When do brake pads have to be replaced?

Recently updated on January 2, 2023 at 06:44 am

The brakes are an important wear part on the vehicle. They should be checked regularly and renewed if necessary. Badly worn brake pads are an enormous safety risk and affect the braking behavior. If the components reach their wear limit, the complete brake does not always have to be replaced. The pads in particular can be changed easily and at low cost without having to do without the vehicle for a long time.

Difference: brake disc, brake pad and brake caliper

The brake of a vehicle consists of several components. It provides security and should always work correctly. So that there are no restrictions, the brakes should be checked regularly. After all, the components are under enormous strain and it is only a matter of time before the material reaches its limits. Fortunately, the brake on a vehicle indicates wear in good time. However, it should first be clarified which components the brake is made of and how the whole system works. The following three elements are important here:

• brake disc
• brake lining
• caliper

The wheels of the vehicle are connected to metal disks that rotate with the tire. This caliper creates friction and slows down the journey. The counterpart to this is the brake disc. The saddle presses like a pair of pliers on the disc and thus creates its function. The brake pads are attached to the inside. Ultimately, they create the friction. If the brake pedal is now operated, a piston presses against the brake caliper. The pads move in the direction of the brake disc and slow down the rotation of the wheel. The harder you press the brake pedal, the faster the wheels stop. If the process is carried out on all four wheels at the same time, the vehicle comes to a standstill.

The pads are made of a much softer material than the brake discs themselves. They are made of metal and do not wear out as quickly. The brake pads, on the other hand, are among the most common wearing parts on a vehicle. As an online dealer for car parts, DAPARTO knows how often they are in demand and purchased. Here customers get the right brake pads for their discs, timely delivery and a specific search mask for special spare parts.

Time for changing the brake pads

The brakes are one of the most important inspection points for every inspection. Modern vehicles are also equipped with a warning system that shows the wear on the pads in good time. As soon as these have left, the next change is due. These intervals depend purely on mechanical wear. However, this cannot be calculated based on the mileage. The brakes of a car are subjected to different loads depending on the driving style. If you brake frequently or have to brake particularly hard, you have to expect the first change after about 20.000 km. A particularly forward-looking and sustainable driving style protects the brake pads over 100.000 km and more.

PS: There are different brake pads Topping cake. An overview of the properties can be found in our article "Sintered metal, ceramic, low-metallic or organic brake pads?".

Detect wear limit

Many manufacturers set a wear limit for the brake pads of disc brakes. This is 4 mm minimum thickness. Drum brakes are based on a different principle and may still be operated up to a pad thickness of 1 mm. However, if the components reach these limit values, the pads or the brake shoes must be replaced. Otherwise, safety is extremely impaired while driving.

The wear limit can easily be checked yourself. A display in the cockpit of the vehicles indicates when the minimum strength has been reached and the next change is due. But even before that, the imminent repair is announced. Sensitive drivers recognize worn brake pads directly while driving, even before the warning light indicates it. Common signs are here:

• long braking distance
• grinding noise
• little brake fluid
• fluttering brake pedal

In some cases, oil gets on the brakes if, for example, there is a leak in the engine compartment and a mistake was made while changing the oil. This lubricant prevents friction between the brakes and their effect. A change is therefore not only necessary in the event of wear, but also in the case of heavily soiled or oily components.

Note: Worn brake pads are a higher burden on the brake discs. If you wait too long for repairs here, you risk a complete change of the brake system and thus higher costs.

The change of the brake pads

The repair can only be carried out by a workshop. Here the mechanics remove the old brake pad from the saddle and insert a new one. It is important that the pads always have to be changed per axis. It is not necessary to change the pads at the front and rear in one pass, but the pads should also run smoothly on the same axis. The front brakes are usually under more load than the rear ones. They are therefore to be exchanged more often. Depending on the car model plus the work done by the workshop, around 30 to 70 euros in material costs are payable per axle. The entire repair costs around 150 euros and does not take much time. Racing brake pads are significantly more expensive, but also perform better.

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