a hugely aggressive driver, though.

[waldedw]

Yup it depends who is driving the vehicle most of the time, I replace brakes on the wife's vehicles at about 1/2 the KM of those on my truck, and I tow with the truck, buy I've been married for almost 47 years so I would never say anything, just replace the pads, life is easier that way :)

[Twisted Canuck]

I had to do front brakes on my 2015 Tiguan at 55k km, and just had the rears done at 65k km because they weren't wearing even (adjuster was stuck). I wouldn't buy VW again. While we like it, it has been way more problematic then any of our Toyota's ever were by a wide margin. And the dealerships have all been terrible to deal with, and downright dishonest on multiple occasions. Never will own another. It's paid for, low mileage still, and the wife likes driving it so we are keeping it. But never again.

[jednastka]

Depends on the driver.



My wife is a timid, automatic transmission driver, which leads to two-foot driving, right foot on the gas, left foot on the brake. Whenever I have followed her (vehicle drop-off at the shop) the brake lights are always on when she is doing 120kph on the highway. Brake pads never last more than 2 years.


I'm an "old-school" standard driver. Two-footing is impossible. I just checked, and at 430,000 km on my 4Runner, I'm on the 4th set of brakes. I lost one set early due to a CV joint boot failure that dumped oil on the brake shoes.


Vic

[Grizzly Adams1]

If the rears are gone before the front I would be suspicious for sure.

X2, the fronts take most of the wear, but buddy's car has significantly smaller pads in the rear., taking that into account.

Grizz

[sourdough doug]

FWIW... My son had a Can Am, SXS... I run it one summer on my trapline and maybe put on 3-400 km. Hardly ever on the brakes due to level terrain but the brakes were down to metal in no time..I asked at the dealer, WTH and he told me that due to "emission" regs in California, the brake pads could not be made of or contain certain materials, so Bombadier complied and that's all she wrote...Some owners were having the same problem with less than 100km on their units...The dealer was no longer stocking the OEM parts but rather supplying jobber pads...problem solved..
Long story short...could be that the materials used in some vehicles are because of material, as well as driver habits...both feet on the accelerator and then--- switch, both feet on the brakes...:shake:

[tool]

My 2500 Ram diesel went 230,000 kms on the original rears and 250,000 on the factory front pads.

Put a new set of pads on and got many more miles out fonts the factory rotors and callipers.

Next changed pads, rotors and callipers has about 500,000 kms on it now.


LOTS of heavy towing, lots of equipment and farm implements with no brakes.

[MOUNTAIN MICKEY]

Here is an example of rear brakes wearing "prematurely" On JK Jeep Wranglers, the rear brakes wear a lot faster (under 60000k) because they are used more--traction control--hill decent ect. This is Jeeps explanation. Could be the same for other vehicles ????? My 95 Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4 went 228000k before I replaced the front pads---rear shoes were still good.

[Who Da Fisherman]

09 GMC Serria 200k when I sold it original brakes (disc on front, drums on rear).

My 2010 Silverado had 278km with original brakes, some trailer towing, lots of pulling my heavy Lund. I think it matters on how one drives, even when not towing I used the tow mode on hills, ice and such.
WDF

[fishtank]

Depending on brake pad ceramic seem to last longer then metallic. But Would check mine have about 50k on em they are ceramic and I did both rotor and brakes and when I put on the winters tires They are about 60%+ .

[urban rednek]

Here is an example of rear brakes wearing "prematurely" On JK Jeep Wranglers, the rear brakes wear a lot faster (under 60000k) because they are used more--traction control--hill decent ect. This is Jeeps explanation. Could be the same for other vehicles ?????
Jeep JK's are notorious for their undersized rear brake pads (compared to the fronts) and lack of braking capability when modded. The surface area of the rear pads is about 30-40% less than the fronts. They do not last long under normal driving conditions, take them offroad and their lifespan is considerably shortened. There are aftermarket pads available that improve the braking capability with added benefit of extended life.

OT- While there may be a mechanical issue at play with the Tiguan, a quick comparison of the front and rear pads looks like a similar situation to the Jeep JK. From the product photos, the rear pads appear to be physically smaller than the fronts. Since they need to perform the same amount of work with less material, they wear faster.

[MyAlberta]

Depends on the driver.


I'm an "old-school" standard driver. Two-footing is impossible. I just checked, and at 430,000 km on my 4Runner, I'm on the 4th set of brakes. I lost one set early due to a CV joint boot failure that dumped oil on the brake shoes.


Vic

Same. I use brakes in the last 100' and for holding. Put zero miles on my f150 last year, which was a mistake, as I had to replace all pads and rotors due to everything rusting tight.

[rembo]

In 2011 I bought a new GMC 2500HD Duramax. Sold it to my son in August with 212K on it. Towed a 6,000 lb trailer with 2 quads on a deck the first 5 or 6 years and a 10,000 lb toy hauler 4 or 5 times a year the last 4 summers.
When we swapped the wheels we saw 1/4" to 5/16" of pad on all 4 original brakes and the rotors are smooth. If you don't drive like a rally driver brakes will last.

[Positrac]

Yup it depends who is driving the vehicle most of the time, I replace brakes on the wife's vehicles at about 1/2 the KM of those on my truck, and I tow with the truck, buy I've been married for almost 47 years so I would never say anything, just replace the pads, life is easier that way :)

Bahahaha! Thinking like this has surely helped you get to that 47 years of marriage mark. Smart man and all of the young bulls on here could learn a few things from you…

[brewster29]

Jeep JK's are notorious for their undersized rear brake pads (compared to the fronts) and lack of braking capability when modded. The surface area of the rear pads is about 30-40% less than the fronts. They do not last long under normal driving conditions, take them offroad and their lifespan is considerably shortened. There are aftermarket pads available that improve the braking capability with added benefit of extended life.

