Your brake pads, though simple, play a crucial part in slowing down or stopping your car. It doesn’t matter if it’s on an emergency or normal slowing when exiting the highway – they have to be in perfect condition.
It is usual for them to wear out due to friction. Every time you brake, a portion of the pads is rubbed away. Over time, they will get thinner and thinner rendering them less efficient.
On average, car owners have to swap their brake pads every 30,000 to 50,000 miles. However, this range varies depending on a couple of factors like:
- The quality of the brake pads
- How you drive
- Your driving conditions
- The weight of your car
These variables make a fixed distance or date range impossible to go by. Luckily, their worn-out brake pads will exhibit a couple of signs that are hard to miss.
Looking out for these is better than wondering how often you should swap your brake pads.
Dropping Brake Fluid Levels Without a Leak
We recently did a post about brake fluid levels and what it means if yours are dropping. You can see that post here. One of the problems that could lower your brake fluid levels is worn-out brake pads.
However, you first have to inspect your entire braking system and ensure that you don’t have a leak somewhere. Moreover, old brake pads rarely cause the fluid levels to drop way below the MIN level in the reservoir tank.
The fluid levels drop because as your brake pads wear out, they grow thinner. This forces the brake calliper pistons to extend further out. This extra extension creates a void your brake fluid has to fill hence the apparent drop in levels.
Squeaks and Sequels as You Brake
As brake pads wear out, the contact surface thins down to the structural backplate. Even though this backplate could provide some friction to stop your car, it is harder and less forgiving than your regular brake pad surface.
The result when using such brake pads is squeals and squeaks every time you brake. The noise could appear when you brake hard or even when you tap the brakes lightly.
Sometimes, the squealing noise is produced by a tiny metal strip created to warn you when your brake pads are old. The technique is simple.
Quality brake pads are built with a tiny metal strip that is short enough to stay out of the way when your pads are good but pokes out as the brake pads wear and grow thin.
This means that the metal strip will contact your rotor before the pads when you brake. It vibrates easily, creating an annoying screeching sound.
Don’t ignore this sign. It might be an indicator that it’s time to swap your brake pads.
Vibrations When Braking
Your car should slow down smoothly every time you brake. There shouldn’t be any vibrations or shuddering.
If your car vibrates, you have a severe mechanical problem. The culprit could be uneven wear in your brake pads or warped rotors.
The first step is inspecting the brake pads to ascertain that they are:
- Not thoroughly worn out
- Are worn out evenly
If they are still new and you’re experiencing the problem, then your rotors are the problem. Have your rotors checked, too, if the brake pads are wearing out unevenly.
Your Car Takes Longer to Stop
A loss in braking performance could also mean you have worn out brake pads. You will notice it if you have been keen on driving the car since it had new pads.
Your car will need a longer distance to stop, and you will naturally have to press the brake pedal deeper to stop in time.
Check this too: How Often Should You Service A CV Joint
While this could mean your brake pads are getting old, it could also point at other problems in your braking system.
Either way, don’t get used to hazy or slow to react brakes. They can be a hazard in an emergency. Visit a mechanic and have a look into your system.
Your Brake Pads Are Very Thin
Some cars have wide-spoke rims that could allow you a glimpse of your brake pads without uninstalling them. If you are lucky, you can monitor their thickness over time and plan a replacement as they grow thinner. If they appear less than 1/4 of an inch thick, it’s time to get new brake pads.
If you can’t see them, make a habit of checking your brake pads every time you do something to your wheels.
This could be when you do wheel rotation or replace your tires. Having someone look at your brake pads when you change your car oil could also make you note worn brake pads before it’s too late.
Your Brake Pad Indicator Light Goes On
A good number of modern cars have a brake monitoring system. This could be your ABS (Antilock Braking System) or some other system that monitors the effectiveness of your braking system.
If your car monitors the brakes, chances are it will throw an ABS or a brake system warning light when your pads are excessively worn out.
The brake warning light is the same light that pops up when you engage your emergency brake (hand brake.) If it comes on and your hand brake isn’t engaged, there is a problem with your braking system.
It could be worn out brake pads or something else. Either way, it’s good practice to have everything checked until the light doesn’t pop up again.
Should You Replace All 4 Brake Pads at Once?
Changing all four brake pads at a go is good practice. However, you could replace them in pairs if you don’t want the extra expense.
If your braking system is working fine, all your sets of brakes will wear out evenly. This means your front right and left brake pads will wear out at the same rate. The same applies to the rear brakes.
However, your front brake pads tend to wear out faster than the rear brakes. This is because the front of the car provides the majority of the braking power when you stop.
