Rear Brake Life

3219 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Wildcat, Apr 3, 2019

naa10104

Discussion Starter · Mar 13, 2019

Hello, I have a 2011 CRV that is gently driven with a mix of Highway and around town. Curious if anybody can give me a rough idea of how long I might expect the rear brakes and rotors to last? Thanks for your input. Steve

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Carbuff2

· #2 · Mar 14, 2019

Working as intended, the rears should wear out about the same mileage as the fronts.

Rotors on the rear should be robust, as long as you don't live in the Salt Belt. Then, they develop a 'rusty ridge' that can induce vibrations under braking. (This ridge can be machined down, but those services are less available in this age of disposable third-world parts replacements)

Pad life is more a result of good maintenance (periodic lubrication of caliper sliders) than driving style. Again, road salt can corrode stuff...

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naa10104

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 14, 2019

Hello,

Thanks for the info. I thought rear brakes usually lasted a lot longer because most of the vehicle's weight is over the front wheels and the front brakes do most of the braking. My wife's CR-V had the front brakes done at app. 50K but as far as I can tell the rears have never been touched and we now have 80K on the vehicle. Need to do some research on that. Does anyone have an opinion on machining/re-surfacing the rear rotors as apposed to replacing them. Have been told better to replace them as new ones are not very expensive and the perfomance will be better. Thanks

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kloker

· #4 · Mar 14, 2019 (Edited)

You are correct about braking distribution. Front brakes do 80%+ of braking. Properly maintained, rear brake pads should wear down at a much lower rate than the front ones do. But I don't like to run pads too thin. The other factor that comes into play is lubrication, at least apparently on these CR-V's. I've rarely ever seen it be a factor on any other model car. When lubrication begins to fail, brakes will stick and run hot. They can stick suddenly or become gradually worse, but once this begins, damage is being doe to the rotors, pads, calipers, wheel bearings, etc. I also like to keep an eye on the rotors for any indications of pad problems that might cause uneven rotor wear or grooving. I won['t put new pads on rotors that are not smooth and flat - they will just wear down faster.

I am the second owner of my '07. It has 92k miles on it. The original owner, a little old lady in Anaheim, had her service done at the dealer. Front pads were replaced, rotors turned, lube done, at 64k, rear pads replaced and lube at 89k.

I'd say two other factors are considerations, concerning lubrication. If you live far enough North for winter conditions to include road salt, that can affect how often a fresh lube is needed. Also, if, like me, the owner is retired and drives much less than normal, even though I live in a warm climate, less braking can mean a need for more frequent lubrication.

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kloker

· #5 · Mar 23, 2019

naa10104 said:
Hello,

Thanks for the info. I thought rear brakes usually lasted a lot longer because most of the vehicle's weight is over the front wheels and the front brakes do most of the braking. My wife's CR-V had the front brakes done at app. 50K but as far as I can tell the rears have never been touched and we now have 80K on the vehicle. Need to do some research on that. Does anyone have an opinion on machining/re-surfacing the rear rotors as apposed to replacing them. Have been told better to replace them as new ones are not very expensive and the perfomance will be better. Thanks

I would think that yeah, it's time on those rear brakes. I don't know where you live, but here it is still common to turn rotors. In fact, any AutoZone or other parts store or any shop that does brake work can and will turn rotors as long as they will still be within tolerance. My mechanic does. New rotors are not better, they are just new. A freshly turned rotor, with a new surface, is just as good, and cheaper. The key is to not leave pads on long enough to cause grooving of the main surface. Pads are cheap compared to pads plus rotors. Also, there are some cheapo crappo rotors out there, so when you do buy new ones, stick with high quality or OEM. Which are NOT as cheap as turning.

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Carbuff2

· #6 · Mar 23, 2019

kloker said:
INew rotors are not better, they are just new. A freshly turned rotor, with a new surface, is just as good, and cheaper.

Also, there are some cheapo crappo rotors out there, so when you do buy new ones, stick with high quality or OEM. Which are NOT as cheap as turning.

X2 on the quality of many replacement rotors. They MAY be close in cost to just the machining costs, but the metallurgy is inferior. (It's a shame that many auto parts stores no longer turn rotors...they prefer to sell you new junk!)

We have purchased Centric rotors for our various Hondas the past 10 years...

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Tigris99

· #7 · Mar 24, 2019

Turning is actually bad for modern vehicles. Not enough material. They wear out and warp much more quickly after turning them which is why no one does it. I've had zero issues with metallurgy of proper brand name rotors. Just stay away from the cheapest ones. You get what you pay for.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

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kloker

· #8 · Mar 24, 2019 (Edited)

This may easily be true of aftermarket rotors, which I suspect have less meat on them than OEM ones. But rotor turning is still very much a common practice, and mechanically and economically sound where possible.

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soccerfan

· #9 · Mar 25, 2019

The problem today is finding someone to do it.

My last new car purchase was 1987, and I've raised three kids and did all the maintenance
(at least all I was qualified to do) on the fleet. Getting rotors turned was a common practice
until about five years ago (at least where I live).

The last time I went to a shop I've used in the past to get a set of rotors turned, the proprietor
gave me a lecture instead of just answering the question of whether he still turned rotors.

It's another part of our culture that is extremely wasteful that we'd rather sell new parts than
turn a perfectly good set of rotors. So now, when I deem it necessary to replace rotors,
RockAuto.com comes into play.

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fishycomics

· #10 · Mar 25, 2019

late to this table.

1 front and rear pads used to be the same thickness , on 99 they cut the thickness in half on the rear.

2. Drums will last twice as long as disk fronts.

3 brake fluid reservior if low will indicate Brake wear, do not add fuid because it's low inspect your pads.

4 preventing the edges from expanding, paint

5. turning once , throw away next. cheaper today to purchase a new set if asked, do not wet when hot they will warp.

Just my tips passing on to you. the day I had the pads in hand what I remember

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Wildcat

· #11 · Apr 3, 2019

The OP has a 2011 with disc brakes in the rear.

Seems the 3rd gen has an issue with the rear calipers. Both of ours have needed new pads nearly simultaneously. Mine acted up last summer on a trip--left rear wheel overheated. I found that the brake hardware was rust-covered and needed replacement. Our other '09, though, had a torn boot over the one caliper pin, but the brake hardware still was rusty on both sides. I'm thinking whatever road crud (including salt) gets thrown into the brakes over the course of driving.

This hardware consists of the three spring-metal pieces that guide the pads within the calipers. With rust on it, the pads can't float as they should and will bind up. It's cheap enough--just buy it with each pad change. And always remove, clean and regrease the caliper pins. Or replace them if they start looking pitted.

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