Brake pad life?

[blackjack21]

Hi,
I have a 2007 A160cdi auto.My front pads needed changing at,what i thought to be an early,14,000 miles.
The car has just been serviced at 20,800 miles and the dealer told me the front pads are 80% worn.
I told the dealer that there must be a fault as in the numerous cars i have owned previously my pads have lasted at least 20,000 miles.
The dealer is adament that it must be my driving style but i cannot understand how pads can be 80% worn after only 6000 miles.
To add insult to injury they advised me that the discs should also be changed with every second pad change.
Could members please advise me.
Are Mercedes pads so less hardwearing than BMW,Ford,Honda etc?

 

[whitenemesis]

My Sports Pack brakes (larger cross-drilled discs, twin pot calipers) went to 40k before needing to be changed. Both discs and pads.

The wear you describe does seem excessive.

 

[carlsson20]

I suppose it depends, 14k of motorway driving or town driving, I've seen a set of front pads destroyed in a day, I don't think Mercedes pads and discs are any worse than any other makes. I'm sure someone will come and tell me different.

 

[whitenemesis]

Mine was a mixture of motorway, A and B roads with the usual shopping and "dad's taxi" service.

And before anyone comments, I drive quite spiritedly, no point in having that stopping power and not use it!

 

[Juddian]

Blackjack, did you actually check see that the pads were physically renewed at 14K, now even my lad would struggle to get through them that quickly (6K) on his Subaru.

Is it possible that somehow the authorisation was confused and somehow missed the fitter (sorry technician).

If they are wearing like that, i'd be inclined to nip into GSF/Eurocarparts and grab a set of textar pads and slip them in on the qt (identical to the pads usually costing 2 or 3 times the price from your genuine ones).

Have the dealership told you how worn your discs are, or they ex qwik fix staff?
Changing discs like i change me socks, i'm pretty fussy on maintenance especially tyres and brakes but 20K for discs is rapid wear.

Hang on a thought, you don't loan your car out to a far too good looking young chap (he didn't get them looks from his dad thats for sure) who parks his Subaru at your gaff by any chance.

 

[whitenemesis]

MB work on a deteriation factor of 4000km/mm pad thickness for the front axle and 6000km/mm for the rear axle

They will measure the pad thicknes at service and remove 3mm non usable area and calculate the approx km left under average usage conditions

 

[blackjack21]

I would say 70% town driving but i have done taxi driving in the past and driven high performance cars,my last car was a BMW 645ci,and have never gone through pads so quick.
I assumed that the pads were changed last time as it was also a main dealer but you never know!
This time i wasn't told that the discs were actually worn but that it was normal practice to change them every other pad change.
Have also spoken to Mercedes customer service but neither them or the dealer seem to believe that i am a family man with a baby and not a rally driver!!!

 

[whitenemesis]

I believe BMW recommend disc change each pad change.

Changing discs every second pad change seems prudent. Never mind the actual disc thickness the degree of scoring can reduce pad life considerably.

 

[rf065]

Has anyone checked that your brake calipers are not sticking?
That would explain the high pad wear.

PS My car has 27500 miles on the clock & the original pads have plenty life left on them,
& I don't drive like an old granny either.

Russ

 

[carabind]

Pad wear is directly linked to your driving style. About 15 years ago, when I had a company sierra, I used to wear them out every 12k miles ! It is certainly possible with spirited driving , you could wear them out.Discs don't last as long either, primarily due to lack of asbestos meaning the substituted other harder wearing material wears the discs at a quicker rate.
However, lets get more realsitic, I wonder how thick they are to start with ? 8m -10mm? If you discount the last 3mm as mentioned above, then they're probably half worn...... by the way, do you have a pad wear light on your dash? If so, you could wait till that came on??

I remember the MB dealer trying to talk me into new tyres when my old ones still had 4mm left!! Their excuse was that wouldn't last till the next service....guess what ,they did!

 

[jberks]

I'd agree with Carabind. Don't change the pads until the light comes on. I've had similar warnings but managed to reach the next sevice without issue and as has been said is 80% really 80%? Most of us have had %worn warnings that turn out to be pessimistic. Also, were your previous cars autos? Remember they go through pads a lot faster.
Discs wise, yes 1 disc lasts 2 set of pads these days. Annoying but true. Still, think of the environment.

 

[Rory]

Interestingly my car is on Mercedes ServicePlus and the pads were noted as LESS worn when it went in for service 6mths after it had had an MOT. They did note the disks as corroded and when I asked why they hadn't changed them they said ServicePlus won't allow it unless worn to the limit.

The "we've got the wheels off and the pads and disks could do with changing" call is such a scam.

 

[television]

Many factors influence that life of the pads, where you live,how you drive, and the weight of the car, on a run sometimes I play at seeing how far I can drive without touching the brake pedal. Where I live there are 4 miles of steep hills, so heavy brake wear must take place going in one direction.

