How to Make Your Brake Pads Last Longer | DIY Car Service Parts | Middlewich

09

March, 2020

How to Make Your Brake Pads Last Longer

Brake pads wear at different rates depending on your mileage, driving habits and environmental factors. For example, city drivers’ brake pads usually wear quicker than rural drivers’ pads because of frequent stop/start journeys. Regardless of your driving style, here’s how you can make your brake pads last longer.

Maximising Brake Pad Lifetime | DIY Car Service Parts | Middlewich

Maximising Brake Pad Lifetime

The most effective way to make your brake pads last longer is to adopt the following driving habits:

  • Follow speed limits, maintaining safe following distances.
  • Watch traffic carefully so that you can anticipate stops.
  • Use engine braking.
  • Regularly service your vehicle so that worn car parts don’t damage other car parts.
  • Remove any unnecessary weight from your car.
  • Keep your speed low in heavy traffic.
  • Spray your brake rotors when you wash your car to get rid of dust (which adds friction to your brake pads).
  • Use good-quality brake pads that are designed to last – search your number plate in our car lookup tool to find a variety of options.

Brake pads usually last anywhere between three and seven years or 30,000 to 70,000 miles. However, front brake pads typically wear quicker than rear brake pads because the front part of your car takes more weight transfer when you brake.

Damaged Brake Pads | DIY Car Service Parts | Middlewich

Damaged Brake Pads 

Keeping your brake pads in good condition is important, but what if your pads are already damaged?

Damaged brake pads need to be replaced, but you can work on making your new pads last longer. Check the condition of your brake pads by looking through your wheel spokes. Pads less than a quarter of an inch thick need to be replaced.

Visibly damaged brake pads may be down to overuse, an improper bed-in procedure or damaged car parts, including the hydraulic system, calliper components or handbrake.

If your inner brake pads wear quicker than the outer pads, it’s likely that the calliper piston isn’t returning to its resting position. This problem can be caused by corrosion, a worn seal or a damaged master cylinder.

Meanwhile, if your outer brake pads wear quicker than the inner brake pads, it’s likely that the outer pads are continuing to ride on the rotor when the calliper releases. This reduces outer brake pad friction.

In these instances, you need to service your guide pins, bushings, calliper and hydraulic brake system. Once you have made these car service checks, you can replace your brake pads. With all car parts in good condition, you can make your pads last longer by following the tips above.

Make Your New Brake Pads Last Longer

Make sure you get the right brake pads for your vehicle by searching your number plate in our car lookup tool. This will show you all the pads that fit your model.

You can also read our blog post on how damaged brake pads can fail your MOT.

 

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