[adr0ck]

Hi guys,

After some advice.

Both me and my partner have i30's - both diesels

Mine - i30 Estate manual 66 reg

Partners - i30 Automatic 14 reg

Partners i30 just been in for service and mot - been advised that her discs and brakes need changing (£600) - this will be 2nd time in two years.

She does between 6000 to 8000 miles per year.

Is there something wrong that means the discs and brakes need constantly changing?

[CraigB]

Definitely not normal to go through pads that quick let alone the disc's, and all four at the same time I'd expect a strong brake burning smell at that rate of wear if it were a brake issue

Could it be the driving style...riding the brakes while driving


£600 ($1167 aud) sounds way to expensive, to put it in perspective I had a quote from a local brake fitter here for DBA Enshield disc's with Bendix ceramic composite pads for £231 ($450)

[mickd]

Youngest's  2012 FD , 75,000 km just had original pads changed . All 4 Discs were skimmed, calipers cleaned & lubed. Cant give price as a few others things were done as well but all up $600 Aus .
Find another mechanic even if it means paying for a 2nd mot.
Big chance this is another case of " female - WTF would she know ?, we're in the money !    "

[nzenigma]

Definitely not normal to go through pads that quick let alone the disc's, and all four at the same time I'd expect a strong brake burning smell at that rate of wear if it were a brake issue

Could it be the driving style...riding the brakes while driving

Agree with Craig.

Was my thought when I read auto.  We have more autos down under . You dont get the same 'engine braking' that you have with a manual.  I often observe less experienced auto drivers riding the pedal.

[BrendanP]

You haven't mentioned which brake discs & pads need replacing. Front, rear or both?

My partner's 2011 diesel - which I originally owned - has done about 193,000 miles and has had the front disc & pads changed about 3 times. Rear discs and pads twice. Brembo discs and pads on rear were a disappointment, they wore out pretty quick. I replaced with Delphi which are lasting much better. Bendix on the front are doing well too.

One set of front pads wore out prematurely due to the glide pins corroded on the caliper.

My 2015 model has done 57,000 miles and I've just replaced the rear pads. One thing I do routinely is to take the wheels off and measure the disc & pad thicknesses with vernier calipers & a micrometer. This means I can calculate how worn they are, so when the dealer rings up and tells me they're 90% worn I can tell them 'no they're not, they're 70% worn and good for another 15,000 miles'. I can also check if the brakes are wearing evenly. If they're not, it could indicate a fault such as a sticking caliper.

Finally, driving habits account for a lot. My partner gets less miles out of the brakes than I do because she drives more aggressively, driving fast into roundabouts then braking hard at the last minute, that sort of thing.

[nzenigma]

Driving style and road conditions are factors. Often recorded here is failure and rust due to Northern salting and slush on the roads.

As rule of thumb I still change pads when their thickness is equal to the thickness of the pads steel. However, in QLD, 1mm thickness is still regarded as roadworthy.
 I get about 75,000km out of my fronts, rarely change rears.

[tw2005]

Driving style and road conditions are factors. Often recorded here is failure and rust due to Northern salting and slush on the roads.

As rule of thumb I still change pads when their thickness is equal to the thickness of the pads steel. However, in QLD, 1mm thickness is still regarded as roadworthy.
 I get about 75,000km out of my fronts, rarely change rears.

Must be making a hell of a racket with the squealers hard on the disc

[Surferdude]

Driving style and road conditions are factors. Often recorded here is failure and rust due to Northern salting and slush on the roads.

As rule of thumb I still change pads when their thickness is equal to the thickness of the pads steel. However, in QLD, 1mm thickness is still regarded as roadworthy.
 I get about 75,000km out of my fronts, rarely change rears.

Im with you on the backing plate thickness.  It's all about heat dissipation.

[Lorian]

Not Kwikfit telling you this I trust?

[mickd]

Not Kwikfit telling you this I trust?

Are they related to our so-called "No Bull" suspension and service .

[nzenigma]

Not Kwikfit telling you this I trust?

Not sure what you are referring to. 1 mm thickness or OPs original query ??

Also, in QLD we do not have annual MOT.  Only RWC at time of sale or Rego.
A local old bloke's 1969 Rambler is up for sale, been driven constantly, never had an RWC.


Checked the trade chatter, suggested = 3.5 mm, 2 mm, 1 mm, 0.8 mm.  No ruling.

"i thought they changed the pads rule to a min of 2.5 mm ?" .........

In the absence of a manufacturer specified minimum thickness the minimum is 0.8mm. It's something I haven't had to research before and I must admit the answer surprised me. If my pads had less than 1mm remaining I wouldn't even be driving it to the letterbox to collect my mail before they were replaced."

[Surferdude]

Kwikfit is a large tyre and mechanical repair chain in the UK. And maybe still in parts of Europe.
I'm guessing that as with any large retailing organization there might be suggestions of overselling.
I'd be getting someone else to look at these brakes. If the driver was riding the pedal there would be a long history of brake problems.