How often do you replace brake pads, rotors, calipers and hoses on your vehicle?
My truck broke down because the brakes froze up and I had to have it towed. This was about 2 years ago. I recently went in for new tires and they told me that the rotors were too hot and I need to have everything replaced again.
This is on a 2013 F150. I’m not sure what is considered acceptable for brake maintenance but I would have thought those parts would last longer than 2 years?
I replace my brakes every 30-40k miles. I don’t go by time limit unless they make a weird sound for whatever reason.
I do have have the brake fluid checked and changed every other brake job so at 60-80k ish miles.
Pads- about every 45,000 miles
Rotors - about every third pad change
Calipers - never
Brake hoses - never
We have a very good mechanic, private shop not a chain, and he is always checking and advising when maintenance is due. so we follow his advice. My truck rarely moves unless there is a horse trailer or flatbed behind it, so that puts more stress and wear on the brakes. I’d say we are closer to the 30k mark on brake jobs.
We have a Prius and one of the interesting aspects of a Prius is that it does not engage the brakes in normal stopping. We have had the brakes rust due to under use. The first Prius we had had its first brake job done at 320k. The current 2016 prius has not had brake job done yet.
As needed. I had a stuck caliper on my truck last year that needed replaced. My rotors are dimpled and slotted, so they can’t be resurfaced when that time comes.
I do mine as needed. I do my own work, and I check the brake pads when I swap wheels/tires from summer to winter, to summer, etc. I keep a record in a small notebook in the glovebox.
All disk brakes will squeal occasionally, but if you notice the squealing every time you step on the pedal, “It’s Time!”. Brake pads have a little metal finger that will contact the rotor and make an obnoxious noise when they get near the end.
As far as a service interval, there really isn’t one, as so much depends on driving habits, the particular vehicle, and the work load. If nothing else suggests its self, check them/have them checked when you do an oil change.
I preach this a lot, and I realize it isn’t always realistic, but your butt (and your friends/families/pets too) are depending on those brakes. And tires; 'em are the two most important parts of your vehicle, nothing else even comes close. It’s really in your best interest, safety-wise, and financially, to learn how to check them yourself, and to do so regularly. It ain’t hard to do, and doesn’t take very long. Some automotive service facilities are honest, some aren’t, but a little knowledge goes a long way toward detecting bullsh*t in a case like this.
My $.02.
It really depends on how much driving you are doing and what kind.
Brake pads you will have to replace regularly. If you are someone with a big commute (think driving into a major city) you’ll have a shorter brake pad lifespan. The general rule is between 10-20k. Do I do that, as someone that works on their own cars? Nah. Never. I usually wait until I can see the pads are at the end of their life. I replace my brake pads about once a year. You can look at the brake pads and rotors of your vehicle without taking the wheel off in most cars - it’s good to eyeball them as the season goes.
Rotors you are supposed to replace every 50k or so. But if you stay on top of brake maintenance, you won’t need to replace them as often. They will become damaged by brake pads if you allow the pads to wear through their composite to the point it’s metal on metal. You will hear it if it gets to that point, and there will be scores along the rotors.
Calipers are more complicated. You may find you never need to replace them, you may find you need to replace them when you do your brakes and rotors. The pins in calipers can become stuck, or the calipers can fail to apply pressure, or they can leak brake fluid - as they get older it’s worth pulling them off and looking them over. I replaced all of my calipers on my F350 last summer just so I knew where I was starting as a baseline.
Brake hoses you’d probably want to look at once the car is more than fifteen years old. Hoses work until they don’t. But when they don’t work they can cause failure or seizure in other parts of the truck.
And as far as the brake line — this I’ve only ever replaced when it failed, but maybe if I replaced it sooner it wouldn’t have ever failed on me.
You should look at brake pads and rotor replacement as a regular scheduled maintenance for your vehicle — think like twice yearly dental checkup for your horse. It’s expensive but it’s worth it - you need to be able to stop.
And don’t ever put off doing your brakes. That is how SO lost his favorite car… his brakes were still functional but bad — he got cut off awfully by a teen that pulled out on top of him and he ended up rear ending her.
Find out what your shop did last time. A “brake job” doesn’t always mean all components. It could be they replaced your pads but not your rotors. It could be they did the whole thing.
I’ll share that when I had two vehicles (Ford truck and Honda CRV), I had a lot of problems w brakes because I didn’t drive either of them enough.
those with diesels should also replace the vacuum pump, we had a “compete” brake job done on our F350 then two weeks later daughter was coming off an interstate on a ling ram …Very little brakes the vacuum pump failed.
Talked to the shop owner afterwards suggesting they add replacement of pumps at least every 100,000 miles… for that truck it only cost $39 new OEM and took about ten minutes to replace
For those who have never done a “brake job” it is a pretty quick and quite easy task to replace brake pads and rotors. I am not recommending that anyone do their own brake work unless you have the tools and the mechanic skills and the time and an urge to get grease on your hands. I mention it because a “brake job” is a high profit service item for the amount of time and effort it really takes. So naturally many shops will try to sell you on needing brake work when you are in for other services. I have been in many shops over the years and have heard this sales pitch many times. Yet when I get home and check the pad thicknesses and rotor surfaces for myself everything is good.
Sadly, this is very common. Almost enough so that one might say “SOP”. Your only defense is to have a reasonable grasp of the functions involved in making your car (truck) work, and the knowledge and ability to perform (at least) the basic inspections and tests yourself. Or have a trusted individual who will do it for you.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” (Arthur C. Clarke)
Do you trust your court magician?
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