OT- While there may be a mechanical issue at play with the Tiguan, a quick comparison of the front and rear pads looks like a similar situation to the Jeep JK. From the product photos, the rear pads appear to be physically smaller than the fronts. Since they need to perform the same amount of work with less material, they wear faster.

The last sentence is incorrect. Front to rear bake bias runs from about 60/40 to 75/25 ish on production cars, hence the smaller rotors and pads on the rear.

[HyperMOA]

It really is odd that the back brakes wore out first. Even with smaller brakes put back your front brakes still do the majority of braking so I would think that they should last at least as long as the fronts.

The more important part however is if the wear left to right in the rear are close to equal. Obviously the one on the right wore the pad right out. Is it’s opposite side nearly worn through too? If the opposite side is still at say 50%, you likely have a seized calliper. Which may, and I can’t say “may” enough, have a warrantable issue.

[HyperMOA]

The last sentence is incorrect. Front to rear bake bias runs from about 60/40 to 75/25 ish on production cars, hence the smaller rotors and pads on the rear.

I agree. I must have been typing the same thing at the same time.

[thumper]

Yup it depends who is driving the vehicle most of the time, I replace brakes on the wife's vehicles at about 1/2 the KM of those on my truck, and I tow with the truck, buy I've been married for almost 47 years so I would never say anything, just replace the pads, life is easier that way :)

And replacing brakes is a lot cheaper than paying alimony !

I use the new 'paddle shifters' a lot - even for long, slow coasting stops - like leaving the highway on 'off ramps'. It sure saves brakes on heavy vehicles & RVs.

[sewerrat]

So the car got new brakes, I dropped it off at Gary Moe VW in Red Deer.
The rear brakes were shot @ 60K ,now they told me they are shot because we wee not using the parking brake.
Huh? Apparently these electronic parking brakes keep the whole system in alignment so I was told by the service lady.

We had the car in there back in September for warranty work, and they do a so called 20 point inspection.
I told them if you did that how can the brakes be worn in 4 months.

I like this VW but it will be the last one.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Just like many have already mentioned. Just have a friend or mechanic drive behind you. If your break lights are on 'All' the time then 'You' are the problem not the pads ,calipers or the brake shop.

[Nova]

Driving habits play a big part. I just sold a 2011 Aveo that I bought new. Had 220k on it. Manual transmission, mainly highway km and generally am pretty easy on the brakes. Rotors still had tons of steel. One pad was close to done, the other 3 weren't too bad. If I was keeping the car I'd have tried to get another year out of the brakes. Did all pads and rotors, was barely over $100.

[sewerrat]

Again I had a Mazda cx5 with 125k on it, drove the same distance, same route same wife, same everything and still had the original brakes.

To me its manufacturers.

[schleprock]

I replaced the front brake pads on my 2013 f350 diesel at 100,000 kilometres, then replaced both front and rear brake pads at 240,000 kilometres. Haven’t had to replace the rotors yet.

[Rdamours]

The 2000 Yukon with metal ceramic pads was about 220-240 on the front and 260k on the rear. I did them but there was still some meat on them. 90% city driving. The 2010 Audi was about 120k on the front as that is the one my wife drives.

My friend cooks his pads on his Ford Escape at 35k. They were built with undersized rotors and pads. I bought a new set $1200 of Michelins from a guy with an Escape for 600 still in plastic. He traded in the thing after 3 brutally expensive brake jobs under 100 k

[gunluvr]

Unconfident drivers brake more often than necessary, causing premature brake wear. Those who pay more often for brake lining replacement know who's to blame. Facts of life.
One more thing... more expensive brake linings are generally harder material which can cause premature wearing of rotors; go for mid- grade pads instead.

[urban rednek]

The last sentence is incorrect. Front to rear bake bias runs from about 60/40 to 75/25 ish on production cars, hence the smaller rotors and pads on the rear.

I agree. I must have been typing the same thing at the same time.
Thanks guys, you are correct. I worded that really poorly.

IMO- Given the German automotive manufacturers propensity for increased rear brake bias through the EBD (to prevent nose diving under heavy braking), coupled with the corporate beancounters demands for cost cutting measures: we now have several models of vehicles on the road today, both foreign and domestic, that have increased maintenance intervals, with the associated costs, due to these decisions regarding undersized rear brake assemblies.
The domestic vehicles that I know of with the rear brake issue had direct oversight and input by the German parent company.
Caveat emptor.

[Ken07AOVette]

I did brakes in my 1999 LHS for the first time at 260,000. Every time I buy a used vehicle, especially from a city the first thing I have to do is brakes.

It is so easy figuring out who is using them up, people that pass you on a 4 lane, exhaust pouring out nearly to the red light then brake hard, and repeat gas brake gas brake honk gas brake. If I see a stop sign red light or a long line I will coast a half mile rather than fly up someone's ass just to stomp the gas pedal again.

Coasting is so much better for mileage and brakes. It is always funny to be passed by Marioandrea Andrettiski half a mile before a red light and then be looking in her window when I coast up. They are just clueless about driving, and 'the mileage on this thing sucks! The brakes are garbage!' lol

[32-40win]

Yup, just hit 280K on the Taco, but shud do rear brake pads as the emergency brake is getting pretty dicy from some dummy that keeps driving off with it on. I should probably have exciter rings checked out, getting old enough. Go down a bunch of gravel roads and the ABS light comes on, then drive on pavement for a while and it goes out again. Never bothered to crawl under and look to see what causes it exactly, wet or dry, mud or not, doesn't make any difference as to when it occurs, happens on roads with tall grass, or no grass. And its always off when I drive by a shop that could check it, never bothered to see if there was a stored fault code in there for it either.