satur9poet

I think my brakes are going and am concerned, seeing that my car only has 27000 miles on it...thing is, I'm new to anti-lock brakes and have heard that stopping distance for ABS is longer than conventional braking systems, so that might have something to do with it.

Lately the brake pedal feels mushy, especially at slow speeds. But the "mushiness" is intermittent--other times I go to apply the brakes and the pedal firms up, nearly sending me thru the windshield!

The latest thing I've noticed is pulsation at speeds above 50 mph...to me, that spells bad rotors. But how can this be with such low miles on the car? Have I worn the pads down so thin that the rotors are now taking a beating? Advice is appreciated!

Nuke

Rotors can warp if overheated straight off the showroom floor; it's not an age-related or mileage related thing. If you're doing a lot of high speed and/or hard braking or riding your brakes, then you've likely warped them. Premature wearing out pads and warped rotors tell me that you're hard on your brakes. They don't get that way by themselves.

satur9poet

Maybe I need to slow the hell down, lol! Because of crazy traffic I do have to slam on the brakes several times during a typical commute to avoid idiots who for some reason loooove to make abrupt left turns right in front of me and/ or cut me off. Sad.

chronos

I had to replace the wife's brakes on her Rav at around 25K. I think they are just making brakes much softer now. Either that or you women really love to ride those brakes.

If you drive a lot in traffic you may have worn out the brakes, and may have warped rotors. Have the rotors checked out, or bleed the brakes. Bleeding is really quite easy and inexpensive.

satur9poet

Welp, upon checking out my rotors this evening, the rear ones are smooth but the front ones have a small groove in them. Looks like I'll be taking it in soon. Since I doubt I'll be taking it to the stealership, what do you think the damage will be when it comes time to pay up?

chronos

I've never paid to have brakes done so I couldn't say. Someone else may have an answer. Don't you have anyone you can ask to take them off? Boyfriend, hubby, dad, grandpa, lesbian neighbor (didn't want to be accused of being sexist), anyone? The front rotors are really easy to take off, then there are many places you can get them turned for cheap. The brakes themselves are a breeze. The only thing I suggest for people that have anti-lock brakes is to open the bleed valve enough to release the pressure when pushing back the caliper. You don't want to push air or junk back into your ABS control unit (could be bad). It's a simple job in total, but most shops will probably keep it all day and charge a few hundred.

legendlime05

gt take off fronts are a great and cheap option. do it. you wont regret it.

2005Redfire6

If you want to use the same rotor you can get it turned at an autopart store for about $10 and it will get rid of the grooves, you can buy brake pads for about $40-60 I just did mine a few weeks ago.

satur9poet

I would but I'd need bigger wheels...still have the stock 16" right now. When I get decent rims that is definitely a possibility.

teetertotter

My rear pads were replaced at 70,000 with rotors being in fine shape for $160.00+ Tax. At 102K miles I had the fronts replaced last week with ceramic pads for $205.00+Tax. Rotors did not need to be replaced either. Brake pad replacement was done by local family owned front end shop. I am one that is NOT a stop and go driver in town or for heavy braking and anticipate in most instance.