Yet another brake question

[Number1gsxxr]

I just took my car into the dealer for an oil change. They said my rear brakes are at 15% and the fronts are at 20% and that I need to change them soon. About how many more miles can I drive before I really need to change them? They do squeal when coming to a complete stop at very low speeds (10-0mph).

I've been thinking about changing them myself since they want $249 for just the rears. What's a good pad for city driving? I do a lot of stop and go driving (cars pulling out in front of you, stop lights, etc.)

TIA

[RED_DET]

Project MU NS street pads is what I opted to go with. I would change the brakes yourself as well and safe some money.

[lawson3]

I would stay with the factory pads,If you have no brake pulsation then you can change yourself,otherwise you will need to have rotors turned(refinished).

[RED_DET]

Factory pads for 05+ sedans are ok. But on the 03-04 sedans, the damn brakes are grabby and produce so much dust in one day that looks like a week of brake dust. The Project MU pads perform just as well as the OEM pads if not better and feel better with no more dust problems either.

[drcook]

I just did the brakes on my 04. I had what sounds like the same conditions as you, ie squeaking when coming to stops at slow speeds. I also do mostly city driving, lots of stop & go.

I used Ceramic pads. Duralast. About $32 at Autozone. Quick & easy job. Turns out that I only needed to change the front brakes (rear pads still had plenty of wear left).

I am basically frugal at heart, so spending $32 and an hour or so of my time (including time to purchase) was waaaay better than a couple of hundred at the dealership!

[Number1gsxxr]

Cool. Thanks for the replies guys. I'm gonna see if the dealer will replace them for free since I just bought the car in June. Even though it is used they claimed that they go over each car and make sure you don't need anything.

I don't have any pulsating and the car is not pulling to one side during braking so I think the rotors are fine. If the dealer will not do it for free then I'll change them myself.

I have heard that ceramic pads produce much less dust but they eat the rotors faster. I hate cleaning the wheels but I like them to look nice. Think ceramic pads are okay for stop and go driving? I do about 60 miles a day just going to/from work and there are about a million traffic lights and stop signs.

[SVTCOBRA]

Did you buy it from an infiniti dealer?Most dealers I've delt with replace the pads if they have less than 50% left.I would definitely try to strike a deal with the dealer. Try to get them to do it for free or the price of the pads.....reasonable priced pads.Or, do it yourself.Have the fronts been replaced already,,,,guess we do need some more info. Cause would be unusual for the front and rear to be so close in wear.

[Number1gsxxr]

I bought it from a Nissan dealer and I'm not sure when the pads were replaced last since I bought it used. I'm pretty sure most cars wear through the front pads faster then the rears. It's possible that the previous owner replaced just the fronts and left the rears.

Tomorrow I will call the dealer where I bought my car (different Nissan dealer then where I had my oil changed).

[Q45tech]

Being frugal is ok, but brake pads may be less than frugal considering medical and repair expenses.

The Nissan Brake Assist system depends on soft dusty oem pads on a medium soft metallugy rotor. Changing pad friction vs temperature curve WILL sure increase panic stopping distances from the 30-70 mph design point.

If it takes 1/4 second longer to build to peak friction you will have traveled up to 22 feet farther before the stop!

22 feet difference between pads.

[lmeier]

We now have 23,500 miles on the car. Had our brakes replaced 3 times since we bought the car new, in 05. Each time the Infinity dealer covered the cost. Defective brakes are warranteed for 4 years. Squealing brakes are defective. Abnormal and uneven wear is abnormal for a luxury car. Get it???

In the process of writing Customer Affairs to get warranty extended at Infintiy Cost.

LMeier2004 G35

[Number1gsxxr]

I just heard back from the salesman whom I purchased the car from. He's going to call some people and apparently will get back to me on Friday. He agreed with me though. He totally thought that they should be replaced for free, so we'll see what happens.

[Number1gsxxr]

I dropped the car off tonight and I'll find out tomorrow if they will replace the brakes or not. It seems doubtful though....they said they were trying to check with the previous owner to see when the brakes were replaced last.

They better not say that the car needed brakes when I bougt it. If that's the case then why did I have to pay the prep fee which they absolutely would not waive, which they claim includes going over the entire car and making sure it doesn't need anything.

[SVTCOBRA]

When did you buy it? & how many miles ago?

[kalinvelev]

I went to the dealership yesterday for a brake inspection and the answer was: "Yes you need new brakes (I have the Brembos) and we would be more than glad to do it for the very low price of... $1800!!!??!!??!

Do them yourself it will take not more than an hour for all.

[Number1gsxxr]

Well I picked up the car today and they replaced the front pads and rotors for free. They said the back had about 10-15k miles left and they would replace those as well when they are worn down.

I'm guessing the squeeling I heard was metal on metal contact and they had no choice but to replace the rotors. Either way I am pumped...I really didn't think they were going to replace them.

I am a little perplexed about the rear brakes though. First one dealer says they need replacing and now the other says they are fine? Does 15% pad remaining = 10-15k miles?

Oh, and $1800!!....what kind of crack are they smoking!

[lmeier]

Hey numb, don't get your hopes up. About 18 months from now, after the warranty runs out, you'll be doing those brakes again. Every 18 months for the life of the car. And Nissan will tell you it's your driving habits. Thank you Nissan. We are in the process of filing in court under California lemon Law statute. The brakes are junk, they can't fix it. I want my money back, and I'm going to get it. Cheers, Larry m

[haloseven]

Do 'em yourself. Whatever you do, I don't recommend cutting rotors. They will be MUCH more likely to warp, especially under the heat generated by stop and go driving. Ceramic pads will definitely last longer under those conditions. Keep in mind the break in period is longer for ceramic pads than others, and will go much better on new rotors.

