how often should you change rear brakes?

[waggy]

I have a 2007 dodge grand caravan. the front (i think. i cant tell if its front or rear) brakes are noisy. I was going to change the front pads/rotor but i have no clue on the rear brakes (they are disk too).

is it something i should do? how often do you need to? etc

 

[NutBucket]

When they're worn out? No need to do it prematurely. They have the same wear indicators that front brakes have.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Depends on the car, but the average car's rear brakes will out last the front ones 2:1 or more. Check the pads and check the rotors for any grooving.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Only way to know for sure is to pull the wheels off and look at them. Are they wearing evenly? Are there any deep groves in the rotors? How much pad material is left on the pads?

Front brakes do most of the work. How many miles do you have on them?

 

[SearchMaster]

FWIW, I was once hearing a strange sound that was hard to determine its source but it sounded like it was from the rear and only when I was braking. I knew the pads and rotors were relatively new (say, 25K miles) and looked fine, but I changed them anyway. It fixed the problem and was a cheap solution for peace of mind (and quiet in cabin).

 

[Scarpozzi]

Typically the rear brakes wear slower than the fronts....not sure why. On my car, the pads wear.....but the rotors do too. You may need to get your rotors turned or replace them if they're worn.

 

[fstime]

There is never really a scheduled service for brakes because they're so many variables.

A lot of it depends on driving style, I have known people who go through front pads in one year and others who have them last 5 years and 35,000 miles.

Some cars also have reputations for eating up rear brakes, but that is very out of the ordinary because usually the rear brakes will last twice as long as the fronts since the fronts are doing the vast majority of the work when you are braking.

All I can say is, you should visually inspect your brakes. You should be able to see how much pad is left. If it looks good and you have no other issues such as vibrations under heavy braking then it should be fine. You can also take a caliper and measure the disks if you wish, there is usually a recommended window for the thickness.

 

[T2urtle]

some cars with modern wheel slip detection can apply the rear brakes at any given time to keep the speed of both rear wheels somewhat equal.

My car does that, because of it i need to do my rear brakes a little more often. 1:2 ratio Front/back in the last 6 years of ownership of my G35 AWD.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Look at the thickness of the pads!

When you take the wheel off use the jackstands please....and set the car properly (not on the jack itself)

 

[Meghan54]

Typically the rear brakes wear slower than the fronts....not sure why. On my car, the pads wear.....but the rotors do too. You may need to get your rotors turned or replace them if they're worn.

Because vehicles use the front brakes for upwards of 70% of the braking force, which is why the front brakes have larger rotors, pads, calipers, etc.

Has something to do with weight transfer, etc. when braking.

 

[Zap]

A lot of it depends on driving style, I have known people who go through front pads in one year and others who have them last 5 years and 35,000 miles.

Heh, my Mazdaspeed 6 is well over 80,000 miles on original brakes. Guess it goes to show how easy I take it with my car. Most of the mileage is cruising up and down i94 for work and such.

Been playing with the idea of changing my own brakes. Right now I'm trying to decide whether to do it before or after Winter.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Heh, my Mazdaspeed 6 is well over 80,000 miles on original brakes. Guess it goes to show how easy I take it with my car. Most of the mileage is cruising up and down i94 for work and such.

Been playing with the idea of changing my own brakes. Right now I'm trying to decide whether to do it before or after Winter.

80K on fronts? Dang. OEM replacements FTMFW.

Hey waggy just because a brake starts making noise doesn't automatically mean something needs replaced. Take the wheel off and inspect. Sometimes some crud gets in between a pad and rotor, or a pad seperates from the backing shim causing some noise.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Typically the rear brakes wear slower than the fronts....not sure why. On my car, the pads wear.....but the rotors do too. You may need to get your rotors turned or replace them if they're worn.

Because when you brake you get a transfer of weight to the front as the rear becomes lighter so the front brakes do much more of the work of slowing the car down. That is also why rear brakes are smaller or even drum brakes on some cars.

It is the same with motorcycles and bicycles too.

 

[LTC8K6]

Because when you brake you get a transfer of weight to the front as the rear becomes lighter so the front brakes do much more of the work of slowing the car down. That is also why rear brakes are smaller or even drum brakes on some cars.

It is the same with motorcycles and bicycles too.

But not Hondas... :biggrin: