GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Just wondering how many miles did the front pads that came with the car last before you need to change it.

My first set was dead right around 20K.It is VERY hilly around here, so brakes only last about 15-20K.

I don't know.... I'm over 30K and still having the stock one and they are wear at about 50%.

i have 93000 kms on my 03 and still have them on...and still looking good.about half worn.

I have over 48k miles and when I had my state inspection done a few months ago they said they were about half worn and still in great shape.

I changed mine at 25k....how long should the rear shoes last? I have 50k on those. Someone told me I don't even need to check them until about 75k.

Mine had 114,000 kms, 71,000 miles and there was lots of pad left. Mostly highway use though.

How do I check my brake pads to see how much they are worn?I don't want to take them to the shop because I know they're going to tell me I need them replaced (so they can make a few extra $$$).Is there a way I can see/feel how worn they are and how would I know when they need to be replaced?This is for future reference. Thanks!

One sure fire way to know they've gotta go is to listen for a light squeal coming from the front that you will hear at slow speeds when the brakes are not applied. There is a metal tab on each pad that will come in contact with the rotor once the pad is wore down to a certain point.Aside from that, I don't know a technical DIY method for gauging brake life. In the past, I've just kinda looked at the pads and rotors each time the tires were taken off to see what kind of shape everything was in. I used nothing scientific, just a judgement call, so I know i've spent money in the past that I probably didn't need to. Some places do "free brake inspections" so if there is anything clear that shows you aren't obligated in any way to spend your cash there, maybe that is an option.

Most brake pads have some type of wear indicator: Typically an angled cut on a corner of the pad material, or a groove of a certain depth. When it reaches that it's time to change. Don't let them go down less than 1mm. (source: http://faq.f650.com/FAQs/Brake_Pad_FAQ.htm )Kind of like the wearbars on a tire... when the tread reaches that bar - it's time to replace them. When you hit rivits - then you dig into your rotors... and you've just trippled your weekend wrenching budget requirements.Yes, it typically requires removal of the wheel to inspect the brake pads. Some shops use a flashlight and mirror to save a few minutes for a quick inspection.Please, don't ever just use a jack to hold up your car when inspecting or working under or beside your vehicle. Jackstands are cheap - cinder blocks cheaper... be safe! FWIW - cinderblocks can crumble (I was joking) don't be cheap - just get some jackstands. Your car is heavy enough to crush you quickly, but light enough where the cheapest jackstands will protect you.

Changed mine this summer with 83,000 miles on them. Tey still had some wear on them. I do have a 5 speed and do alot of engine breaking, but this is the most I have ever gotten off a front set. I do a mix of city/freeway (mostly city) driving...

Would you believe I had >136k miles on my Contour's front pads / rotors - and they were still thicker than the wear marks. I owned the car from 14k - 136k... I had to replace the rear pads and rotors once because the ebrake wasn't releasing all the way.After about 60k I watched the pads and rotors like a hawk... just waiting for them to hit the wear markers, but they never did. I even checked the rotors with a caliper a few times after I hit 100k miles - but they were in spec. I contributed it to 95% highway driving and probably glazed pads. It still had pretty good stopping power.Weird eh?

i just turned over 70,000 miles on my gt... original rotors and pads... i do a lot of hard braking too! they've just developed the the squeak when i really get on them... time for new ones, but I'm beyond satisfied with the stocks...

I replaced mine @ 50K with ceramic, just because I wanted less dust and better performance. One of the guys in the shop kept the pads that came off, and put them on his sister's Corolla.

For as little as pads cost it's hard to believe to would be worth the time and effort to install used ones with 50K miles.

You'd be surprised how cheap some people can be.BTW, earlier in this thread, I read someone state to use cinder blocks or jack stands.....PLEASE don't use cinder blocks....jack stands are fairly cheap nowdays, and cinder blocks can break and crush you.....PLEASE don't ever get under a vehicle of any kind that isn't supported properly!

This may go right over most people's heads...Does anyone know the ratings of the stock pads? They are rated with letters, ex: "GG", FG, FF..etc. Both my motorcycles have "HH" pads. Which are the highest rating you can get. They corespond to braking wet dry or dry wet,,,can't remember. The letters are painted on the side or back of the pad...somewhere. Last set I bought it was on the side of the friction material. So when worn out...you did not know what you wore out or whether it was good or bad overall in performance compared to what to get the next time.

Mine went at 45,000 miles due to commute.

I replaced mine at 96K, but there was still a safe amount of pad on them.I looked at the OEM pads, there were no letters painted on them but the part number stamped into the metal had a "FF" suffix.the replacement pads were about $25, have a lifetime warranty. I currently plan to keep the car long enough to take advantage of that

Just had mine replaced this past weekend at the GM dealer with their stock semi-metallic pads -- got 85,000kms (~53,000 miles) out of the OEM's and they were COMPLETELY done - damn near nothing left. Wanted to go with the ceramic's, but just ran out of $$ and wasn't going to wait for them to be ordered anyway. Next set I'll replace with ceramic and get new rotors at the same time.

