Who has changed brakes?

[chingon]

I wonder I someone here has replaced the breakes and aftere how many miles, so that I have an idea what to expect. I only have 5000 mil in 8 months.

Thanks .
________________
Pilot REd EXL, Bars, Boards, Dash wood

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by chingon
. . . so that I have an idea what to expect. . . .

I expect you worry too much

[Brian]

5000 is way to early, but I'm wondering how many miles as well. I used to have a Durango and the brakes needed changing every 18,000 miles. The older Tahoe's burn through brakes at 12,000! It's the weight of these SUV's. I'm hoping to get at least 25,000 out of the Pilot.

[ramirami]

Originally posted by Brian
5000 is way to early, but I'm wondering how many miles as well. I used to have a Durango and the brakes needed changing every 18,000 miles. The older Tahoe's burn through brakes at 12,000! It's the weight of these SUV's. I'm hoping to get at least 25,000 out of the Pilot.

would expect the rear brakes to last longer....

[colorider]

Originally posted by chingon
I wonder I someone here has replaced the breakes and aftere how many miles, so that I have an idea what to expect. I only have 5000 mil in 8 months.

Thanks .
________________
Pilot REd EXL, Bars, Boards, Dash wood

Brake pad life (we have disks all the way around - no shoes) is pretty much dictated by YOUR driving style. You would have to be very abusive to only have them last 5K miles. As an example, I owned a '88 Subaru that I traded in with 160K miles that still had the original brakes and clutch. Why? Virtually all highway miles.

I'm guessing that with my typical use, I should expect somewhere near 80K out of my pads.

YMMV

[lxblack]

I took in my pilot for 15k service.

They told me I have 3mm left on front, and 4 mm left on my rear brake pads.
The service adviser also told me that they are expecting some where between 15k to 20k from the pads. They charge $90 for the brake job.

Why so little life from the pads? My lexus front pad lasted 90K and I still have original pads on a rear brakes at 110K...

Honda's brake pads must be very soft...

[m-mmeyer]

They seem soft, at least in respect to how much brake dust they throw off. My old Rodeo had 60k on it and had plenty of pad left! It also did not throw off hardly any dust. As opposed to my Jetta, you can clean the wheel and then back out of the driveway and it already has dust on it.


Matt

[tonyrwc]

Originally posted by lxblack
I took in my pilot for 15k service.

.
The service adviser also told me that they are expecting some where between 15k to 20k from the pads. They charge $90 for the brake job.



Honda's brake pads must be very soft...

$90 for what? That couldnt be the cost for both frt. and rears.

[lxblack]

I hear you Tony, but we are talking about a dealer...
I know we can do a lot better going to the private auto repair shops...

We are still looking for someone who's done his own brake job. Anyone with this experience?

[Threadhead]

I've done several brake jobs (96 Taco, 94 Civic, 98 Accord, and more). I'm not even close on my Pilot at 13K miles.

3-4mm is quite a bit of pad left. Unless you ride the brakes you probably have 1-2 years.

Disk brakes are quite simple to replace/repair. Jack the car and SUPPORT WITH JACK STANDS!!!. Remove wheel. I haven't done a Pilot yet, but they are all pretty similar... on the brake caliper there should be two bolts that go completely through, usually you just have to loosen the top one and remove the bottom. The pads just slip out.

When you go to put the new pads in, there may be retainer clips that are also replaced, just make a note of where they go (direction usually counts). Also, there is usually anti-vibration shims or a tube of paste. The shims just 'stick' to the sides of the pads, or with the paste, you just squirt a glob on the outside of the pad and distribute evenly with your finger and cover with the shim. The old pads can be used as a guide for where to stick what.

It is highly recommended that you have the disks (rotors) turned to give the new pads a clean and true surface. Most local auto parts stores will turn them for less than $10 each. BTW, the disks just pull off the lug studs, they are not usually bolted.

