Brake repairs?

[Wade Lippman]

I just took my Impreza in for brake work.
They replaced both front rotors and one front pad.

1) Does that make sense, to replace a rotor and not the pads that goes with it?
2) If we had gone in for service earlier, might we have saved the rotors?
3) Is $220 in the ballpark?

My understanding is that the pads wear out first, and you generally only have to do the rotors if you drive with worn out pads. But what do I know?

[Mike Henderson]

Pads aren't that expensive so if I changed the rotors, I'd certainly put new pads on, also.

Unless you wore the pads down to their backing - where you have steel-to-steel, a worn pad is not likely to score or damage a rotor.

I would think that $220 for two rotors and labor would be in the ballpark.

Rotors can become warped. Did you ask them why they changed the rotors? Can you see that they did put new rotors on the car?

Mike

[George Bokros]

Does not make sense to me. Brake pads come in at least axle for one side which includes both an inner and outer pad. If they just replaced one pad on one side that is a shoemakers brake job. I am sure they must have replaced both pads on one side. As for rotors they do wear, how many miles were on the rotors? If the rotors are under spec on thickness or warped they need to be replaced irregardless of condition of the pads. I am guessing that the rotors were under spec on thickness and that for some reason the caliper on one side was hanging up and it wore out the shoes on that side. They had to take the caliper off to replace the rotor so the cost of pads for the second side would have been a minor additional cost. I would take the car back and make them eat the labor to replace the pads they did not replace on their first try.

[Wade Lippman]

I was just looking at the receipt. It says "1 - Brake Pads Front". My son says they told him they replaced pads on both front wheels.
Either he is confused, "1 - Brake Pads Front" is a set for both wheels", or they billed wrong.

He will call them to ask why they needed to replace the rotors.
The car has about 60,000 mile on it.
At his last oil change they told him he would need new brakes at his next oil change. He took it somewhere else a few thousand miles later.

[George Bokros]

My guess is that means an axle set which is pads for both sides.

[Matt Day]

1) no
I bet their POS system is setup for a quantity of "1" for a front brake job. I don't think anyone does a single wheel brake job. Qty would be 2 if you got front and rears. Pads come in a set of 4 to do both sides. So 1 pack = both wheels. Rotors are usually sold individually.

2) Maybe
Hard to know without knowing more details about what the pads and rotors look like. Rotors likely were gouged or if you felt a "thump thump thump" while braking they could have been warped.

3) Yes

When I change my pads I usually do the rotors too. They aren't that expensive and figure I can spend a bit more since I do it myself and safe on labor.


Pet peave: irregardless is not a word

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Pads are only sold in pairs- front set and rear set. They would not have changed just one side. They charged you for front pads- one set. $220 is about right for modern cars. Don't worry about saving the rotors. Nowadays they charge to turn them the same as the cost of a new one.

Just st never let it get this far (not my pic):
357997

[John Lanciani]

Pet peave: irregardless is not a word

actually, it is a word; https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irregardless

and its "pet peeve":p https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pet%20peeve

[Art Mann]

Regardless and irregardless mean exactly the same thing. I prefer the historically correct word and would not allow an employee to submit a white paper to a customer with the word irregardless included because it is in the same category as using the ever popular "ain't" as a contraction for "am not". I don't usually suggest correction to grammatical errors because typically all it does is make the person angry. It doesn't teach anything.

[Matt Day]

Okay okay, it has become popular enough to become a word but is not proper. Per the last line of the quoted MW link: "Use regardless instead."

[George Bokros]

I apologize to all that I offended. I do however have one pet peeve at that is that I make errors with grammar.

This being said, I do have an MBA and was the CFO of a $30mm company when I retired.

[Matt Day]

I meant no offense George! Sorry for mentioning it.

Back to the scheduled brake discussion....

[Brian Elfert]

A big issue with rotors is warping. I replaced a vehicle with 65,000 miles on it that had warped rotors with a brand new exact same vehicle. I never realized how just bad the rotors were until I got the new vehicle. (There are long term economic reasons why I replaced a perfectly good vehicle with a brand new one same body style and trim level. Literally only thing different is they went from 16" to 17" wheels.)

I think $220 is almost a bargain for new pads and rotors these days. 20+ years ago I got prices over $300 for the thing!

[Jim Becker]

Strange to me that they didn't do all new pads with the new rotors...

Yes, replacing pads when required will help extend the life of the rotors, but they may still need maintenance before final replacement anyway.

