About 3 months ago my brake shoes and pads were replaced. Yesterday, after they started making an awful noise, I had them inspected by Mr. Madame. (they one who replaced them)
He said they needed to be replaced again and the only way they could wear to the point they were now in is because I MUST be riding the brakes. He said even the slightest pressure from me, so long as it is constant, produces this degree of wear this quickly.
Is this true? I am positive I do not “ride the brakes” as much as he insists. Also, I have had the car for almost three years now so did I only begin this crazy brake habit in the last three months? What else could be causing the friction, because even as i begin to accelerate, and there is no pressure what-so-ever on the brakes, I can hear something creating friction.
It sounds as though you are admitting that you do it some. It doesn’t take much riding to go through a pad. If you are a two footed driver, it’s even worse. Using gas and brakes at the same time wears even faster.
Drive with one foot. Hook up a shock collar to the brake light. That’ll get rid of that habbit.
Did both shoes (i.e., driver side and passenger side) wear out prematurely? A sticky caliper is one possibility, but highly unlikely to affect both sides equally. Disc brakes usually use a “floating” caliper design to accomodate shoe wear. When the brake is applied, the pad only moves a very short distance, then moves back when the pressure is released. The whole shebang rides along a slide or long pin. If the caliper slides are dirty, the shoe can sometimes get stuck in the engaged position.
The caliper piston may also be damaged in a way that does not allow it to retract into the cup, but in my experience the slides are more often the culprit.
When Mr Madame replaced the shoes, he may not have lubricated and ensured free range of motion in the caliper slides/pins. Sometimes they can be cleaned up with a wire brush and lubricated, other times you are stuck buying a new caliper. If the caliper piston is damaged it can be rebuilt, but it is usually cheaper and easier to buy a new caliper than to rebuild one.
This is unclear. Brakes are usually essentially silent when applied. Whatever you’re hearing may or may not be brake-related, but should certainly be inspected and identified.
If there’s no residual drag on the wheels right after the brakes are applied and released, it’s extremely unlikely a brake system fault caused the premature wear. But without inspecting them, I can only guess and assume about whether there is a mechanical problem or a riding-the-brakes problem. I can state with confidence that the allowable amount of riding the brakes (having a foot on the pedal when not actually braking) is zero. Don’t do it
By “riding the breaks” I mean having to watch downhill speeds rather than slow to a complete stop. I never ever ever use the bfrakes at the same time as the gas - and for the record, I (snort) I had no idea anyone used both feet to drive…I only use one.
I live in a hilly area, and combat LA traffic every day to and from work.
By “riding the breaks” I mean having to watch downhill speeds rather than slow to a complete stop. I never ever ever use the bfrakes at the same time as the gas - and for the record, I (snort) I had no idea anyone used both feet to drive…I only use one.
I live in a hilly area, and combat LA traffic every day to and from work.
Using the brakes means applying the brake pedal as desired to slow or stop the car. That’s what they’re there for.
Riding the brakes means resting a foot on the brake pedal when not intending to use the brakes to any degree whatsoever. If you don’t do this, Mr. Madame’s assessment is incorrect. (It sounds like you don’t do this, but if you do, stop doing it.)
I’m telling her that because she has not clearly stated she doesn’t do it.
From post #1:I am positive I do not “ride the brakes” as much as he insists. (Bolding mine.)
That’s not the same as saying “I don’t ride the brakes.” That’s saying “Well sure, I ride them some, but not that much.”
From post #5:By “riding the breaks” I mean having to watch downhill speeds rather than slow to a complete stop.
Clear as mud. I think I know what is meant – using the brakes to curtail coasting speed. But the phrasing – “watching speed” instead of the unambiguous “applying the brakes” – and the out-of-the-blue mention of a complete stop make it hard to be sure.
From post #5:I never ever ever use the bfrakes at the same time as the gas…
That’s great, but using the brakes isn’t the same as riding the brakes.
Now that I understand the definition of “riding the brakes”, I can tell you with the ut,ost certainty that I do not ride the brakes…sorry for the confusion.
If the discs/drum linings are heavily scored (usually the case if the previous set of shoes/pads was worn right down to the metal and the car was used for a while with that awful grinding screeching noise on application of the brakes), subsequently-fitted pads/shoes may wear unusually quickly because the rough surface of the discs/drum linings is filing them away.