I have about 20k miles on my 2010 max, after going to the dealer because of my brake, VDC and traction control lights coming on they informed me I needed new brake pads and the rotors resurfaced. Is this possible that I would need pads so soon? They are charging me 250 for the new pads and resurface.

1. Is the wear normal, only 20k miles?

2. What do you think of the price?

 

Unless you are doing a lot of stop and go driving, this seems too soon to need pads and rotor resurfacing. The price of $250 from the dealer seems reasonable to me. However, I would have them investigate why the rears went so fast. I wonder if your calipers are not releasing properly causing excessive wear.

 

If it is just the rears, I would really take a look at the emergency brake. Most of the stopping power is in the front (which is why they typically wear first) but with rears going first I think there is more going on than just a lot of brake use.

 

I agree with you that there is something unusual going on but I thought that the emergency brakes were some little mini drum brakes on the back as opposed to actually using the disc system.

 

[quote=boone;7878960]I agree with you that there is something unusual going on but I thought that the emergency brakes were some little mini drum brakes on the back as opposed to actually using the disc system.[/quo

You are correct, the discs do not lock for parking or emergency. There is a drum brake inside the hub that does that job. This so hot brakes dont warp the disc when the parking brake is used.
As a side note, I think the parking brake on this max is very weak. It won't even hold my car on my driveway. Anyone else think there's is weak also?

 

[quote=Glenns25;7879116]i might have to disagree with you on the weak part i tried it out on a hill before with the car in neutral and it held up pretty good didnt move

 

I told the dealer I have never heard of that, you know how the dealers are though. I dont know what to do, I mean I do brake hard but 20k miles is a joke. I know the stock pads probally suck, but every time I replace pads on a nissan and they arent factory . they squeal.

 

I just replaced my rear brakes at 37,000 miles. The rears wore out a lot faster than the front, but the rear brake pads are about half the size (surface area) as the fronts though.

 

This is becoming more of a standard, to have more braking force go to the rears. This is so the car doesn't nose dive like older cars do. 20k miles out of someone that brakes hard, seems about right. We drive very easy and got 60k out of our last vehicle, and we had them replaced due to rotors starting to warp, the pads had a lot of life left in them. Its all in how you drive

 

My dealer told me the same thing when i was at 30K because my traction, VDC, and Parking Brake lights would come on. The thing that I don't understand is why the back brakes have less pad on them than the front ones do.... It just doesn't seem right to me.

 

how come you guys have all this problems on ya max. am at 33k and no problem whatsoever except the front suspension recall. i did my 30k maintenance and all the parts are still perfect working condition

 

^better knock on wood

 

that doesnt seem right at 20k to get new brake pads

 

thats just TURRABLE!

 

how are the rotors holding up? is it just the brake pads that are wearing early or do the back rotors need to get machined too?

wonder if getting better calipers/rotors/pads on the 2 rear wheels would help in the long run with this car. unless im ignorant and having 2 different size calipers/rotors on the front and back does not work.

 

I have owned nothing but Maximas since Oct 1984, and have never had to have brake work done within the first 50K, but do usually have to have them redone by 60K.

But then I go to great lengths to avoid braking while driving by leaving a cushion between me and the car ahead of me, doing most of my driving outside rush hours, staying away from heavy traffic when possible, gradually slowing down well in advance when it is evident I will be stopping at a light or stop sign, using natural engine compression for braking on small downhills, using a manual 'override gear' when descending long mountain grades, etc, etc.

Having said that, I do not know if the brakes on this 7th gen will last as well. I'm near 20K, so may be finding out within the next year or so.

Are you absolutely positive nobody drove your car while using the brake pedal as a resting place for their left foot? Another possibility may be that there is an imbalance in your braking system, and the front, for whatever reason, is not doing its share of the work.

The pads on rear brakes are smaller than the pads on the front because the front brakes do more work. But it should take some serious braking to wear them out within 20K.

