so i took my car into firestone today to have new brake pads put on in the rear, i had the front ones done 3 weeks ago, but i have a few questions

my car has about 21,000 miles on it and im needing new brake pads already
(it was used however so the previous owner might have been a little brake happy) does this sound normal to anyone?

secondly the had to resurface my rotors...after only 21,000. thats a litte scary if im gonna need a brake job every 20,000 miles. It also appears im gonna need new rotors next time because they cant be resurfaced again

does this sound about average for anyone or should i be concerned (these are stock non brembo brakes by the way with the original pads from nissan, at least i think so)

on the brightside this will give me a good excuse to to get some stoptech brakes next time around

 

that is average time for brakes to be done...

im suprized they actually turned them down! usually they are below tollerance after you turn them down...

every time you put on new pads you should turn down your rotors, this will avoid squeaking and help for better pad wear...

 

alright

i was just surprised

kinda irritated that ill need new rotors after only 40,000

 

Why did they "have" to resurface your rotors? Did they tell you? Unless you are having a judder problem when braking, you should not resurface the rotors when changing pads. It simply shortens the life of your rotors and can easily introduce runout if the person setting up the brake lathe isn't meticulous.

 

On the topic of brakes I had my front pad replaced in Sept. and the rear pads replaced yesterday. The front pads were done at the dealer and they didn't mention having to turn or resurface the front rotors. This week, same service guy at the dealership told me they now recommend the rear rotors should be replaced along with the rear pads. I've got an ’03 Track w/ 40k and this is the first time I've replaced the pads. I thought the guy was nuts saying the rear rotors needed to be replaced too. I didn't buy it and had my pads replaced somewhere else. Anyone heard of this? I've got the Brembos and don't race it, so there was no extreme wear.

 

They way to tell if your rear rotors need to be replaced is the measure the remaining thickness with a micrometer. Your rear rotors are 22mm thick when new and Nissan stamps a minimum thickness number on the edge. I don't know what that thickness is, but your dealership should be able to tell you or you can pull the wheel and check for yourself. As a guideline, BMW allows 1.6mm of rotor wear, while Mercedes allows 2.4mm. Brembo big brake kits only allow 1mm of rotor wear. StopTech allows 2mm.

So your mechanic could have been correct. The only way to know for sure is to find out the minimum thickness and then measure your rotors.

 

Rotors should never have to be turned.

New pads will wear and adapt to the old rotors.
If you have brake judder, weakening the rotor by turning it will just make matters worst. StopTech has a great white paper writen by Carol Smith on the subject.

 

They're not called a "stealership" for nothing my friend. There is no way in the world that you would have to replace the rear rotor because of wear before the front rotor. I've replaced my front rotors, but my rears look as new with no lip on the rotor edge yet after 40,000km.

 

36,000 miles and my OEM brakes are fine. Longevity depends on several factors including driving style. Concerning resurfacing the rotors. Rotors should be (IMHO)resurfaced whenever pads are replaced.