Before you insert the new pads, you will have to recess the caliper piston. First step, PUT A RAG AROUND AND UNDER the brake fluid reservoir. Brake fluid can remove the paint if it is expelled when you recess the caliper piston. You may need to remove the reservoir cover to allow the fluid to flow back in, but not usually. Now go back and use your thumbs to push the caliper piston back in VERY SLOWLY. If you can't do it by hand, a large pair of channel locks works pretty well, just go slowly and rotate the application of pressure (don't do it all on one side).

Note on above: you can open the brake fluid reservoir and use a *clean* turkey baster to suck out much of the brake fluid. Dispose of properly. Then after you recess the caliper piston, there is much less chance of it shooting out (and yes, it will shoot out if you push the piston back in quickly). After you are done with all your wheels, refill the brake reservoir to full (use Honda brake fluid!).

Reverse the above to reassemble. It is a good idea to torque the caliper bolts back to specs. All-in-all it's pretty simple.

TIP: while you are out at the auto parts store having the rotors turned, lock the car doors and take the keys. If someone were to press the brake pedal while the calipers are open, it could eject the caliper piston and you will be crying for the rest of the day.

Sounds like it's difficult, but it really is not. Disk brakes are very simple and actually pretty hard to screw up as long as you are methodical. That's why all these brake shops have popped up charging $99 for a brake job. It's easy, fast and cheap to do.

Drums, well, that's another story

[Qbrozen]

$90 is pretty darned cheap for a brake job. Especially from a dealer. So I think that is why Tony asked if that was front and rear.

To give you an idea, it cost me $150 to get all 4 wheels (rear drums)of our Subaru done at Midas (while on sale).

I do my own if pricing permits. $150 was a pretty good deal on that vehicle since I couldn't find pads for less than $100. In comparison, I did my Volvo myself because the shop wanted a fortune (guess they see a volvo and get those dollar signs in their eyes for some stupid reason). Cost me about $80 for the pads.

[lxblack]

I've had Dodge Caravan. Autozone had a brake pad on sale for $27 for a front disc set, and advertised that it comes with lifetime warranty. So, as long as I brought back the old set of pads, they gave me a new set of pad. I must've gone through 5 sets before I donated that car.

So for that car, brake job costed nothing but my 30 min of labor.

I wonder if Autozone still has that deal...

[tonyrwc]

Originally posted by lxblack
I hear you Tony, but we are talking about a dealer...
I know we can do a lot better going to the private auto repair shops...

We are still looking for someone who's done his own brake job. Anyone with this experience?

Hi lxblack, I meant $90 is cheap if your are talking about all four brakes, my Tahoe was $125 for just the fronts at the dealership. $90 in my opinon is a great price.

[vinograd]

I wonder about brakes too. On the old car, the job was easy.

Is there a wear indicator tab that scrapes the disk when the lining gets too worn out? If so, are these tabs part to the disk pad or a separate part that must be assembled onto the caliper like those shims? Are these tabs, if they exist on all eight of the disk pads front and rear on only on some?

"BTW, the disks just pull off the lug studs, they are not ... bolted."
I recall other Hondas have screws holding the disk on. An impact screwdriver may be needed to remove the screw. Does the Pilot have these screws.
Thanks.

[MG Pilot]

Originally posted by vinograd
I wonder about brakes too. On the old car, the job was easy.

Is there a wear indicator tab that scrapes the disk when the lining gets too worn out? If so, are these tabs part to the disk pad or a separate part that must be assembled onto the caliper like those shims? Are these tabs, if they exist on all eight of the disk pads front and rear on only on some?

"BTW, the disks just pull off the lug studs, they are not ... bolted."
I recall other Hondas have screws holding the disk on. An impact screwdriver may be needed to remove the screw. Does the Pilot have these screws.
Thanks.

The Pilot rotors ARE held in place by two Phillips-type screws. As regards the use of an impact wrench, it totally depends on how badly they are rusted on...