When to replace brakes/brake pads?

Monife

Hi all,

I drive a 2010 (purchased in December 2010) Toyota Yaris. There is about 50-55,000km on the clock. The brakes have been squeaking for a little while and I am wondering if they need to be replaced.

How often should you replace your brakes or brake pads? How much does it cost in a garage like Atlas Garage?

Thanks

dgt

When they are at the end of their usable lifespan, which depends on how the car is driven or quality of part.

Don't forget about brake fluid, it also would need to be changed at this stage if not done prior

Best bring it to a reputable indy or Toyota themselves

Atlantic Dawn

There's no set mileage, probably between 30k -50k miles could be normal, a person with a heavy braking foot would wear them quicker. If you are hearing noise this is likely the wear indicator and the pads need to be replaced, if you leave them too long they will damage the discs and you will need brake pads and discs instead of just pads.

Here's a new and a worn pad, if you have alloys it may be possible to see what stage of wear is on the pad...

Monife

Thanks everyone. Oh it does have alloys so I will try and have a look.

Any idea on cost to replace brake pads?

Thanks.

Hachiko

Monife wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Oh it does have alloys so I will try and have a look.

Any idea on cost to replace brake pads?

Thanks.

Changing brake pads not a difficult job, I paid about £50 a corner for EBC yellow stuffs. You should get decent pads for the yaris for 50eu I would imagine from a motor factors. Even less if you have solid rear brakes

biko

If you're so inclined you can do it DIY.
Otherwise google local garages and ring them for a quote. You can ask them to have a look at the brake fluid too and replace that if it looks old.
Discs are usually ok for many years and don't often need to be replaced unless they have a big lip

mullingar

biko wrote: »

If you're so inclined you can do it DIY.
Otherwise google local garages and ring them for a quote. You can ask them to have a look at the brake fluid too and replace that if it looks old.
Discs are usually ok for many years and don't often need to be replaced unless they have a big lip

No,

All discs have a minimum thickness, usually just 2mm from when they were new (1mm per side) and must be replaced if its lower than the prescribed thickness. All brake disc catalogs have the minimum thicknesses specified.

A Yaris 1.3 (NSP90) 2010 has a standard thickness of 22mm, minimum 20mm.

coylemj

mullingar wrote: »

No,

All discs have a minimum thickness, usually just 2mm from when they were new (1mm per side) and must be replaced if its lower than the prescribed thickness.

Is there a ballpark/typical number for how many pads you'd get through on a particular wheel before the disc needs replacing?

mullingar

coylemj wrote: »

Is there a ballpark/typical number for how many pads you'd get through on a particular wheel before the disc needs replacing?

I found usually 3 sets to a disc, but this will vary with the car, the style of driving, and the brand of pad as the friction material will differ. And of course the disc may require changing earlier if it gets warped or scored from wearing the pad to the metal.

coylemj

mullingar wrote: »

I found usually 3 sets to a disc, but this will vary with the car, the style of driving, and the brand of pad as the friction material will differ. And of course the disc may require changing earlier if it gets warped or scored from wearing the pad to the metal.

Thanks. If the car is well maintained, driven on standard roads and the driver is very easy on the brakes, are there any circumstances where the disc would need replacing through wear even though the car is still on the original factory brake pads? None of the pads have ever been replaced and the car has wear sensors.

Service guy in the main dealer simply said that the disc is below xx mm and could do with replacing and when I asked how that could happen when I'm still on the original pads, he just shrugged his shoulders

biko

If you do change discs then change pads too. Then you'll know it's all sorted.
If pads look to have plenty of material left I'd keep driving as is and then maybe change both when pads are worn*



* this is what I would do, your circumstances may be different, get an expert opinion blah blah

dodzy

mullingar wrote: »

No,

All discs have a minimum thickness, usually just 2mm from when they were new (1mm per side) and must be replaced if its lower than the prescribed thickness. All brake disc catalogs have the minimum thicknesses specified.

A Yaris 1.3 (NSP90) 2010 has a standard thickness of 22mm, minimum 20mm.

According to the manufacturer. Sure they'll always quote that crap to fear folks into spending way before its necessary. 1mm wear on each face and then change is ridiculous. Plenty of useable meat on discs before changing them is needed.

coylemj

biko wrote: »

If you do change discs then change pads too. Then you'll know it's all sorted.
If pads look to have plenty of material left I'd keep driving as is and then maybe change both when pads are worn*

Doesn't answer the question - are there circumstances where the disc could be worn down even though I'm on the original pads? This main dealer hasn't serviced the car from new so maybe thinks that I'm on my third set of pads. He's not saying that the discs are scored or warped or have uneven wear, just that they're worn down to below xx mm so I might think about replacing them.

biko

Pads are composites, discs are metal.
It's not likely that, if pads and discs are both original, the discs will be worn down and the pads not - in my opinion.
Get a second opinion from another mechanic.

dodzy

coylemj wrote: »

Doesn't answer the question - are there circumstances where the disc could be worn down even though I'm on the original pads? This main dealer hasn't serviced the car from new so maybe thinks that I'm on my third set of pads. He's not saying that the discs are scored or warped or have uneven wear, just that they're worn down to below xx mm so I might think about replacing them.

No chance. Pads will wear first. Every time.