Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

Hello,
I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
once a week.

Thanks,
Chet

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

"Chet Shannon" <funguy99504@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:f4b0ac40.0410060908.3b218dc6@posting.google.c om...
> Hello,
> I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
> pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
> here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
> brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
> later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
> in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
> don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
> once a week.

Time elapsed is meaningless. Miles is what counts. How many miles between
the pads being replaced and the shop saying they are down to 80%?

By don't drive heavy on the brakes, do you also mean you don't "ride the
brakes"? Maybe the calipers aren't adjusted properly. Was it down to 80%
on both inner and outer pads? Or just 1 or the other? If inner and outer
are wearing differently it's possible your caliper slides are sticking.

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

"Chet Shannon" <funguy99504@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:f4b0ac40.0410060908.3b218dc6@posting.google.c om...
> Hello,
> I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
> pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
> here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
> brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
> later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
> in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
> don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
> once a week.

Time elapsed is meaningless. Miles is what counts. How many miles between
the pads being replaced and the shop saying they are down to 80%?

By don't drive heavy on the brakes, do you also mean you don't "ride the
brakes"? Maybe the calipers aren't adjusted properly. Was it down to 80%
on both inner and outer pads? Or just 1 or the other? If inner and outer
are wearing differently it's possible your caliper slides are sticking.

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

"Chet Shannon" <funguy99504@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:f4b0ac40.0410060908.3b218dc6@posting.google.c om...
> Hello,
> I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
> pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
> here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
> brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
> later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
> in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
> don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
> once a week.

Time elapsed is meaningless. Miles is what counts. How many miles between
the pads being replaced and the shop saying they are down to 80%?

By don't drive heavy on the brakes, do you also mean you don't "ride the
brakes"? Maybe the calipers aren't adjusted properly. Was it down to 80%
on both inner and outer pads? Or just 1 or the other? If inner and outer
are wearing differently it's possible your caliper slides are sticking.

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

In article <f4b0ac40.0410060908.3b218dc6@posting.google.com >,
funguy99504@yahoo.com (Chet Shannon) wrote:

>Hello,
>I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
>pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
>here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
>brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
>later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
>in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
>don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
>once a week.
>
>Thanks,
>Chet

"Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
>in such a short amount of time?"

Pads or shoes?
Shoes will wear much faster than normal when first seating in since there
are slight differences in radii between the shoes & drums. After that, the
apparent wear will decrease.
I wouldn't be suprised if pads did something similar.
I wouldn't get too concerned yet. Just note the % wear next time they're
checked to see if the high rate continues or not.

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

In article <f4b0ac40.0410060908.3b218dc6@posting.google.com >,
funguy99504@yahoo.com (Chet Shannon) wrote:

>Hello,
>I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
>pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
>here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
>brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
>later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
>in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
>don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
>once a week.
>
>Thanks,
>Chet

"Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
>in such a short amount of time?"

Pads or shoes?
Shoes will wear much faster than normal when first seating in since there
are slight differences in radii between the shoes & drums. After that, the
apparent wear will decrease.
I wouldn't be suprised if pads did something similar.
I wouldn't get too concerned yet. Just note the % wear next time they're
checked to see if the high rate continues or not.

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

In article <f4b0ac40.0410060908.3b218dc6@posting.google.com >,
funguy99504@yahoo.com (Chet Shannon) wrote:

>Hello,
>I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
>pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
>here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
>brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
>later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
>in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
>don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
>once a week.
>
>Thanks,
>Chet

"Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
>in such a short amount of time?"

Pads or shoes?
Shoes will wear much faster than normal when first seating in since there
are slight differences in radii between the shoes & drums. After that, the
apparent wear will decrease.
I wouldn't be suprised if pads did something similar.
I wouldn't get too concerned yet. Just note the % wear next time they're
checked to see if the high rate continues or not.

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

On 6 Oct 2004 10:08:01 -0700, funguy99504@yahoo.com (Chet Shannon)
wrote:
>I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
>pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
>here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
>brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
>later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
>in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
>don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
>once a week.

The estimate of percentage is very, very rough while they're still
working, I've had percentages go down and *up* for a year or more.
Just keep your eye on it at every checkup.

J.

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

On 6 Oct 2004 10:08:01 -0700, funguy99504@yahoo.com (Chet Shannon)
wrote:
>I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
>pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
>here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
>brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
>later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
>in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
>don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
>once a week.

The estimate of percentage is very, very rough while they're still
working, I've had percentages go down and *up* for a year or more.
Just keep your eye on it at every checkup.

J.

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

On 6 Oct 2004 10:08:01 -0700, funguy99504@yahoo.com (Chet Shannon)
wrote:
>I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
>pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
>here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
>brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
>later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
>in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
>don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
>once a week.

The estimate of percentage is very, very rough while they're still
working, I've had percentages go down and *up* for a year or more.
Just keep your eye on it at every checkup.

J.

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

i lived in sf until earlier this year, and had over 50k on the original
pads. and i lived at the top of nob hill, so i had to deal with [steep]
hills all the time.

basically, pads last a good long time. and they have audible wear
indicators for the real hard core misers out there that will only change
at the last possible second. dealers otoh, especially sf honda, are
just bandits. get a second opinion from an independent, or better yet,
inspect the pads yourself.