[Bruce Wrenn]

$220 to do fronts isn't a bad deal. My AutoZone, thru commercial sales desk, ran a promotion for pads and rotors for $100. This parts only, no labor. Rotors for my wife's car set me back around $110 last year, plus pads. Pads generally carry a lifetime warranty, while rotors carry a year warranty. Some rotors are made with the hub, so you need new bearings and races to add to the fun. O'Riley's turns rotors or drums for $10 each, but her rotors had already been turned once before.

[julian abram]

From your description I'm sure they replaced pads and rotors on both front wheels. I can't image any shop only changing pads on one wheel. Price sounds reasonable to me. For comparison, last Saturday I took my wife's Honda Odyssey in for an oil change. Dealership service said it needed brakes, priced front pads & turned rotors at $200 and rear at $250+tax.

[George Bokros]

I meant no offense George! Sorry for mentioning it.

No offense taken. I thought it was all in fun!!

[Wade Lippman]

Pads generally carry a lifetime warranty, while rotors carry a year warranty.

They do carry a lifetime warranty. Is that the lifetime of the pads or of the car? I mean, they will wear out in 60,000 miles or so; do they just replace them for free?

I once bought 10 pair of socks with a lifetime warranty. About once a year I would take them back and get new socks. After about 3 exchanges they decided they weren't honoring it any more. BS. I made them refund my money. Free socks for 4 years!. Gloat or what?

I appreciate everyones help with the brakes.

[Greg R Bradley]

You can't buy brake pads in anything other than an axle set. It would be irresponsible to replace them any other way with the differences in pad materials and wear.
Offering a wear warranty on brake pads is basically a scam. There are a variety of ways they can do this without losing money such as charging enough for the labor that they still make a profit even giving you another set of pads for "free". A bit more reputable wear warranty actually does the work for free but uses that as a way to get you to pay for other work.
This kind of warranty usually indicates that shop should be avoided. It always encourages the use of inferior parts.

I can buy brake pads for my Honda for $7 to $118. I can buy brake rotors for $8 to $140 each. In the auto parts warehouse I own, we generally keep 7 different pads and 4-5 different rotors for each specific part number. None of those are the under $10 items as we don't want the business of the shops and individuals that would use those.

[Ole Anderson]

That is why I do my own brakes. Labor is zero and parts are half of what the brake places will charge. That is one thing I taught both of my boys to do.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have bought the pads that Autozone sells and use the lifetime replacement all the time. just take them back and get new ones. A couple of my trucks went over 300k miles when I was working out of town.

[Mike Cutler]

I was just looking at the receipt. It says "1 - Brake Pads Front". My son says they told him they replaced pads on both front wheels.
Either he is confused, "1 - Brake Pads Front" is a set for both wheels", or they billed wrong.

He will call them to ask why they needed to replace the rotors.
The car has about 60,000 mile on it.
At his last oil change they told him he would need new brakes at his next oil change. He took it somewhere else a few thousand miles later.


Wade
A long time ago, in a life far, far, away. I did brakes and front end alignments for a living. Well, to supplement my current "living" at the time.
Buried in the consumer protection laws for the state was a requirement that there had to be a minimum amount of contact between the brake pad, or shoe, to rotor or drum, when performing a brake job. We used to keep the statute posted on the wall of the shop. Basically that is why drums and rotors were turned as routine to ensure that we met this requirement. So yes, I can see why the rotors would have been replaced along with the pads.
To replace rotors and pads on the front, with a lift, would take less than an hour for a shop. Brake jobs are "bread and butter" for a shop.
If any shop tells you have "warped rotors", make sure they replace the calipers too. ;)

[Bill Orbine]

It is best to replace the rotors when replacing pads. Either that, or the rotors can be cut. Trouble with older rotors is they sometimes warp. Especially after they have been cut. So for peace of mind for you and your mechanic, replace the rotors. Just replacing pads only without either replacing the rotors or having the rotors cut is not advisable

[Matt Meiser]

Guessing 1 set, not one pad. I always just buy new rotors, then take the old ones in to see if they can be turned when I'm done with the job. If they can, maybe 2 in 3 chance, I do them and save for next time.

[Jason Roehl]

I've paid for a LOT of tools over the years by doing my own brake jobs. You used to be able to turn rotors 2-3 times, provided you stayed above the minimum thickness stamped into the rotor. Not so much anymore--rotors on modern vehicles are manufactured thinner (less rotational inertia), and need every iota of the thickness they have to dissipate the heat from braking. Turning them means they heat up too easily, and warp too easily.

Malcolm, I've helped a friend do someone else's brakes with rotors that looked almost like that--the surface was gone in some areas, but not all. Braking must have been "interesting."