Manufacturers account for this and make wider front brakes. Chances are, if everything is fine, your rear brakes will also need replacement once your front brake pads are worn out.
Can You Drive With Scraping Brakes?
It’s not advisable to keep driving with scraping brakes even if your car still stops. You might still drive your vehicle to the garage if you are careful but don’t push.
Driving on grinding brakes is risky. The brakes might fail altogether when you need them the most.
Additionally, the metal-to-metal grinding could damage your rotors. It could warp the rotors, damage your calipers or create gouges on the rotor surface. This will lead to a more expensive pit stop than it would have been if you just replaced the brake pads on time.
How Often Should You Service Drum Brakes?
Even though most cars are shifting to the rotor and calliper brakes all around, some cars still have drum brakes – at least in the back.
Drum brakes work differently. As such, their service requirements are different. In theory, well-maintained drum brakes rarely need any servicing. It’s not unheard of for them to run for up to 200,000 miles – especially if they are at the back.
However, it is safe to have them checked every 5000 or 7000 miles. The only problem is unlike caliper brakes, drum brake pads are hidden away. You will have to open up the drum to access them.
Signs that Your Drum Brake Shoes Need Servicing
Since getting to your drum brake pads is a bit tricky, it pays to know tell-tale signs that they are wearing out.
Inconsistent Braking or a Vibration
When the drum brake pads are worn out, they might not bite well when you break. The shoe won’t evenly and firmly press against the brake.
This unevenness could cause your car to shudder or vibrate. Have all your brakes checked if you experience this.
A Loose Handbrake
Most cars with rear drum brakes use a single pad system. This means that the handbrake uses the same pads the foot brake uses. Some rare configurations have different shoes for the different brakes.
If your car still rolls off with the handbrake on, chances are your rear brake pads are worn out.
Note that this could also mean you have a loose hand brake cable.
A Scraping Noise When Braking
The last sign of being on the lookout for is a metallic scraping sound as you brake. This happens when the entire shoe is worn out, and the metal plates are making contact.
If this has been going on for a while, you might have to replace the entire drum brake since the drum could already be compromised.
How Often Should You Replace Brake Rotors
Unlike brake pads, rotors are tough and last longer. Ideally, you should have your brake rotors replaced between 50,000 and 70,000 miles.
However, brake rotors are known to last way longer than this – especially if you take good care of them. Luckily, all you have to do is ensure that you change your brake pads regularly and brake responsibly to avoid overheating your rotors.
The biggest problem brake rotors encounter is warping or damage to the braking surface.
If this happens, your car will shake, shudder and scratch intermittently as you brake.
Sometimes, your rotors might grow thin to the extent that your caliper pistons still have to extend further even when running new brake pads.
A good mechanic should tell you if your brake rotors are still good to go or need replacement.
Is it Normal to Have Rust on Brake Rotors?
Some bit of rust on your brake rotors after parking a car for some days is normal – as long it’s on the surface. Since rotors are made of iron, some bit of moisture and water could make them rust.
Typically, this surface rust shaves off when you brake as the pads make contact. However, if left to sit for very long, the rust could gouge deeper and damage your rotors. Damaged rotors will need resurfacing or replacement.
Generally, this phenomenon contributes to the argument that many things go wrong when you pack your car for long.
Rusty brake rotors shouldn’t be a problem if you take your car for a spin every other day. Not only does it prevent rusting throughout the vehicle, but it also keeps your battery alive.
How Often Should You Replace Brake Calipers
Disk brake calipers are very resilient. They can last a lifetime since they don’t directly take on friction or massive amounts of heat. Their work is transforming hydraulic pressure and allowing the brake pads to clamp against the rotor.
In most cases, they will last a lifetime. If they fail, you will have to deal with a brake fluid leak or a stuck piston due to rust.
However, it is good practice to have them checked every ten years or after driving between 75,000 and 105,000 miles.
Some symptoms of damaged brake calipers include:
- Leaking brake fluid
- Your car veers to one side as you brake
- Brake pads wear out uneven
- Unusual noises when you apply the brakes
A good mechanic will identify any problems with your calipers when you do a brake pad swap. You should still take your car in for inspection if you see one of the above symptoms.
Remember to keep your car dry and drive it often. Rust is the leading cause of damage to brake calipers.
Why Did My Rear Brake Pads Wear Out Faster than the Front?
Sometimes, your rear brakes could wear out faster or at the same rate as the front brake pads. While this could be abnormal, some cars have brake assistance systems that put more strain on the rear brakes (not a bad thing).