Chet Shannon wrote:
> Hello,
> I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
> pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
> here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
> brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
> later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
> in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
> don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
> once a week.
>
> Thanks,
> Chet

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

i lived in sf until earlier this year, and had over 50k on the original
pads. and i lived at the top of nob hill, so i had to deal with [steep]
hills all the time.

basically, pads last a good long time. and they have audible wear
indicators for the real hard core misers out there that will only change
at the last possible second. dealers otoh, especially sf honda, are
just bandits. get a second opinion from an independent, or better yet,
inspect the pads yourself.

Chet Shannon wrote:
> Hello,
> I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
> pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
> here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
> brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
> later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
> in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
> don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
> once a week.
>
> Thanks,
> Chet

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

i lived in sf until earlier this year, and had over 50k on the original
pads. and i lived at the top of nob hill, so i had to deal with [steep]
hills all the time.

basically, pads last a good long time. and they have audible wear
indicators for the real hard core misers out there that will only change
at the last possible second. dealers otoh, especially sf honda, are
just bandits. get a second opinion from an independent, or better yet,
inspect the pads yourself.

Chet Shannon wrote:
> Hello,
> I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
> pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
> here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
> brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
> later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
> in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
> don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
> once a week.
>
> Thanks,
> Chet

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

Oh no more than 4000 miles elapsed on the brake job since this latest
service check. The readings from the dealer on the report shows 8mm
left front remaining, 8mm right front remaining. I believe they are
referring to the pads. I gather the pads start out at 10mm. And I
definitely don't ride the brakes.

When I asked about 20% of the brakes depth disappearing in 2 months
the service rep said "oh this city tears up brakes and tires" because
my tires are 50% worn down in the 24,000 miles I've driven on them. I
guess that's probably reasonable but the brakes wearing down 10% a
month doesn't make sense to me.

It makes even less sense since the brakes weren't wearing down that
quickly in the year and a half that I've lived here (prior to the
brake job) since at 10% a month I would have gone through almost two
sets of brake pads and I haven't done that. If the trend continues at
10% a month I'll have to check with the dealer again for something
being wrong with their brake job.

Thanks,
Chet

"Seth" <seth_lermanNOSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<KIV8d.8580$PL1.3339@news02.roc.ny>...
> "Chet Shannon" <funguy99504@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:f4b0ac40.0410060908.3b218dc6@posting.google.c om...
> > Hello,
> > I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
> > pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
> > here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
> > brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
> > later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
> > in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
> > don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
> > once a week.
>
> Time elapsed is meaningless. Miles is what counts. How many miles between
> the pads being replaced and the shop saying they are down to 80%?
>
> By don't drive heavy on the brakes, do you also mean you don't "ride the
> brakes"? Maybe the calipers aren't adjusted properly. Was it down to 80%
> on both inner and outer pads? Or just 1 or the other? If inner and outer
> are wearing differently it's possible your caliper slides are sticking.

Re: Normal Brake pad wear time in hilly areas?
 

Oh no more than 4000 miles elapsed on the brake job since this latest
service check. The readings from the dealer on the report shows 8mm
left front remaining, 8mm right front remaining. I believe they are
referring to the pads. I gather the pads start out at 10mm. And I
definitely don't ride the brakes.

When I asked about 20% of the brakes depth disappearing in 2 months
the service rep said "oh this city tears up brakes and tires" because
my tires are 50% worn down in the 24,000 miles I've driven on them. I
guess that's probably reasonable but the brakes wearing down 10% a
month doesn't make sense to me.

It makes even less sense since the brakes weren't wearing down that
quickly in the year and a half that I've lived here (prior to the
brake job) since at 10% a month I would have gone through almost two
sets of brake pads and I haven't done that. If the trend continues at
10% a month I'll have to check with the dealer again for something
being wrong with their brake job.

Thanks,
Chet

"Seth" <seth_lermanNOSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<KIV8d.8580$PL1.3339@news02.roc.ny>...
> "Chet Shannon" <funguy99504@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:f4b0ac40.0410060908.3b218dc6@posting.google.c om...
> > Hello,
> > I have a question for you about brake wear. I just had my rear brake
> > pads replaced on 7/24/04. I live in San Francisco and it's very hilly
> > here. I just had another servicing done on the car and I'm told the
> > brake pads are now 80%. (This is on 10/2/04 a little over 2 months
> > later.) Does this sound right that 20% of the brake pad has worn away
> > in such a short amount of time? (It's a 1992 Honda civic SI.) I
> > don't drive heavy on the breaks and probably only go on a hill like
> > once a week.
>
> Time elapsed is meaningless. Miles is what counts. How many miles between
> the pads being replaced and the shop saying they are down to 80%?
>
> By don't drive heavy on the brakes, do you also mean you don't "ride the
> brakes"? Maybe the calipers aren't adjusted properly. Was it down to 80%
> on both inner and outer pads? Or just 1 or the other? If inner and outer
> are wearing differently it's possible your caliper slides are sticking.