Salutations to ya'll..in need of some headsup guys. Ok so i'm down to 20% on the oil change gauge so need to do it soon but during the last oil change the local honda dealership i go to said that during the next round of oil change (which is now), i should replace the breaks. I purchased the car from the original owner at 35K, its got 47K on it now but i am not certain wether the original owner at some point got the pads replaced. The breaks are fine - no squealing and pedals dont slip further down than before, i guess i'm a bit weary of believing a dealership when they say "replace something"..i dont even know what they charge for replacing the breaks but wanted to ask you guys how often one needs to replace the pads, you figure i've had the car for 3 years and have put less than 10K per annum...i'll tilt the wheel and check the pads visually and see if i can spot some serious wear..but generally speaking, does it sound like i need to replace pads?

cheers

 

If you've got the ability to check them yourself, then you should otherwise OR find a trusted mechanic, but otherwise, it might be better to let the dealer do as they suggested.

Piece of advice... don't rely completely on the fact the brakes aren't squealing OR the pedal sinking...

Because if you happen on a specific situation, then, by the time they're squealing, YOU'RE in trouble.

You see, they squeal because there's a piece of metal that jams against the rotor as the pad wears down. But can you guess what it means if that piece BREAKS OFF? It means that the next time you hear squealing, it's not that little piece of metal, but the backing plate of brake pads, with ZERO braking material left.

If you think it never happens... well, it happened to me. I was lucky enough to actually inspect my brakes and caught it before it completely wore down to the backing plate.

Also, your pedals should NOT slip "down" anyway... not sure what you're basing that on. There's no direct linkage from the pedal to the pads. The force from your feet is pumped through a brake booster which then pumps hydraulic fluid through the ABS and all the piping to the pistons.

As the pads wear down, MORE fluid take up the space, that's why there's a reservoir of brake fluid... it does not affect your pedal.

If you feel your pedal sinking... that's a whole other ISSUE... namely air in the line or worse, leaking brake line. My brother-in-law and I found out the hard way that the brake line in the Pathfinder was leaking VERY badly. I could actually see fluid squirting/spraying as he pushed on the pedal. The brake pedal would sink and we'd lose all braking ability. That was not a fun trip back from Costco.

 

Your BRAKES can require replacement at different times mileage has very little to do with brake wear. You can always go get a second opinion or if you have a friend who knows cars ask them for help, it’s generally pretty easy to tell by looking at them. I believe 3mm is the minimum required thickness by law if I’m not mistaken, that’s not to say you should wait for them to get that low. Usually 5-6mm is about time for replacement, front pads and rotors on the fit is an extremely easy job and the rear drums last for ever.

 

Thanks guys- Can anyone give me a ballpark estimate for pad replacement? At dealership or otherwise?

 

Order yourself some MAX brakes. Quality, and cheap. Paid 79$ CDN for front pads and anti-rust treated rotors. Did the replacement myself. So cheap it is not worth it to not do it!

 

There's very little point in having us guessitmate a price for you, especially since prices vary from area to area.

Pick a dealer around you and look up their website. Many/most dealers have a site with pricing for basic services.

I don't think there's an actual minimum thickness... at least legally on passenger vehicles. Most only have "recommended" minimums. Doing a search, the only legal minimum brake pad thickness I could find are for trucks, the big freight kind. And even then, it's down to 3.2mm for air disc brakes and HALF of that for hydraulic/electric.

 

On a similar (but different) car, we rarely heard some squaling from time to time. Pads and rotors only had 40k miles

On 3 wheels, pads looked nearly new. On the 4th wheel, pads completely worn due to a sticky emergency brake.

I would not ignore a mechanics advisory, especially related to brakes. You can get a second opinion. But too risky to speculate.

 

advice noted- many thanks to all of you for the fast reponses..i'll be calling my local Honda dealer to see what they charge..but unfortunatley i would not know how to do the job myself, nor do i have the equipment to carry it out.