How often do you get new brakes?

[Living-In-Clip]

Just curious - on the average, how long do you drive (mile wise) before you bother to get a set of new brakes? I got 43K on my Celica, never had a brake job and am debating if I want to get one done before I go on my road trip (500 miles). They don\'t make any noises, don\'t stop as good as they use to , but I believe that is more of an issue with the brake fluid, as I have also never checked that.

Also, on the average, what do you pay?

No matter what anyone says you get what you pay for.  You want good brakes that will last and good service, it will cost more than Meineke or the other national chains that promise lifelong brakes for $59.95.  Ask locals who take care of their cars which mechanic they use, don\'t go to the dealer either.  A real car guy will know how to do it him/herself, which is why it\'s great to have a gearhead as a friend.

43k is really good.  When I delivered pizzas almost everyday in a big Nissan Maxima they lasted ~15k before squealing again.  Cost to fix is under or around $200 including labor.  Tip your pizza/chinese delivery driver muthah(*$(*.

[videoholic]

It doesn\'t matter how many miles are on your car unless you drive with your brakes on.

And get your rotars turned when you get the pads.  If it\'s a cheap brake job, then you aren\'t getting a good one.


Brake fluid should be fine.

Yep go to a good shop, if someone says i will do it for 50 bucks, then it will be a real cheap job. I  have not driven in over a year and a half so i can\'t remember how much i pay for brakes. But go to a good shop and you won\'t be dissapointed.

[videoholic]

The pads are probably only about 30-50 bucks for basic cheap pads.

BTW, my car has 60k and the pads are fine.  I changed mine a couple months ago, not because I needed them, but because I wanted ceramic composite dustless ones.

[Evi]

When they start making noises, I change them.

[Living-In-Clip]

No noises - no change, I guess.
I went out today, felt the rotors for any un-evenness, etc, and it seemed to be okay. They need cleaned off for sure, but that\'s about it, or so it seems.

I wouldn\'t even bother with it, but the female worries about things like that on road trips.

[Titan]

I think my brakes are ready to go and I\'ve been driving for almost 20,000 miles I think.

[§ôµÏG®ïñD]

Get a G-Clamp and do it yourself... Very easy to change pads.  I do it every 6 months.

[videoholic]

If you do it every 6 months then you should let your foot off the brake when you are on the interstate.

And yes, it\'s very easy to change pads, but after a long time with a set you should definitely get the rotors turned.

My wife\'s car has 100k miles and I just put a second set of pads on it.

[SirMystiq]

Weird.

I just replaced my old breaks, they were only a month old though. The problem was that they released way too much dust and I hated them. So I went for some "thermoquiet" ones and they are great. I just put them on today.

Also, my right rotor had horrible grooves, and I haven\'t checked those since I bought the car. So they were unfixable. Too thin even without measuring the grooves. My other one was fine but it was border line too thing.

So I put in new breaks and rotors and it came out to about 150 bucks. And I put them on myself. So there was no mechanic costs or nething.

[§ôµÏG®ïñD]

why bother turning rotors.. pay the 10 bucks more and just get new ones.

Originally posted by Living-In-Clip
Just curious - on the average, how long do you drive (mile wise) before you bother to get a set of new brakes? I got 43K on my Celica, never had a brake job and am debating if I want to get one done before I go on my road trip (500 miles). They don\'t make any noises, don\'t stop as good as they use to , but I believe that is more of an issue with the brake fluid, as I have also never checked that.

Also, on the average, what do you pay?

If they don\'t stop as good as they use to you may have air in the brake fluid.  Check the brake fluid level.  If your pedal feels softer than normal or drops further down than normal you definitly need to get your brakes bled,  or you may have a leaking brake line somewhere.  If you don\'t know any gear heads take the car to a auto technician.  Recently my brother had his brake bled but the pedal was still soft,  and we figured out it was due to a leaking piston on the left rear.  Or it could be just air in the brake line,  as was the case in my Honda,  bled the brakes and now they are fine.

Take a look at the thickness of the brake pad,  if it looks low get them changed.  Also look for groves on the rotor that a worn pad may have put in your rotor.   If there are groves in your rotor take them to an auto store and let them turn the rotor.  If you let the rotor go too long it may damage the rotor beyond repair and force you to buy a new one ($20-40 at auto store $50+ from dealer)   I\'m guessing your Celica has 4 wheel disc brakes so I won\'t get into brake shoes

If you hear noises coming from the pads when braking get them changed,  as they are tearing into your rotor.  I change my pads not by mileage but by regular checking of the pad thickness and listening for noises.

I don\'t pay for brakes anymore,  because I bought $25 dollar lifetime pads a few years ago.

[§ôµÏG®ïñD]

your pedal shouldn\'t drop at all. It should get to a point and stop. If it does drop, you have bad brake fluid, air or moisture in the brake lines or the master cylinder is by passing.

Originally posted by §ôµÏG®ïñD
the master cylinder is by passing.

I don\'t know what you mean by by passing but that just reminded me of another problem that was wrong with the Honda

One of the seals was leaking fluid

That certainly can make your car not stop as good as it use to