[alecela]

I just changed to a new indy referred by a good friend of mine. During the recent service he mentioned that my rear brake pad would be expiring soon. That's a bit of a shock to me as the rear pads & cables were changed merely 6k mi (10k km) & 8 months ago. In the meantime the OBC is telling me that I still have 18k km left on the rear brakes.

So my question is HOW reliable is the OBC in terms of checking on the brake pads life?

Looking at history, I see that my first rear brake pads lasted me about 30k km, second set only lasted 20k km, and 3rd set lasted abt. 20k km and now the fourth set ONLY abt. 10k km, IF my new mechanic is right???

As for the front ones, I see that the 1st set lasted about 20k km, 2nd set similar, BUT the 3rd set is approaching 40k km soon while the OBC is reporting that I have about 1.8k km left.

Sounds a bit counter-intuitive as I was always under the impression that the front brake would last a shorter life than the rear...

I'm running 21inch breyton wheels + Continental 4x4 ContactSport 275/40/20 + 315/35/20 in case that makes any difference.

 

[FredoinSF]

That seems like incredibly short pad life, but depending on driving conditions, anything is possible is suppose.. Best way to gauge is take wheels off yourself, not that hard.

Aren't you the same guy that keeps having radiators replaced every few months? If so there is a pattern and I'd suggest you get your hands dirty and check on what these shops are telling you.

 

[alecela]

Ok indeed I intend 2 check on EVERYTHING I'm being told!

Here's the rear pads:

18k km left according to obc

Here's the front:

1,600 km left according to obc.

Wat do u think?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dzampi]

that's a lot of meat on both...maybe the computer wasn't reset last time it was changed?? :dunno:

 

[alecela]

That's what I thought, which prompted my original question: How does OBC checks the life left on the brake pad? How accurate is it? If the mechanic forgot to reset it, what does it do???

 

[ard]

I am going to opine that this new 'trusted' mechanic figured you would be an easy victim.


Given the amount of pad left on there, not much room for the usual "oh, we like to be proactive and not wait until the very end" excuse

 

[alecela]

Well, I haven't 'trusted' this mechanic yet, which is why I'm trying to do my due diligence here. So am I right to say there that given the pictures that I've posted above, there're still reasonable life left on the pads? If that's the case, I'm puzzled as to why the OBC think the front pads got only 1,600km left.

 

[Michael47]

Looks like a lotta meat left to me, too. But I'm no expert on that.

I am concerned that you are getting so little life out of them, however. Do you spend most of your drive time in San Francisco headed downhill?

Or seriously, do you ride with your left foot resting on the brake pedal? That wears them out in a hurry. Otherwise, a more normal life for average drivers is more like 40-60,000 miles. 20,000 or less is a sign they are dragging.

 

[ard]

Well, I haven't 'trusted' this mechanic yet, which is why I'm trying to do my due diligence here. So am I right to say there that given the pictures that I've posted above, there're still reasonable life left on the pads? If that's the case, I'm puzzled as to why the OBC think the front pads got only 1,600km left.

They may not have properly reset the life timer

OR...

certain wear sensors are reportedly NOT correctly wired and will give erroneous values

Looking at those pads there is well over 50%, ive go no good reference but thats what it looks like to me

 

[DieselDonkey]

Um, those pads look good to me

 

[finnbmw]

The pads look good to me. For reference, the iDrive in my 2010 X5 with 70,000 miles tells me I have 4,900 miles left on the rear brakes (been telling me that for the past 3,000 miles or so) and 23,000 miles on the fronts. These are the original pads from factory.

 

[SkiScubaSailDud]

Be sure to check both pads (both inboard and outboard), not just one side. Sometimes if the caliper isn't moving so freely on the mounting bolts, wear can be uneven. IIRC the sensor is on the inboard pad anyway.

 

[AMGE36]

There is no precision of reading - only mathematical calculation - this all can be very different to different rotors and pads manufactures.

 

[alecela]

Looks like a lotta meat left to me, too. But I'm no expert on that.

I am concerned that you are getting so little life out of them, however. Do you spend most of your drive time in San Francisco headed downhill?

Or seriously, do you ride with your left foot resting on the brake pedal? That wears them out in a hurry. Otherwise, a more normal life for average drivers is more like 40-60,000 miles. 20,000 or less is a sign they are dragging.

I live on a hill so I do drive up & down the slope on a daily basis. But I certainly do NOT drive w/ my left foot on the brakes .

I do think that my pads r wearing out a tad fast so trying 2 figure whether it was a problem somewhere else or a result of an overly eager mechanic.

 

[alecela]

They may not have properly reset the life timer

OR...

certain wear sensors are reportedly NOT correctly wired and will give erroneous values

Looking at those pads there is well over 50%, ive go no good reference but thats what it looks like to me

Tx. Let's say if the sensor was not properly reset, can that be rectified & if so, how?

 

[alecela]

Be sure to check both pads (both inboard and outboard), not just one side. Sometimes if the caliper isn't moving so freely on the mounting bolts, wear can be uneven. IIRC the sensor is on the inboard pad anyway.

That's a very good point. I presume the ones I pictured above r the outboard pads? And without taking off the wheel it wud b difficult 2 check the inboard pads?

 

[SkiScubaSailDud]

Removal of the tires, or at least an inspection mirror would be required I would think. If they are fronts, then turn the wheel all the way one way and you might be able to see them from behind.