I Think They Got It Right
 

69,000 miles next week, on Clyde the Ride, so I thought it time for a peek at the brakes. The Dakota would be getting ready for the fourth set of pads by now, so I was getting a tad skittish because I do not want to be replacing rotors on the Tundra's more sophistocated system.



So I went to the bargin bin at the parts emporium and bought a 2-pack with the telescoping pick-up magnet and a telescoping brake-pad checking mirror.



My mechanic Dex, told me that Toyota finally figured out the formula for high mileage brake pads. Looks like he is right. The pads are a bit south of half gone. I am stunned!

I wonder how long they'll last.



And I didn't even get my knees dirty.



I'm getting to like this Tundra.
:D

Hypermiling extends the life of brake pads significantly. I was told that the rear pads on my VW should only last 15,000 miles at the very most, and they could be done by 8,000 miles. I checked them today (I took off the wheels, hence my thread about using the drill to turn lug nuts...it would be tough to sneak a dentist-style mirror past the steel wheels). With 27,500 miles they've got plenty of life left.

I have no idea when my truck's brakes were last serviced, I wasn't keeping records for a couple years and it doesn't get many miles anymore, but I inspected those through the wheels and they're good too. That reminds me, I have a thread to post about that...

I get at least 50,000 miles or 5 years out of my brakes usually.... at least since I swore off buying the "lifetime warranty" and fancy pads. Every time I've had any on a car they've i) carved up the rotor real bad ii) failed to provide good brake feel or stopping power. iii) caused failures in wheel cylinders and flexible lines due to apparently getting a lot hotter than normal pads. Oh... they don't boil all the grease out of your wheelbearings either.

I get the "made somewhere other than China" "reasonable" choice in a rivetted pad, and I tell the parts guy, "I don't care if it makes dust, I want to stop" this strategy seems to be paying off well, I can stop on dime, my rotors are staying in great shape, I'm not getting other brake components dying randomly and I'm getting about 3 times the real actual service life at half the price.... but Wile-E and Marvins front wheels always have a brown tinge to them... meh.

Fade was also pretty scary with the expensive pads, they would fade in a typical highway emergency stop. Meaning that when you did the rapid pump on the pedal, you could make the tires squeak the first 2 times, got reasonable braking in the middle, but by the end you had both feet on the pedal and were really panicking because it seemed like it was gonna keep rolling at 20mph into the car stopped 50ft away... Never had that issue with these ones, just damn well stops, even when I've had multiple hard stops...

Times and technology change.
Far and away, the best pads for the Dakota were Reybestos.

What kind of doof, outside of a racetrack, only gets 8000m on pads?!? :eek:

15m on pads is Toyota quality?!? LOL

F150: 15 years old, 108,000m, FACTORY PADS nowhere close to needing replacement.

Apparently it's pretty common with the Rabbit.

Why?

Beats me. Like I say, mine have plenty of life left after 27,500 miles. I can venture some guesses about the type of people who drive them...

You checked all 4 pads and not just one side or the outter pads right? The Durango just rolled over to 51k and the pads looked great except there was a squeak on the passenger side... The inside pad was worn to almost nothing on that side and if I hadn't noticed the squeak I wouldn't have checked it until my rotor started getting carved up.

Turned the rotors and stuck some ceramic pads on there and it's good as new! I recommend the ceramics.

Crap. I forgot to check the inside pads.