Could the brake pads go 90,000 miles?

[dhanson865]

If you drive in a steep hilly area then regen gets bypassed. My truck pads were toast at 15K.

for some definitions of steep

I live in a mountainous area but mine is Appalachian which is smoother than that rocky mountain chain.

I haven't changed brake pads on a car I own in the last 10 years.

 

[mwalsh]

Those are some amazing numbers you guys are posting for ICE vehicles. I typically only got 30-36k on my ICE pads. But then...I drive a whole lot differently in the LEAF than I have traditionally (and am maybe a better person for it).

 

[mctom987]

I've put >50k on my Accord (not hybrid), and it's at 76k total miles. Brakes work fine.

I also don't use my brakes that often. My driving habits were largely unchanged since I got a Leaf. I keep my distance in traffic, and coast down for red lights. Most other drives seem to always be slamming one pedal or the other.

HURRY UP! IT'S A RED LIGHT! I NEED TO SLAM ON MY BRAKES!

 

[johnrhansen]

Some people are always in a hurry. On average, you get to your destination faster with liberal usage of the brake and the accelerator. That's how they do it on the racetrack! Personally I don't drive that way because I find little benefit in the practice. But that's me. Other people think differently. Seconds are valuable to them. More valuable than brake pads, apparently.

 

[mctom987]

Some people are always in a hurry. On average, you get to your destination faster with liberal usage of the brake and the accelerator. That's how they do it on the racetrack! Personally I don't drive that way because I find little benefit in the practice. But that's me. Other people think differently. Seconds are valuable to them. More valuable than brake pads, apparently.

Not quite.

On a racetrack it works because extreme braking means you spend less time at a slower speed, increasing your average speed.

If a light is red, and it takes you 5 seconds or 30 seconds to get to it, you still have to stop. The huge difference here is, if you do it at the 30-second time, you actually have a chance not being stopped when it changes green. This saves kinetic energy, meaning your efficiency will go up, on top of spending less time accelerating. Slowly getting to a light can be faster, but is rarely more time consuming. As with everything, there are limitations and exceptions. If you miss the green light because you're going slow, that's going to add travel time.

 

[johnrhansen]

If you drive hard, you may be stopped longer, but then again the light might turn green faster because you ran over the sensor sooner, or it might just change and you'll be ahead of the skow poke. Yes, only seconds faster, but faster. Some people dont care abiut efficiency, except for time. I'm with you. I try to drive efficiently, but it's nice to explore how other people think.

 

[kieranmullen]

Did you do these yourself? Is there a repair manual for the car? I suppose I would just bring it to brake team for $99 front and $99 for rear brakes.

Pad wear (or lack of) after 45,000 miles. First two pictures are front driver's side, one picture of each pad. Third picture is both pads at the rear on the driver's side. Passenger side shows similarly.

 

[mwalsh]

Did you do these yourself? Is there a repair manual for the car? I suppose I would just bring it to brake team for $99 front and $99 for rear brakes.

It's in the factory service manual - Section F, "Brakes"; Subsection BR.

 

[nerys]

same here. at least 90-100k for bake pads on my cars. usually every 3 years I have to change the pads.

I had one inspector check my odometer and see my "date" on my brake pads and go do these really have 40,000 miles on them?

I expect to get a lot more from the leaf pads. ALTHOUGH delivery driving uses the brakes a heck of a lot more (even with regen) so who knows.