Rear brakes... dead at 30k?

[cyphergirl]

That's right.. the dealership just called to let me know that while they are doing my 30k service they replaced my rear brake pads under warranty. They didn't find the cause.

WTF?! Rear brakes gone at 30k?!

[mbaksic]

mine still have lots of miles left in them. I have 42,000 on them now, and I figure that they should go to at least 50,000 the way they are wearing. Something is screwy there Patti!! Have you been hauling anything heavy in the box!! But at least you got it fixed to free Mike

[cyphergirl]

mine still have lots of miles left in them. I have 42,000 on them now, and I figure that they should go to at least 50,000 the way they are wearing. Something is screwy there Patti!! Have you been hauling anything heavy in the box!! But at least you got it fixed to free Mike

Nope, haven't hauled much of anything. But when I asked my hubby how it could have happened, his answer was: "Because your husband drives like an @ssh*le."

I've always been very easy on my cars, so I know I didn't wear them down. *grumble*

[opimax1]

On my 1st trip back to the dealer (100 miles on truck)my issues were:

pulsating brakes
shaking vehicle (2nd complaint on this)
door window sticks in weather stripping when opening

Results
Adjusted window
Replaced 4 rotors
Bad weather , couldn't test

Dealer is 48 miles away, happy about the brakes , didn't like response on vibration

Hope I didn't hijack thread , bought t-shirt

Mark

[Grimm]

My Baja has only 7500 miles on it, but I have noticed something wierd about the rear brakes as well. I noticed that the front rotors are clean with no lines on them, but the rear rotors have some slight grooves already in them and when I first took delivery up until a few months ago made a dragging type of sound whanever I applied the brakes.

I asked the dealership about it and they said that my particular vehicle sat at the dealership for several months before I bought it and it is probably rust that is causing the noise and to drive it about 5000 miles or so in mostly city type driving conditions. It seems to have worked since the noise eventually went away.

However he did say that they did replace the rear brake pads under warrenty for another Baja.

I will be paying closer attention to the brakes now since it seems this might be an issue.

[bajanut]

I had the front breaks on my 04 turbo replaced at about the same time. I live in the mountians and have a lot of twisty and windy roads and they chew up breaks and spit them out. Most of the roads are what most WRX and STI owners envy.

[Hawk296]

I can see the fronts going alittle sooner than normal. Afterall the front rotors are the same diameter as the WRX which is 500 pounds lighter. But the rears are, as far as I know, the largest on any current subaru minus an STi and same diameter as LGT excpet not vented. The fronts do most of the work anyway. I find it alittle unusual that the rear pads wore out so much earlier than the rest. I'll be lucky if mine last 30,000 miles....

[mbaksic]

Nope, haven't hauled much of anything. But when I asked my hubby how it could have happened, his answer was: "Because your husband drives like an @ssh*le."

I understand that, its a guy thing. I am rough on my Baja at times, but like I said, the rear brakes are fine at 42,000. Mike

[thetoadinpa]

my front brakes went at 10000miles
my back ones at 15000miles
and now the front one need replacing again

[cyphergirl]

my front brakes went at 10000miles
my back ones at 15000miles
and now the front one need replacing again

Ok, so at least I'm not the only one. I wonder if it has something to do with how heavy the Baja is?

[mbaksic]

Have someone, maybe the dealership, check the brake light switch. If the switch isn't adjusted correctly, it may be holding some pressure on the brake pedal, even though the lite is off. It is a rare occurance, but I have seen it before. Also, remember that the Baja isn't like a fwd car. Its weight is spread out more like the old rwd cars, so the brakes will wear out at a different rate than a fwd car, meaning the brakes will wear out more even than if all the weight is up front. I remember, and have seen on pickup trucks, the rear brakes wear out before the fronts. Also, make sure you don't rest your foot on the pedal at all when driving, this will hold the brakes on slightly, making them wear faster. Thats all I can come up with right now. But I have seen this stuff on other cars in my 23 years in the shop. Hope this helps everyone out. Mike

[baha]

do you use cruise control much? the brakes are applied to keep you at the selected speed when going downhill. this seems more pronounced on the baja's cruise control. I'm guesing it only applies the rear brakes to adjust speed.

also, the baja has the best parking brake i've ever had. I'm not sure it locks only the rear brakes, but if it does, leaving it on once or twice may have contributed to the wear.

finally, factory pads ain't what they used to be. I never even had to check the brakes for the 1st 50,000 miles in the "old" days. that would be a big mistake now.

at 25K, I got into the rotors on my F150. I checked the brakes at 20,000 on my Outback Sport, and had just a little left before rotor damage.

I'll be checking the baja at 10k, but now I'm going to pay close attention to the rears also. I never would have even looked before reading this thread.

[Baja_Turbo]

The emergency brake has no affect on the rear pads.The emergency brake works a set of brake shoes in the rear brake rotor hub.The cruise control is not linked to the brakes,lonely connection for the brakes is to disengage the cruise.

[baha]

I'm surprised the brakes don't work on the cruise. I've felt strong hold-back going down steep grades, and was pretty sure it's not engine braking.

Glad to know how the parking brake works, though.

[mbaksic]

What you are prolly feeling is all the slack in the drivetrain runnin in at once when the throttle backs off goin down a hill. Thats common in 4x4s, and I feel it in my Baja also. Just alot of play in all of those CV joints. Mike