General advice: After a series of serious stops (or any activity that would greatly raise the temperature of the brake pads), DO NOT sit at a light or stop sign with your foot still on the brake. Briefly engage the parking brake until you are ready to move again. The parking brake has its own little drum, and does not involve having the pads press against the rotors. Leaving very hot brake pads sitting in one spot against the rotors is a good way to warp them.

 

Great point on the hot brakes resting on the rotors when stopped. Thanks!

 

these brakes dont last i have 21k on my 09 and im gonna have to do brakes very soon
i do it myself im not paying the dealer

 

Every time I bring my car in the brakes get checked and my fronts are slightly more worn then my backs, Im at 19k so we shall see

 

the front brakes are favored more because most of the weight is in the front

 

This is not quite accurate. Even cars with a 50/50 weight distribution have brakes that are biased towards the front. The front requires larger brakes because when a car is stopping, all of the weight transfers forward due to kinetic energy.

 

My buddy just told me he had to have his rear pads replaced at 30k on his 09. I told him that something had to be wrong with the braking system. But after hearing some of these comments, maybe it's the design.
You would think they would have a little beefier pads/rotors on the rear.

 

This is the truth. I also hear that since our cars have EBC (Electronic Brake-force Distribution), the rears can wear out faster if you always have extra weight in the trunk or rear seats to compensate. I can't say this is 100% accurate, but if the system works the way it's supposed to, I can agree with this.

Going to be taking a look at mine in April before I head to Deals Gap, NC with my 370Z friends. Need to make sure everything is in order before hitting the Dragon in May for ZDayz.

 

I'm at 77k and my rears are less than 2MM. The fronts are about 6MM. I do average driving nothing crazy, so I was surprised to find out the rears were almost done.

 

When I got my oil changed a couple weeks ago at about 15K miles, they said the fronts still had 90% left and the back 70%. This is with 90% city driving and 22s. Just depends on your driving habits.

 

Hey I had this problem a couple of weeks ago. If your traction and VDC lights come on randomly and turning off the engine will make them go away. Then go take a look at the brake fluid!! It's a known issue with Nissan since I Googled about it with many cars from Nissan having this issue. When I looked at my brake fluid it was just above the minimum line so I guess when I turned the fluid might fall below minimum levels so the light comes on. I added brake fluid back to the max line and no more problems, there is no way your brakes are done after only 20000 miles.

 

Sounds like your dealer is FOS. I'd look again. I just replaced my brakes at 18K because I wanted to upgrade. My rears came off with plenty of life left and there were no problems with the rotors. I play pretty hard in the car; I'm not playing hard in the city though. If they are truly shot at 20K you've got other problems or you race the car in the city. I'd like to know the resolution of your issue.

 

Check your brake fluid level and top it back to full line if it is low that might be the cause for your brake, tc and vdc light to come on. And do you know what the measurement are for your rear pad?

 

I was really surprised when my mechanic told me - dude your rear brakes are toast - but your front brakes are fine... my 2011 @ 77K my pads finally wore out. The shop also stated that's unusual.. Where did you find that info - rears kick in first - it makes sense.. thanks for sharing.

 

I changed the pads on my '09 SV a couple of months ago and had I checked them before buying new pads the original ones would still be on the car. I had the pads so I went ahead and changed them. The rears were worn slightly more than the fronts but not by much. BTW this was at 101,326 miles.

 

I switched to akebono pads and it changed the bias back towards the front brakes. I get a little more dive but a lot more bite too. Only con is the brake dust is a total pain to get off the wheels.

 

158,000 miles and I just replaced them today for the 2nd time.

 

[QUOTE=Glenns25;7879116]To answer your question: 2011 Maxima, original owner, parking brake seems to work fine.

I did notice that my rear brake pads were wearing faster than the fronts (54k miles). So much so that I replaced them and the rotors. Even good quality rotors are affordable these days.

 

After changing my rear pads/rotors, but not the fronts (54k miles), the rear pads and rotors are smaller. The fronts have another 30k on them is my guess.

 

Changing the pads are no big deal save the money do it yourself. Youtube is your friend, then find a repair shop non nissan to turn the rotors its like 10 -20 bucks