Is 17K miles too early to replace brake pads?

Brake pads on my 4×4 SUV lasted about 85,000 miles.

Your owners manual should tell you at what thickness the pads should be changed…

I don’t know much about cars, but I was driving through the rocky mountains last year and had no idea that my brake pads were almost non existant. The car was very shaky when I braked going down a hill. It was an awful feeling, but I thought it was just because we were in the mountains. When we got to San Diego, they told us that the brake pads were shot and metal was rubbing on metal. Anyhow, if you don’t notice anything like that, then I wouldn’t change them. But then again, I wait until things are pretty much shot on my car before I replace them. Maybe not bright, but I don’t have the money to blow it on my car unless its totally necessary.

They should last longer than that, even with the mountains. Unless you drive really poorly. Get a second opinion.

@robmandu Shouldn’t you mention that you’re in Texas where it’s flat and nobody stops for anything anyway?

This Honda Owner Link site looks promising.

Oh, and I live in Texas where it’s flat and nobody stops for anything anyway.

ataboy

@robmandu haha

Well I found this, which is very interesteing: https://mail.google.com/a/melanielancon.com/?ui=2&view=bsp&ver=1qygpcgurkovy

Ugh. I bought a Honda so I wouldn’t have to deal with crap like this!

Get a second opinion.

You can go through brake pads in 6000 miles depending on how you drive. If you’re in a mountainous region, you’re probably using the brakes a lot. If you have a lead foot like I do, you’re going to wear them faster, too. If you are, by any chance, a left-foot braker, that will do it every time.

And if you are a left foot braker, STOP IT! :)

OMG – the only person I know who uses their left foot to brake is my 90-year-old great aunt. Do normal people actually do that?

Yes – I actually have to drive down a pretty steep hill/mountain every day AND I definitely have a lead foot. OK, so I guess 17K isn’t so bad :)

Defensive drivers know how to use brakes as little as possible. Mine lasted for more than 100,000 miles.

Maybe they were defective.

@mattbrowne I am about as far as you can get from being a defensive driver. I should get a bumper sticker that reads “I <3 being aggressive”.

@YARNLADY Yeah, I’m really hoping they weren’t defective….oh well, I’m now super aware of how much I use my brakes and downshift as much as possible when driving around in the hills.

@melanie81 – Yes, aggressive drivers can run down their brakes in under 25,000 miles. Well, the same goes for the rest of the car.

@mattbrowne , aggressive driving can be described as tailgating, cutting people off, rolling stop signs, slaloming through traffic, and other obnoxious behaviors. It is not defined as the antithesis of hypermiling. Not everybody wants to buy a Prius and drive like they have an egg between their foot and the accelerator.

@IchtheosaurusRex – Yes, I know. Tailgating for example involves repeated unnecessary acceleration and braking. And I also know that many don’t like to “have an egg between their foot and the accelerator”, but very soon this will become a very expensive hobby. Wait till the barrel of oil hits $200 or even $250. Some sporting drivers will realize they have to change their lifestyle too and switch to very realistic virtual reality. There are great games that will allow them to continue their hobby, knowing that computers also require energy, but the demands are small compared to gas guzzling.

@mattbrowne , that’s OK; I have my sights on one of these.

@IchtheosaurusRex – Great car, I heard a lot about it. Hopefully it will become more affordable in the future. And we have to generate more electricity from non fossil fuel sources.

@mattbrowne , I probably should mention that I drive only 150 miles a week, unless it’s dry enough to ride my bike, in which case I drive about 60 miles a week. Even at the rate I go through brake shoes, I don’t have to replace them that often.

Tesla isn’t affordable, but you can bet that within 10 years, you’ll see electric runabouts selling in the mid 20s. But the carbon footprint of an electric car charged up from a coal-fired plant is still less than that of an internal combustion vehicle. When my ‘02 Acura finally croaks – I figure can get at least another 6 years out of her – I’d like to get a plug-in or hybrid of some kind, but I still want something that will push me back in my seat.