Brake Pad Wear

[Kontiki]

Just had the front suspension uprated & was travelling back from Birmingham, a warning light came on which turns out to be the pad wear indicator. Haven't had chance to look at the pads yet but wondering how often they need replacing? Bit like how long is a piece of string as it depends on driving style but I'm not a heavy braker I tend to use the gears to slow down & only brake if I really need to. The van is a 2009 Rapido A class, looking at the paperwork that came with the van the original owner had new pads fitted in 2011, we've had the van for just over a year. He did used to tow a car so that would put more wear on the brakes but I can't remember the last time I've had to replace pads. Also why is it these type of jobs happen in the winter when it's cold & wet? Have to get them done soon as the weather permits as we are off to Spain end of Jan.

 

[K9d]

I think you've answered your own question, it depends on driving style, I like to leave a decent gap to the vehicle in front and can generally just lift off the throttle in response to their braking.
I see plenty of the "I must attach myself to your bumper" brigade who then seem to spend all the time moving their foot from the throttle to the brake, it strikes me as madness but they seem to be happy enough or to stupid to realise there's a better way.

I have an Alfa 156 that I've done 60,000 miles in and its still on the same set of front pads I bought it with, been through 2 sets of rears due to a sticking handbrake cable though

 

[cavy]

could it be that who ever has done the suspension has disturbed the brake wear indicator wire?

 

[Kontiki]

I was wondering if something had been disturbed, light came on after driving about 10 miles. Had read on a Fiat forum that often the dealer ties the cable off & cuts the wire on the pads??? Can't see why. Mines the X250 with Alko chassis & has discs all round. Original owner had to replace one rear hub/brake/bearing etc. he had adjusted the handbrake by tightening the cable causing rear drum/disc/bearings to fail. Left printout of correct instructions on handbrake adjustment.
Probably have to take the wheels off to have a proper look. Previous owner must have been a heavy braker, our last van was similar weight on a Renault automatic & I found I was having to probably use the brakes more than I would with a manual gearbox but after 4 years & more miles than current van there was loads of wear left in the pads (had a look when it was mot'd.)

 

[Wooie1958]

My van weighs 4,100 ( uprated last year from 3,850 ) is nearly 7 years old with 45,000 miles on it and the front pads are absolutely fine.

I`ve had the van from new and for 3 of the years i towed a car on a A-frame.

There`s got to be something wrong if the original owner had to replace them at 2 years old and now 2 years later you have the warning light come on.

The only other explanation could be that the van does massive ( Intergalactic ) mileage ?

 

[vespalien]

Then there are the nervous ones whose brake lights come on at every bend & every time an oncoming truck passes. Yup, some people probably do wear their pads out quickly.

 

[Kontiki]

Mileage just under 30k so the original ones should have lasted until then. Mind you I've already had the clutch replaced (by the dealer under warranty) at 26k miles so looks like first owner was a bit heavy footed.

 

[Wooie1958]

Mileage just under 30k so the original ones should have lasted until then. Mind you I've already had the clutch replaced (by the dealer under warranty) at 26k miles so looks like first owner was a bit heavy footed.

That could explain it then.

I must say you did very well to get a clutch replaced under warranty, they normally just blame the driver unless there is an obvious manufacturing fault.

 

[maingate]

On heavier vehicles like motorhomes, severe braking often overheats the pads and then they start to break up instead of wearing out. It's always worth checking the pads when buying second hand. As has been said, it might give an indication of how the last owner drove it.

 

[lebesset]

Just had the front suspension uprated & was travelling back from Birmingham, a warning light came on which turns out to be the pad wear indicator. Haven't had chance to look at the pads yet but wondering how often they need replacing? Bit like how long is a piece of string as it depends on driving style but I'm not a heavy braker I tend to use the gears to slow down & only brake if I really need to. The van is a 2009 Rapido A class, looking at the paperwork that came with the van the original owner had new pads fitted in 2011, we've had the van for just over a year. He did used to tow a car so that would put more wear on the brakes but I can't remember the last time I've had to replace pads. Also why is it these type of jobs happen in the winter when it's cold & wet? Have to get them done soon as the weather permits as we are off to Spain end of Jan.

too much of a coincidence , straight after front suspension work !
don't know about this model , but most have a sensor only on one side ; personally I would have a look at the pads and see if the wire is correctly connected ...they are just a push on fitment normally and you can usually see the wire with the wheels fitted

 

[Siimplyloco]

On heavier vehicles like motorhomes, severe braking often overheats the pads and then they start to break up instead of wearing out. It's always worth checking the pads when buying second hand. As has been said, it might give an indication of how the last owner drove it.

I've always been very light on brakes. In fact, the last two MOT's on my Sorento advised low pad thickness and I've done 12000 miles since the first one!
John

 

[K9d]

Does the light come on when you brake or is it always on ?

