Front brake pads wearing thin

waynedance

geek84 wrote: »

Good Morning Folks

I have a 2011 Seat Ibiza and at the last MOT test in February, the report advised that the front break pads are wearing tin.
I haven't had them changed as yet, but do you think I should get them changed asap, or wait a bit longer and hope they last for another 12 months when i will get them changed in time for the next MOT test?
Is there a way of checking how thin they are and if it I need to get them changed asap?
Thanks in advance for your responses.

I would not worry as your car does not have "break" pads…

A garage would only charge approx £70 to £80 to replace including parts. Get them changed and you will save money by not damaging the discs and maybe save lives..

rich13348

An interesting aside my brother had a VW Polo that had wear indicators that put a flashing light on the dash.
The way it worked was there was a block of material on the wire which caused a resistance on the wire. The block clipped on to the brake pad and was worn down with the pad.
When the block was worn enough the resistance would be lowered on the wire triggering the light to come on.
Clever little Germans.

geek84

Good Morning Folks

Many thanks indeed for your responses.

I have rang a few garages who said they will supply and fit the pads.

However, how can I make sure that the pads are of good quality and not 'cheap stuff'?

Thanks

rich13348

geek84 wrote: »

Good Morning Folks

Many thanks indeed for your responses.

I have rang a few garages who said they will supply and fit the pads.

However, how can I make sure that the pads are of good quality and not 'cheap stuff'?

Thanks

Ask for OE parts or Original equipment parts. They are the parts manufacturers put on and you rarely hear a new car squealing.

takman

geek84 wrote: »

Good Morning Folks

Many thanks indeed for your responses.

I have rang a few garages who said they will supply and fit the pads.

However, how can I make sure that the pads are of good quality and not 'cheap stuff'?

Thanks

I've just changed the front pads on my car and got Eicher ones from Euro Car Parts for only £15.90 which is almost half the price of other makes. They work very well and don't make any noise so I would recommend these if you want to save some money.

Plus try fitting them yourself because if you do car maintenance yourself you will save a lot of money over the years.

Cirias

Fitting new brake pads is a fairly simple job only take a few hours at most. I did the fronts on my Peugeot 307 just this weekend and I'm not that handy with cars. Only thing you may need to buy is a piston rewind tool.

Tyre off, undo the lower caliper bolt, swing the caliper up and remove the worn pads. Slot the new pads into the metal clips. Rewind the piston using the tool (if needed) so that the caliper fits over the new pads. Put everything back together and you're done. Pump the footbrake a few times after changing to ensure everything is working ok.

jackr5

Cirias wrote: »

Fitting new brake pads is a fairly simple job only take a few hours at most. I did the fronts on my Peugeot 307 just this weekend and I'm not that handy with cars. Only thing you may need to buy is a piston rewind tool.

Tyre off, undo the lower caliper bolt, swing the caliper up and remove the worn pads. Slot the new pads into the metal clips. Rewind the piston using the tool (if needed) so that the caliper fits over the new pads. Put everything back together and you're done. Pump the footbrake a few times after changing to ensure everything is working ok.

Impressed you managed this with just the tyre off. In fact getting the tyre off the wheel is a job in itself!

interstellaflyer

How can an MOT inspector tell how much wear is on the pads? All the cars I've owned, it's been impossible to tell unless the wheels are removed.

AdrianC

interstellaflyer wrote: »

How can an MOT inspector tell how much wear is on the pads? All the cars I've owned, it's been impossible to tell unless the wheels are removed.

Unless it's a very open style of wheel, or there's no dust shields on the back, he can't.

Stooby2

interstellaflyer wrote: »

How can an MOT inspector tell how much wear is on the pads? All the cars I've owned, it's been impossible to tell unless the wheels are removed.

On many cars you can see the pads through the wheels. I certainly can on my Discovery. Alloys make this easier over steel wheels.