Car Brakes & Pads ? How Would I Know

discoveranother

I have often found when asking a car mechanic certain questions about car brakes and pads they get a little bit evasive or have an attitude or answer in a way that a non-mechanic should know the answer.

As an example, my car recently was squeaking when pressing the brake pedal. I took it to a local garage to get new front brake pads. When collecting the car I asked how would I know which side of the car (front or rear) needs replacing brake pads, or even replacing pads and discs, to which his answer was "What do you mean" quite arrogantly. I then proceeded to repeat the question meaning front or rear wheels. His answer was "well check visually". I just thought arrogant git. I don't even know what I have to be checking for, i'm not the mechanic.

I asked if the rear pads etc had been checked and his answer was "no, you only mentioned the front pads"

Surely it's common sense that a reputable and decent mechanic would check all wheels anyway once someone has taken a car to have pads replaced.

If I was a mechanic and someone said to me the front pads need replacing, i'd check all the wheel for pads and discs anyway in case others needed doing and I had to notify the customer.

I have always hated taking car to garages for repair jobs. Mechanics generally come across as arrogant and when I asked others if they had the same experience they said yes.

How would I know if brake pads and discs are low on the front or rear if I'm not the mechanic ?

daveyjp

Find another garage.

I once used blackcircles for tyres and the fitting garage were exactly the same, a bunch of arrogant so and so's. I accept they may only get paid a few quid for blackcircles tyre changes, but they had one chance to make that first impression, they failed.

My car is now MOT'd and serviced at another local garage who will happily go through the job and explain everything to me.

discoveranother

I absolutely agree with your reply. Was thinking the same. They well over charged me as well for brake pads which are cheap anyway.

AdrianC

The vast majority of pad wear is on the front - most of the weight is there, and weight transfers forwards when you brake.

What the "squeeking" is may vary. Assuming we're just talking about wear, then sometimes pads have audible wear warning, so that you'll get a noise when they're getting low but still have some material left. Sometimes, the wear warning will be a light on the dash. If they get to absolutely no material left, you'll get a noise, too... But that'll be metal-to-metal, which doesn't slow the car at all well, and trashes your discs in no time.

Rear pads rarely have any wear warning, simply because it's not usually needed - just monitor them at services.

Assuming they don't get trashed, discs usually last two or three sets of pads - much less than they used to decades ago, because pads are more abrasive than they were.

If you're capable of taking a wheel off, it's the work of seconds to look at how much of the pads are left yourself, and also to see how the discs are doing. You never do the brakes on just one wheel at a time - always one complete end at a time.

nickcc

Why would you expect the garage to check the rear pads/discs if you'd only said there was a problem with the front pads. I'm sure if you'd booked a service at the same time the rear pad thickness would have been checked.
The likes of Kwick fit/Halfords etc would most probably have advised you of endless faults on your car but then you'd most likely turn around and accuse them of trying to rip you off, can't do right for doing wrong comes to mind.

Paula_Smith

If the pads need changing then do both sides together as they will be similarly worn - I think you can only buy them as a set of 4 (i.e both sides).

Ask around and find a friendly garage.

Robisere

nickcc wrote: »

Why would you expect the garage to check the rear pads/discs if you'd only said there was a problem with the front pads. I'm sure if you'd booked a service at the same time the rear pad thickness would have been checked.
The likes of Kwick fit/Halfords etc would most probably have advised you of endless faults on your car but then you'd most likely turn around and accuse them of trying to rip you off, can't do right for doing wrong comes to mind.

Absolutely! Think of the phrase "Time is money": to check the rear pads (which you did not ask for) the wheels would have to be removed. That is the mechanics' time, as labour has to be charged for. As for your comment about overcharging: if as you intimate you have no knowledge of car repairs, how did you know they were overcharging?
Were they really arrogant in telling you to take a look at the rear pads yourself, or were you by then biased against them?

chrisw

AdrianC wrote: »

The vast majority of pad wear is on the front - most of the weight is there, and weight transfers forwards when you brake.

Not necessarily so.

The newer Volvos (V60/XC60) seem to wear out rear pads twice or even three times as fast as the fronts. That's certainly been the case on my car.

There are a number of theories why the rears wear faster - rears brought into use slightly earlier to prevent nose dive, electronic parking brake dragging slightly on release, smaller cross sectional area of rear pads, etc.

The dealer suggested that a light braking driving style wears the rears, heavy braking wears the fronts.

daveyjp

Robisere wrote: »

Absolutely! Think of the phrase "Time is money": to check the rear pads (which you did not ask for) the wheels would have to be removed. That is the mechanics' time, as labour has to be charged for. As for your comment about overcharging: if as you intimate you have no knowledge of car repairs, how did you know they were overcharging?
Were they really arrogant in telling you to take a look at the rear pads yourself, or were you by then biased against them?

Without knowing the car its impossible to say if the wheels had to come off to check rear pads, they don't on my car.

Easily seen through the wheel.

knightstyle

Since they stopped using asbestos in the pads they do seem to wear out quicker. People who do regular track days were trying to get older pads for a while because they thought they were better and more progressive but that source seems to have gone now.

ratrace

Your always going to get good and bad everywhere mate, Im a mechanic and have come across a fair few clowns

Just last week I took a merc c220 cdi to a merc specialist for a service for someone as they wanted to maintain the full merc/specialist service history and i dont have access to the online system to record the service had been done, plus it was only £100 more than me buying the parts from merc and doing it, first time i have used this chap as he has just taken over and is a past merc mechanic

As soon as I picked the car up and went to pay he tells me how i need all 4 new tyres as they were "dangerous" and front brake pads and disks and quoted me a eye watering bill this really peed me off as the car passed mot 2 weeks ago, so i go out to the car look at the tyres 3 of them are all perfect and the other 1 was at 2.5mm yes i messured them with my gauge, look at the disks and pads, disks had a little lip on them but had plenty of life left and pads were only about 50% worn

so i go back in and tell him im a mechanic and this takes him by suprise i explain what i have just done and its a family members car, he then after changing colour trys to back track by saying oh they dont need doing now buy by the next service

the point is your going to always get people like this but dont judge the whole trade becuase of the bad apples, but also some customers want the cheapest job done no matter what but they dont realise in the long run it costs more as the cheaper parts dont last as long you just end up doing the job twice