Brake Assistance Software
For instance, some cars with EBD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution) systems could channel more braking power to rear wheels to keep cars from spinning out.
Additionally, some traction control systems use the brakes to lock slipping wheels so that the differential or clutch can transfer more traction to wheels with better traction.
If you offroad often with such a car, there is a slight chance that your brake pads won’t wear out ‘naturally.’
Stuck Pistons
Another problem that could make one of your brake pads wear faster is a stuck caliper piston. Rust on pistons could cause them to fail to retract fully when the brakes are at rest.
This will leave the affected brake’s pads in contact with rotors for longer, wearing them out faster.
In most cases, the only way to find this out is when you hear some screeching sound from one or more wheels as you drive without applying brakes.
Driving With the Handbrake Engaged
The last thing that could make your rear brake pads wear out fast is driving with the handbrake partially or fully engaged. The emergency brake uses rear brake pads to hold a car in place.
You can, however, drive off with the handbrake still engaged. This will negatively affect wearing down the pads as they will be in permanent contact with the rotor or drum.
It is a costly mistake that you should avoid at all costs. Luckily most cars will beep at you if you drive with the handbrake engaged.
Why Are My Brake Pads Wearing Out So Fast?
Sometimes, you might feel like all your brake pads are wearing faster than expected – or other same car owners.
While this isn’t a problem if they are wearing out in 3 months or less, you could do a couple of things or inspect to fix the problem.
Avoid Riding the Brakes
Keep your foot off the brake pedal unless you want to stop or slow down the car fast. Riding the brakes with the wheels turning increases friction hence wearing your brake pads faster.
Selecting the right gear when driving downhill could also help your car use more engine braking, taking some strain off the brake pads. This has the additional benefits of preventing your brakes from overheating and failing.
Some people, however, argue that overusing the brakes when driving downhill or slowing down isn’t a problem since brake pads are cheaper and easier to replace than your clutch or other transmission components.
Drive With the Traffic Flow and Avoid Unnecessarily Heavy Braking
Reading the traffic and adjusting your speed accordingly makes you a more efficient driver and saves your brake pads.
Start slowing down sooner when the traffic ahead slows down. Pick speed gradually to match traffic once you get moving.
This simple matching makes your driving smoother and does away with the need to stomp on the brakes often to avoid rear-ending other road users.
Keep Your Car Weight As Low as Possible
The heavier your car, the more force it needs to stop. The more force your brake pads apply, the faster they wear out. This is why heavier vehicles burn through brake pads faster than super light small cars.
You can make things better by offloading anything you don’t need on your car each time you go for a drive. Getting rid of extra stuff in the boot or the back seat will make your vehicle lighter.
Lighter cars consume less fuel and are easier on your brake pads.
Clean Your Rotors When You Wash Your Car
It is usual for dirt, grime, and brake pad dust to hang around your rotors and brake pads. While this might not affect how you brake, a dirty rotor will wear down your pads faster.
You can get a slight improvement by keeping your rotors clean. Spray off any dirt and grime every time you clean your car.
Have Your Calipers Inspected
Stuck calipers that keep your brake pads engaged even when you are not using them could cause accelerated wear. This is easy to notice since you’ll mostly have uneven brake pad wear. After all, you’ll have to be very unlucky to have all your calipers stuck to the same extent.
Note that a stuck master cylinder could also keep your brakes partially engaged. This is very rare, though.
Buy Good Quality Brake Shoes
The last thing that could determine how fast your brake pads wear out is their quality.
Most cheap and low-quality brake pads wear out fast regardless of how well you drive. If you are tired of changing your brake pads too often, consider going for better-quality pads.
What Does it Mean When Your Brake Pads are Glazed?
Glazing or brake pad crystallization happens when the friction surface of your brake pads hardens up due to excess heat. This drastically diminishes the friction between the brake pads and the rotor, which in turn lowers your stopping force.
Moreover, glazing on brake pads could also affect and damage your brake disks.
Glaze brake pads could also have visible cracks and fractures on their surface. They appear smoother and different from typical brake pads.
You will glaze your brakes if you push them beyond their temperature limitations. This happens if:
- You ride or drag the brakes
- Repeatedly brake hard from high speeds
- A Stuck caliper
The only rational solution to glazed brake pads is replacing them with new ones. If you don’t drive like a race driver or ride your brakes for long downhill, you should also have your brake calipers checked to ensure they are not stuck.
Bottom Line
Keeping your brakes in excellent condition could save your life and wallet. Be observant and ensure that you replace your pads, rotors, and calipers as soon as you suspect they are failing or damaged.