Just rolled over 70,000 here and the pads still look really good. Mostly Interstate commute for me though - the pads may outlast the car. My last vehicle I bought new was a Chevy Blazer when I traded it there was 153,000 on the odo and it still had the original pads / rotors. With the Vibe being a much lighter vehicle - it should easily surpass this.

25k on mine and still have tons of pad left.

just changed mine at 60,000 - still had almost 50% left and I drive like I stole it (ALL THE TIME).

Longer than my engine!

you would have to take the wheel off...then check the pads in between the caliper. there is a visable slot and you can see the pads without taking anything else off besides the wheel, of course.a good rule of thumb before needing to replace is having about 5mm of pad left. i wouldn't suggest waiting until the wear indicator clips starts to squeal. i long time ago, i had an incident where the wear indicator broke off for some reason and it didn't start to squeal until it cut into the rotors. when this happens, it won't take long before the rotors needs to be replaced (unnecesary cost when brakes are inspected regularly). A very few brake pads don't even have wear indicators. the squealy sound is incorporated into the pad material (i don't feel this is very reliable). so, a visual inspection is always the best way to check your brakes. there may also be some instances where the pads will wear out unevenly, indicating other brake problems. hope this helps ya jaycie

Quote, originally posted by damronjr »Longer than my engine! (removed)...

Changed mine at 55 000 kms city and highway combined driving for me! Sure beats the 20 000kms that the Cavy did!

I am just about to change them.Around 46 000 km on them and just over 3.5 years.But my last car,a Sunfire GT,lasted around 100 000 km,go figure.

At 9-24-04 11,398 mile tire rotation dealer report said front pads were at 10mm.At 1-12-07 24,288 mile tire rotation report was front pads 8/32nds (6.35mm) and rear shoes 5/32nds (4mm).Have no idea what thickness new pads/shoes are. So how far do I ave to get to "replacement"?Current dealer charge is $160 per axle. Seems high.

are you good with your hands? if so you could do the brake job in about an hour and would only cost you about 30bucks for the new pads if your only doing the fronts.

72K miles/50% pad wear. Never had any brake related problems or maintenance.

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »are you good with your hands? if so you could do the brake job in about an hour and would only cost you about 30 bucks for the new pads if your only doing the fronts.I am mechanically inclined. I screw everything up!

I am at just under 60,000 miles and just changed mine. But the last 30,000 miles or so was mostly expressway driving, so the brakes weren't used much..... I still had some life left in mine, but it wasn't much.Edit: don't be scared to change your front brake pads, I did it in 15 minutes, and I had never changed pads before. I watched a few times, but never did. It's two bolts and that's it, they slide out, the new ones slide in..... simple.

45,000 and still going! No issues! I have adjusted the rears too though.

Update for me...115,000kms....still have the oems.3/4 worn.still good.rotors are wrapped though.so swappin them out with a set of crossed drilled slotted inroble rotors.

Hey all...Got a rotation and balance 2 weeks ago and also had the brakes checked... They said I have approximately 40% left on the pads and that the rotors will be past their resurfacing point before the pad wear out. I wouldn't have the rotors turned anyway... I had 88,654 miles on it.Still asked for a quote for Pads and Rotors anyway. I believe they priced either Raybestos or Wagner. $275 for the front, $250 for the rear. I may end up doing this myself for about $200 less! Dave

Just did the front brakes on wife's 2003 base Vibe at 27,440 miles. Just got Pa. state inspection last month and they said it needed front brakes. The lowest pad was about 3/32. Mostly stop and go driving in the Philly area. Paid $81.59 for 2 rotors and brake pads at AutoZone. Also had to beat the rotors off like many other people here and that marks up the rotors pretty bad. I cleaned where the rotors seized to the hub with an angle die grinder with a scotch bright pad then coated the area with high temp. anti-seize, see if that stays there and helps next time it needs brakes.

i had to replace my rear pads at about 46k miles an outer pad kicked off the backing plate. still have the front pads and im right at 50k miles

After about 83,000 miles and 4.5 years, they finally need new pads. Longest lasting brakes I've had. Time to upgrade to big rotors.

I just changed my front pads at 54k miles but they were not totally worn. They were maybe 1/2 or a little more worn. So I installed new ones. The drums were not even 1/3 worn so I left them.

I have over 89,000 miles on my Vibe GT and still have the OEM brakes on there....although I'm pretty sure they'll be due pretty soon....I've driven this car like a bat outta hell the entire time too...but I do use the manual to engine brake a lot....replaced the clutch around 85,000 with a Stage 3 Race Clutch...

I just changed mine over the weekend with just under 60k. I actually could have left them on there a lot longer. But since I had ordered them online and didn't want to deal with the hassle (and $) of sending them back, I went ahead and put them on while I had things apart.With the Malibu we had, I think we had gone through 3 sets of pads and rotors by now...

Just started hearing the squeal on mine at 82,000 miles.

106,000 miles.

almost at 75,000kms and looking to replace at 80,000, so far no issues...