brake concern...

[justjohn]

hi to all.. i just came across with this website exclusive for xd owner. right now i have a concern with my xd... since last week everytime a make a break i heard a grinding noise and a whooping sound. this is not the first time happen to me... back one year ago(same month- august) i have the same problem as this... the dealer told with negotiation about the warranty (because they want me to pay an inspection fee right away) that they replaced the front break pads because they found out that the one on my left side piston is not working properly.. they replaced the pads and fixed my problem last year under warranty...
now, i have the same problem.. i made my visual inspection this morning and found out that my front brakes wear uneven.. left pads wear much compare on the right side pads...
i don't know if i am the only one who experiencing this problem.
i appreciate your time reading this and giving feedback about my concern...
my xd is 3000Miles now.

[TheLittleDeviant]

I have heard about uneven brake distribution before in all sorts of cars, never on the xD though. I suggest going to the dealer and having it fixed, you are still under warranty, so it should be free.

[TexXBox]

Most cars will have the left front brake pads wear faster than the right due to the fact that most cars are only occupied by the driver most of the time. More weight equals faster pad wear on that side. It usually only amounts to a 10 to 15% difference over the life of the pads though.

There are a few mechanical issues that may play a factor like a sticky caliper or piston that releases slowly and causes additional pad wear due to the drag until it frees up. An alignment/suspension/frame issue that causes one side to work harder than the other. Does your car pull to one side when you use the brakes?

Do you drive hard or ride the brakes? I have seen people that can use up front brake pads in 5 thousand miles due to driving habits.

[justjohn]

@TheLittleDeviant, i talked to my friend who own xd and asked him about his experience on his car, he told me that he never that problem so far.

@TexXBox, last year when they replaced my breakpads, they told me that i had a stickey caliper/piston. i think the problem i have now is the same as last year, and it might happen next year where my warranty expires and thats concern me alot, because i need to repair it out of my pocket... it never pull to any side when i am braking my xd. i am just a normal driver...

thanks again for your thoughts and comments...

[CXTKRS1]

@TheLittleDeviant, i talked to my friend who own xd and asked him about his experience on his car, he told me that he never that problem so far.

@TexXBox, last year when they replaced my breakpads, they told me that i had a stickey caliper/piston. i think the problem i have now is the same as last year, and it might happen next year where my warranty expires and thats concern me alot, because i need to repair it out of my pocket... it never pull to any side when i am braking my xd. i am just a normal driver...

thanks again for your thoughts and comments...

Wait so they have already replaced the sticky caliper once before?

[justjohn]

hi CXTKRS1,
from what i remember, YES! i have the same problem as last year.... this is the reason why i am too concern especially i am going out of warranty in the next 6000miles...

[TexXBox]

Couple of questions.
1: Your first post says you have 3,000 miles on your car, do you mean 30,000?
2: Do you live somewhere where corrosion could be an issue? Like on the coast or up east where the roads are salted in the winter.

[justjohn]

sorry for missing zero.. it is around 30,210Miles, i live in the californian central valley... too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter...

[CXTKRS1]

First make sure it was actually replaced. If it has been then bring it to attention of the dealer as the replacement part may be defective or the problem is further up the brake system. I don't know if the xD has a proportional brake valve, if it does they could be your problem or something in the lines.

[justjohn]

this is what i got in my email(part) yesterday
"In your case last year we found issues with the brake system and addressed several parts not just the pads."

[JJGeneral1]

my first xD, my pads went quickly (7,000 miles), my new xD, i'm over 20,000 miles, and have yet to even hear a noise.

I have never changed my driving habits, and what not, it just happened to be that way. I would raise hell with them, especially if they are going once a year (depending on how much you drive and how hard you're driving)

[TexXBox]

Central Valley shouldn't have any corrosion issues to cause any related problems. How many miles are on your "new" pads since last year?
When you say abnormal wear what is the difference in pad thickness from pad to pad?

New brake pads are usually about 1/2 inch thick for the pad material, NOT including the metal backing plate that the friction material is bonded to.

The xD has semi-floating calipers (one side is fixed the other is not). It is not uncommon for one pad in a caliper to be twice as thick as the other when the pads are at the end of their life (less than 30% of the original material thickness). This can look dramatic when one pad is almost paper thin and the other one seems nearly 3/16 inch thick. It isn't great, but it is "normal" for these types of calipers due to the way one half has an easier job of retracting due to the caliper design. This design weakness shows up mostly on the drivers side because it has the most work to do and therefore wears faster independently of caliper type compared to the right side.
Right side calipers will show some uneven pad wear as well, just not as extreme as the left due to the "easier" job they have.

I have seen nearly 3/16 inch difference between the thinnest and the thickest of the four pads upon replacement several times over the years.

[justjohn]

last year, my xd reads at 18,000plus miles when they done this kind of problem and now it is around 30,000miles.
when i made my visual check over the weekend... the passenger side is more than half and the driver side is less than half or i think its quarter.....

