Dealer says I need new brakes soon. What do you think?

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Fire0nic3FX

Member
When I was at the dealer yesterday, they did their 27 point inspection on my 09 FX. Everything came out good, but they noted that my rear brake pads are low. They said I have 4MM of rear brake pads left and to change them at the next service in 3750 miles. Is that alot of little? The front and rear brake pads are all original at 34K miles.
 
I have changed the rears in 11k miles and the fronts at 13k miles so i say that 37k miles is not that much!:tongue (2):
 
Fire0nic3FX said:
When I was at the dealer yesterday, they did their 27 point inspection on my 09 FX. Everything came out good, but they noted that my rear brake pads are low. They said I have 4MM of rear brake pads left and to change them at the next service in 3750 miles. Is that alot of little? The front and rear brake pads are all original at 34K miles.
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It depends on how much you like stopping... :laugh:

Seriously though, I agree with the shop. 4mm is on the line between "decent" and "time to replace". I'd get it done next time it's convenient and in the interim listen for any squeaks or squeals. I'm not sure about yours, but lots of pads have little warning strips that make noise when it's time to replace.
 
getting almost 40k out of the original brakes is not bad at all man, it's not uncommon to see brakes need replacing with 20k or less on them... all depends on how there used really... my other car I just hit around 10k on a good set of pads & there just now starting to grind metal already, killed the tires in that time too, all depends how hard you are on it... to get almost 40k you either do a whole lot of highway driving or you drive very easy most of the time, or I guess a combo of both...
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I looked at the pads today, but I can't tell what looks too thin and too thick lol. I'm not really sure wha I should be doing or looking for.

I do notice that after my car hasn't been driven for a week the brakes are very noisy for the first few minutes of operation. But after braking a couple times the squeaking noise from them goes away. I thought maybe it's just some moisture from them not being used for a while.


@Turbocad, yeah I do alot of highway driving. Actually most of the life of the car has been highway driving. I never drive into the city with it or get caught up in alot of stop and go traffic.
 
I just had mine changed at 49K miles. Had 3mm left; service manager said to change around that thickness. Was $310 for pads, resurface rotors, and labor at the dealer.
 
tchuck said:
It depends on how much you like stopping... :laugh:

Seriously though, I agree with the shop. 4mm is on the line between "decent" and "time to replace". I'd get it done next time it's convenient and in the interim listen for any squeaks or squeals. I'm not sure about yours, but lots of pads have little warning strips that make noise when it's time to replace.
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what mm is it when they are new and what mm is when squealing starts and/or have to replace?

Also, I thought I've read on iS somewhere a few times that the iba and other lights on the dash come on signaling brake pads need replacing.

BTW, I'm at 40k now pads I think are nearing 4mm or something from what I remember. My dealer does full point inspecitions every single time on every infiniti that comes in for anything. I think that is all infinitis. Anyway, he didn't mention anything, just mentioned in the fall I'd probably need tires, but not about brakes (at least yet).

I do a lot of highway and city.....even on my previous rides I wasn't replacing pads a lot....I don't know...I guess you guys like to use your brakes heavy a lot? hmmmmm
 
jdTrader said:
what mm is it when they are new and what mm is when squealing starts and/or have to replace?
...
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I just measured my extra set of Stoptech pads. Mind you this is for a 1st gen and they're not the oem pads, but they start at 8mm thick and the warning strip activates at just under 2mm. If the 2nd gens are the same then you have a little while to go before you need to replace them.
 
i have close to 39,000 miles on my fx and i've changed the front and rear brakes. the dealer said the rear brakes wear down fast, so changed them if u can. to save me some money i order the parts with infiniti and get someone else to install them and i keep the receipts of the work done. i also have that pebble sound coming from my exhaust. the dealer said that normal and he would put some clamps around the heat shield for $ 140.00 a pop i said leave it.
 
tchuck said:
I just measured my extra set of Stoptech pads. Mind you this is for a 1st gen and they're not the oem pads, but they start at 8mm thick and the warning strip activates at just under 2mm. If the 2nd gens are the same then you have a little while to go before you need to replace them.
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Tim, good info man. Honestly, if one have not seen how thick new pads were will have no idea what thickness is good/bad. 4 mm, I think it will last you until Christmas. I would change it by year end!

Just a thought, mostly the front pads would wear out first. You drive backward a lot? No, jk. Seriously though, from my experience, 90% of the time I would have to replace the rear for every other front set. Did the dealer tell you how much you have left on the front pads?
 