[haloseven]

If the brake pads are new, squealing brakes = vibrating pads ...... in most cases. A thin layer of high temp. silicone on the backs of the pads will usually eliminate it.

[haloseven]

If the brake pads are new, squealing brakes = vibrating pads ...... in most cases. A thin layer of high temp. silicone on the backs of the pads will usually eliminate it.

We now have 23,500 miles on the car. Had our brakes replaced 3 times since we bought the car new, in 05. Each time the Infinity dealer covered the cost. Defective brakes are warranteed for 4 years. Squealing brakes are defective. Abnormal and uneven wear is abnormal for a luxury car. Get it???

In the process of writing Customer Affairs to get warranty extended at Infintiy Cost.

LMeier2004 G35

[Number1gsxxr]

I'm seriously considering buy a 2 post auto lift to make working on my car easier. I think I can get a decent one for $1800 and I'm sure I'd save that much money over time by doing maintenance myself instead of paying a dealer.

[mrsmithGrider]

I would say know what your getting into when you buy ceramic brake pads....I too once was a victum of brake squeling and cleaning my rims almost everyday to get rid of that aweful looking brake dust. After much research.... i opted for the akebono ceramic brake pads.....i must admit these pads a very quiet, in fact, i have never heard any brake noise since installing them and i have put on 15 thousand miles with plenty pad left, in addition, i have hardly any brake dust. The dust that does come off is a goldish color and is barely visible, but there is a big performance gap between the akebono ceramics and the oem pad and that was noticed when I was on the highway going 100 mph and had to come to a rapid slow down. Although I love the pedal feel and no brake noise or dust next time ill shell out the extra cash for the street performance ceramic pads....which might not last as long or have the little amount of brake dust but at least the performance will be on par with that of oem pads.....just something to consider if your considering ceramic brake pads....get performance brake pads if you opt ceramic

[adren77]

I replaced my front brakes for the first time after 38k miles. I went with the OEM brake pads. Supposedly they wear more, but my previous ones lasted 38k miles , so that's not too bad. They squeal once in a while, but it's not a big deal to me.

Also, if you want to save money you should have someone resurface your rotors. They can be resurfaced 1-2 times. Resurfacing is a must if you don't want to buy new ones, as the pads will not sit properly. If you don't plan on tracking your car, resurfaced rotors will perform good enough. They should not warp under stop and go driving as someone said above.

When I drove my 200sx, I always went with after market name brands. After I did that for 100k miles +, i decided to check the OEM. The OEM brakes performed much better than any popular name brand performance brakes. Since then I stick with OEM parts. I'm sure those engineers know wtf they are doing.

To sum it up then: go buy OEM pads, have your rotors resurfaced, and replace it yourself.

[johnparkyourcar]

Has anyone ever noticed a squeaking sound coming from the brakes? I went to a shop once to find out what it is and the mechanic told me its because my brake pads are worn out and that the squeaking I hear is the sensors. Is that true? I can hear the squeaking sound when I first apply the brakes lightly when coming to a stop. But then again I can also hear the same kind of squeaking when I drive over bumpy surfaces.

[Sentientbydesign]

Has anyone ever noticed a squeaking sound coming from the brakes? I went to a shop once to find out what it is and the mechanic told me its because my brake pads are worn out and that the squeaking I hear is the sensors. Is that true? I can hear the squeaking sound when I first apply the brakes lightly when coming to a stop. But then again I can also hear the same kind of squeaking when I drive over bumpy surfaces.

Most brake pads have a small piece of metal that points towards the rotor but is only about a third of the thickness of the pad. Once your pad gets that low, you hear the little metal tab scraping against your rotors.

Quote »Hey numb, don't get your hopes up. About 18 months from now, after the warranty runs out, you'll be doing those brakes again. Every 18 months for the life of the car. And Nissan will tell you it's your driving habits. Thank you Nissan. We are in the process of filing in court under California lemon Law statute. The brakes are junk, they can't fix it. I want my money back, and I'm going to get it. Cheers, Larry m [/quote]I'm just as sue happy as the rest of you, but you're funny.

The pads on my I30 last me around 6-8 months which equates to about 10k-20k and I don't make a peep. They cost $65 and take me all of 30 mins to put on.

Quote »I replaced my front brakes for the first time after 38k miles. I went with the OEM brake pads. Supposedly they wear more, but my previous ones lasted 38k miles , so that's not too bad. They squeal once in a while, but it's not a big deal to me. Also, if you want to save money you should have someone resurface your rotors. They can be resurfaced 1-2 times. Resurfacing is a must if you don't want to buy new ones, as the pads will not sit properly. If you don't plan on tracking your car, resurfaced rotors will perform good enough. They should not warp under stop and go driving as someone said above.

When I drove my 200sx, I always went with after market name brands. After I did that for 100k miles +, i decided to check the OEM. The OEM brakes performed much better than any popular name brand performance brakes. Since then I stick with OEM parts. I'm sure those engineers know wtf they are doing.

To sum it up then: go buy OEM pads, have your rotors resurfaced, and replace it yourself. [/quote]What kind of lame performance brakes did you buy that had the same or worse performance?

I have Hawk HPS and Powerslots on my I30 and even with glazed pads and rotors, they stop better than Infiniti brakes do.