[TexXBox]

18,000 miles on the first set and 12,000 on the second set while driving in a densely trafficked area seems low but not abnormal to me. Stop and go driving is hard on brakes. Lots of use and little time to cool off.

If I understand you correctly you have a bit less than a quarter of the remaining pad thickness difference between the one with the most wear and the one with the least. If this is the case I would say that is near the edge of "normal' wear.

If you are getting 12k+ miles out of front brake pads and the car doesn't pull or do anything weird under braking or have any tire issues I would probably accept it as "normal' for your car.

IMO You would certainly have to spend a lot more than the price of one set of brake pads to replace anything that might affect your pad wear and they would still probably wear the same way after you did it.

Also, it is not uncommon for brakes to get noisier as they get near the end of their life. Not hella noisier, just subtly more so than when new.

Scion, Toyota and most other Japanese manufacturers use spring steel tab "sensors" on the edges of their brake pads that contact the brake rotor when the pads wear to a certain level. Makes it sound like your car is eating its brakes every time you use them. The noise is designed to be obnoxious and get the driver into the shop to have the pads replaced before any metal to metal contact occurs with the rotor causing it to need replacement as well.

[justjohn]

hi thanks for all your information...
i went to the dealer last Wednesday for brake check and for my noise concern.. service manager informed me over the phone that my brake is at 2&3mm. and i raised my concern about the noise... he keeps on telling me it is because of your pads and need to replace and some other cleaning thing and for the total cost is around $250.. i declined the service.

now, i am on the process of replacing my brake pads.... my left pads is okay please see brake5.jpg so i replaced that side(left-driver side) now when i open the right side(passenger side) i found this, please see break2.jpg and also found break6.jpg.... but on my service sheet report they don't mention any about the picture break6.jpg.
do you think they done an inspection on my both tires?....
because i am doubting it.....

please let me know your comments and thanks again for your help...

[ramrat1]

To me it looks like defective and frozen caliper. I'm surprised the car didn't pull to one side (left) when the brakes were applied.

IMO would put everything back together and bring it into the dealership for warranty work.


or you may want to bring the pictures to the dealership and let them look at it. Said you wanted to inspect the brakes closer and the pictures show what you found and see what they say.

[justjohn]

additional info..
at my 5K service they inspected my break at 6mm and at 10K service they read it at 7mm..

funny right...

[mcbrew]

additional info..
at my 5K service they inspected my break at 6mm and at 10K service they read it at 7mm..

funny right...
Someone's eye is not calibrated properly...

But seriously, it's not like they take the pads out and measure them... it's just an "eyeball" estimate.

[TexXBox]

Under normal circumstances the side of a vehicle with the most weight wears the fastest. Usually on a left hand drive car it is the left side because of the driver. I find it odd that your right (passenger) pads are wearing faster than the left.

The rubber piece with the tear in it is the caliper piston dust seal. Under normal circumstances it is not exposed to anything that would tear it. It was probably pinched last time the pads were replaced. It is possible that some water or other foreign matter made it in to the piston and is causing problems. I would definitely have it checked out.

BTW... A caliper with a sticking piston will wear out brake pads much faster than a normal caliper. This is because the hydraulic pressure generated by your foot along with the assistance of the brake booster can easily overcome the "stickiness" and sufficiently extend the piston to make the brakes work. The problem occurs when you release the hydraulic pressure and the "springiness" of the piston seal, the caliper and the run out of the disk can't overcome the "stickiness" and the pads continue to rub on the rotor. Think of this as like riding the brakes continuously, but just on one wheel.

[iperez85]

sounds like a master cylinder problem to me...ran into something like that at the shop i work at but you need to take it to the dealer to make sure.

[XDevolution]

hi thanks for all your information...
i went to the dealer last Wednesday for brake check and for my noise concern.. service manager informed me over the phone that my brake is at 2&3mm. and i raised my concern about the noise... he keeps on telling me it is because of your pads and need to replace and some other cleaning thing and for the total cost is around $250.. i declined the service.

now, i am on the process of replacing my brake pads.... my left pads is okay please see brake5.jpg so i replaced that side(left-driver side) now when i open the right side(passenger side) i found this, please see break2.jpg and also found break6.jpg.... but on my service sheet report they don't mention any about the picture break6.jpg.
do you think they done an inspection on my both tires?....
because i am doubting it.....

please let me know your comments and thanks again for your help...

they are clearly trying to rob you, the cleaning thing is the brake vaccuum port its a defect they found in the braking system that if it is introduced to extremely cold weather it freezes up the brake and wont allow it to do its job thats suppose to be free of charge because its a defect and as for the service fee of $250 i got slotted rotors from powerslot and hawk performance pads for that price and just installed them myself. best investment ever. im going on 10k with the brakes and they still have more than half the pad left.