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Nic you seem to post up a lot of threads that would all be answered by the manual. I understand you are just bouncing ideas off the community, but why not just pick a thread already opened on the subject or just add the correct answer to open threads - maybe with a copy of the manual page attached.

I guess this is the question, "should my brake pads be going out at 34K in the rear"?

They can, yes. OEM pads have wear indicators that "sing" when they hit the rotor. That is your signal to change them. The manual contains all the criteria for changing the pads in terms of wear limits. If you don't have a wear indicator on the pad, then measuring the remaining pad material is easy enough. The only reason I would change a pad before the end of it's life is if it were wearing unevenly (at an angle) or if the rotor was damaged in some way and wearing the pad prematurely.

All this info seems obvious though. Is there more to your question or was that it?
 
jumbosrule said:
Nic you seem to post up a lot of threads that would all be answered by the manual. I understand you are just bouncing ideas off the community, but why not just pick a thread already opened on the subject or just add the correct answer to open threads - maybe with a copy of the manual page attached.

I guess this is the question, "should my brake pads be going out at 34K in the rear"?

They can, yes. OEM pads have wear indicators that "sing" when they hit the rotor. That is your signal to change them. The manual contains all the criteria for changing the pads in terms of wear limits. If you don't have a wear indicator on the pad, then measuring the remaining pad material is easy enough. The only reason I would change a pad before the end of it's life is if it were wearing unevenly (at an angle) or if the rotor was damaged in some way and wearing the pad prematurely.

All this info seems obvious though. Is there more to your question or was that it?
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All I was doing was asking a question about the brake pads. Isn't that the point of internet forums where people help each other out? Your making it sound like what I'm doing is wrong.

Ofcoarse I read the manual. I've read it so many times that it's pretty much useless in my opinion. All it says is the wear indicator makes a squeak noise or whatever when the pads are getting low. But it doesn't indicate if it should be making it all the time or for the first few minutes after the car has been driven (which mine only does for a minutes after sitting for a week). That's why I wanted to ask you guys to make sure the dealer isn't trying to rip me off. The manual is never any help to me. All the solutions in the manual say to contact your local Infiniti dealer. That's their answer to everything really.


I have another question for everyone. When I do replace the brake pads should I just have them resurfaced or should I just change the rotors too? And should I also have the rear parking brake adjusted too while I'm at it?

---------- Post added at 12:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 AM ----------

jdTrader said:
what mm is it when they are new and what mm is when squealing starts and/or have to replace?

Also, I thought I've read on iS somewhere a few times that the iba and other lights on the dash come on signaling brake pads need replacing.

BTW, I'm at 40k now pads I think are nearing 4mm or something from what I remember. My dealer does full point inspecitions every single time on every infiniti that comes in for anything. I think that is all infinitis. Anyway, he didn't mention anything, just mentioned in the fall I'd probably need tires, but not about brakes (at least yet).

I do a lot of highway and city.....even on my previous rides I wasn't replacing pads a lot....I don't know...I guess you guys like to use your brakes heavy a lot? hmmmmm
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Dealer told me the same thing too. I'll be replacing the tires in the fall with Yokohama Parada SpecX tires instead of the Bridgestone Dueler tires I have now. I think can get another 10K out of the tires since their not flush with the wear bars yet.
 
Jeez, all this conjecture on pad thickness and predicted brake life. Let me be the voice of reason here........................BBK! Seriously though, I always weigh repairs against upgrades, taking into account that a Big brake kit is a bit more than a brake job its a stretch but what a great upgrade :wink:
 
I need to drive in someone's car w/ BBK. Ive found the stockers w/ some Hawks work fairly well if you're not draggin on them too long, but I also dont know what I'm missing.
 
Fire0nic3FX said:
...

I have another question for everyone. When I do replace the brake pads should I just have them resurfaced or should I just change the rotors too? And should I also have the rear parking brake adjusted too while I'm at it?

...
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Resurfacing is way cheaper than replacing the rotors and if you plan to replace them with oem rotors, gives the same result.

The parking brake adjustment is super easy and there's a diy here for it. If I wasn't on my phone right now I'd find it for you...


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My dealer suggest me to replace rear pads @ 17500 miles. Charged me $200.00

Now I purchased front pads to change them by myself and save some cash.
 
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