From my understanding of them the sensor sits in the brake pad and makes a circuit with the disc when you brake, if the lights on and your not braking its more likely that the wires have been damaged.

 

[Kontiki]

Managed to have a quick look underneath (easier now as front is about 70mm higher), it does look like there is only a wire on the nearside. The signal wire looks very close to the wheel rim & it felt like part of the insulation has been worn away, need to take the wheel off to check properly so can check the pads on that side at least, depending on what they are like I can decide if I need to check all wheels. The warning light would stay on once it came on, makes sense that it would come on when braking then possibly go off as the pads release.

 

[lebesset]

Managed to have a quick look underneath (easier now as front is about 70mm higher), it does look like there is only a wire on the nearside. The signal wire looks very close to the wheel rim & it felt like part of the insulation has been worn away, need to take the wheel off to check properly so can check the pads on that side at least, depending on what they are like I can decide if I need to check all wheels. The warning light would stay on once it came on, makes sense that it would come on when braking then possibly go off as the pads release.

I was told that my pads were low at the last MOT [ after 70,000Km ] bought new pads and discovered that the sensor is set to go on when the pads are only 75% worn ....so the new pads are still in the garage [ I checked for even wear between the sides] , and the light still hasn't appeared ! obviously [ apart from getting your money ] the idea is to give you time to get the job done and allow for any difference between the sides ...no wonder so many people short circuit theses sensors

incidentally , when you have sorted your problem you may find that the light is still on ; if leaving the ignition 2 clicks on for a minute or so doesn't reset the system ,you may have to get the dealer to reset it with his computer

 

[Tezza33]

When I brake with my car behind me on the A frame you can feel it pull you back so you are right the towing vehicle shouldn't wear the brakes more, the signal wire is only on one side so it is superfluous anyway because it is only on one pad, it doesn't show wear on the other 3

 

[flyinghigh]

Managed to have a quick look underneath (easier now as front is about 70mm higher), it does look like there is only a wire on the nearside. The signal wire looks very close to the wheel rim & it felt like part of the insulation has been worn away, need to take the wheel off to check properly so can check the pads on that side at least, depending on what they are like I can decide if I need to check all wheels. The warning light would stay on once it came on, makes sense that it would come on when braking then possibly go off as the pads release.

Some brake pads work on a open circuit i.e. it reads the resistants in the cable and if the wire is cut for what ever reason it will bring on the pad warning light, older vehicles tend to have the pad wire earth out the circuit to bring on the light,
They changed brake pad materials to remove asbestos and replaced it with sintered metal this sometimes created a conductive path to the disc face, bringing on the light even though the pads were fine

 

[Kontiki]

Solved

Had chance to have a proper look today & the wire had been rubbing on the rim, the insulation had worn through. Pads look fine on the side where the wire was ( only fitted on one side). Pads look OK about 10-12mm thick,can see the wear indicator groove on one of the pads. Have to remember to put 'check brake pads' on calander for when weather is warmer, it was freezing today even in the sunshine.

 

[molly 2]

I am a strong believer that geniun pads last longer than cheaper sets. What do you think.

 

[trevskoda]

Just had the front suspension uprated & was travelling back from Birmingham, a warning light came on which turns out to be the pad wear indicator. Haven't had chance to look at the pads yet but wondering how often they need replacing? Bit like how long is a piece of string as it depends on driving style but I'm not a heavy braker I tend to use the gears to slow down & only brake if I really need to. The van is a 2009 Rapido A class, looking at the paperwork that came with the van the original owner had new pads fitted in 2011, we've had the van for just over a year. He did used to tow a car so that would put more wear on the brakes but I can't remember the last time I've had to replace pads. Also why is it these type of jobs happen in the winter when it's cold & wet? Have to get them done soon as the weather permits as we are off to Spain end of Jan.

you should look at pads about every six mts or so,by the way its bad practice to use gears to slow down it came from the days when cars had poor brakes,pads & dics are cheaper to replace than the wear on transmision parts.

 

[Kontiki]

I remember when I took my driving test in the TA, part of the test was in a 1 ton truck (with all the others taking the test that weekend in the back). The sergeant doing the test said he wouldn't bother with the emergency stop as the brakes were useless, if we did need to do one for real he said to pump the footpedal as fast as I could & he would pull on the handbrake. This was in the sixties, the test was a whole weekend & involved reversing with a trailer as well as a written exam & practical maintenance.

Always think of the waste of energy driving on the brakes, prefer to try to judge the speed of approach to obstacles to keep a nice smoth ride avoiding coming to a complete stop. Sometimes though you have to drive with the flow of traffic but I still avoid heavy breaking if I can.