Brakes like tyres can give an optical illusion as regarding how worn they are, my wide 285 tyres can look worn, its only when you measure the depth of tread that you find that there is plenty of life left.

The lip on the disc can mask the true disc thickness, the same with the pads.

Many garages ply for work by telling people that their brakes are worn, and the blurb put out by the disc and pad makers says that the only way to do the job is to change the pads and disc together, and that is wrong, when the warning lamp comes on, normally another 1000 miles can be had

 

[whitenemesis]

Interestingly my car is on Mercedes ServicePlus and the pads were noted as LESS worn when it went in for service 6mths after it had had an MOT. They did note the disks as corroded and when I asked why they hadn't changed them they said ServicePlus won't allow it unless worn to the limit.

The "we've got the wheels off and the pads and disks could do with changing" call is such a scam.

I know Rory will be the first to agree he and I seem to have very polar experiences with regrds to Service Plus

When my car was in for service at approx 42k miles it was noted the pads and discs were worn and probably would not reach the next service (for me that's usually every 6mths).
They changed them then and there, no questions.

The dealership has a massive influence on one's perception of Service-Plus

 

[Rory]

The dealership has a massive influence on one's perception of Service-Plus

Mine (MB Chester) is certainly, in my opinion, useless. It's annoying as this is my first MB and I did call the dealership before buying to check service prices etc and was very competently dealt with. At first service the Service Advisor was very good.

However the good staff have gone, to be replaced by 2 females - one arrogant and one dippy. The Service Manager has gone and the role is now being fulfilled by the Parts Manager - I don't know what he's like, he never returned either call I made so I gave up.

I did consider a BMW but the way the Chester BMW dealer's service department dealt with my call soon put a stop to that idea. I'm running out of marques - I heard a negative comment about Lexus the other day!

 

[Nick1964]

Clearly pad life is directly proportional to brake usage unless there's a fault on your car (warped discs, sticking callipers, cheap aftermarket components etc). I would recommend using Textar pads from Eurocarparts and if need be fitting a pair of new discs (these tend to be fairly cheap (I like Brembo discs myself - cheap to good quality)).

It's also worth bearing in mind that automatic cars go through discs much quicker than manuals due to you always being on and off the brakes. However, your original question may be answered by your 'spirited' driving.

Regards,

Nick

 

[Rory]

It's also worth bearing in mind that automatic cars go through discs much quicker than manuals due to you always being on and off the brakes. However, your original question may be answered by your 'spirited' driving.

It's often said that auto's wear brakes faster than manuals but drivers are taught to use brakes these days rather than gears and even older drivers who may have perhaps done some advanced driving (mine was on a course at work) are taught "gears to go, brakes to slow".

I find my car (C270CDi) slows on its own far faster than manual company cars I had previously. There's a set of lights near home that have a long change cycle and I struggle to get the roll up to the lights right - I frequently have to use gas again as the car always seems to slow quicker than I expect it to.

 

[jp williams]

My experience agrees with Rory`s. MB Chester are useless and automatics do not necessarily use up brake pads any more than manuals.
In another thread I advocated the use of the quality indies (and certain MB dealerships which have and display integrity) which are being recognised in this and the other forum.
Why change the brake pads when only 80% (as if !) worn? The panel display will alert you soon enough.

regards
John

 

[television]

Why change the brake pads when only 80% (as if !) worn? The panel display will alert you soon enough.

regards
John

Sadly females are often told this at brake centers even when there is 50% to go, you cannot let the whole world know of the cheats, they have always been in the motor trade like others

 

[Richard ADI]

hi Blackjack,
I have an 2007 A180 CDI, And unlike most A class drivers I teach i mine, Mine has 32k on the clock now.Im doing between 600-1000 miles per week in it. Only on the second set of pads which i fitted in 45 mins. They are so easy to fit. MB wanted £200 to fit them also saying the 80% worn con trick. 20% left is a fith of their working life! Why would I want to change them. My car is a working car and although i service and check the car daily, sometimes oil check, tyre pressure and tread, lights and so on 3-4 times a day! As soon as the light came on I fitted a new pair of MB pads at £50 and took me 45 mins. I am breaking hard and i mean excessive hard breaking all day long with emergency stop practice and trying to stop them kiling me! I changed my pads at 22k. Yours should last longer. Im on 32k now on inspection they have plenty of meat left. Discs are fine too. If you can fit them yourself buy a set and keep them in the boot so as soon as the light comes on you can whip them on. Brake fluid change is due next service. I keep a full sized alloy a full set of bulbs a new set of wippers, Oil for top ups and some other bits and bobs for safety reasons all in the boot! Oh yer... toilet roll!