I have a '95 max gle with 56k on it. Still has original brake pads and rotors. Brakes are still going strong with no noticeable vibration. At 46k brakes were checked and still had 50% wear. I was really surprised since it was a city car.

Question I have is, when I replace the brakes, do you recommend going with the original brake pads or are there good aftermarket ones.

 

The most frequently recommended replacement brake pads are listed in the "sticky" at the top of this forum.

In any case, I'm surprised that your brakes are still going strong. Auto's burn up the brake pads faster than manuals so I'd be very surprised if you get up to 80k miles. Also, when you had them checked, were they talking the front, rear or both pads. The fronts wear out a LOT faster than the rears. My dad's 97GLE needed new front pads at 55k. You mileage may vary but I think you should have your fronts checked.

 

i was wondering why do auto's burn their brakes faster??

 

My 1997 SE has 55,000 miles on it and both brake pads in the front and the rear have a lot of life left (7mm or so) They are the original pads that came with the car.

 

On a manual, many people slow down by downshifting, or just holding a lower gear, which causes the engine compression to slow the car down when you are not stepping on the gas. On automatics, the lousy shift logic holds OD forever, and there isn't much engine braking, so you need to step on the brakes to slow down.

On my car, my fronts last around 30k, rears maybe 40k. I had my brakes last done at 30k and just had all four sets of pads replaced since I didn't want to come back in a few months later just to do the rears. I am at 52k now, and brake pads look a little more than half worn, which is what I expect.