05 Elantra GLS 5-Door, Rear brake pads wore out at 14K miles

I've seen this before. It happens when you drive with the parking brake on.

- Mooron

If your wife is like my wife, tell her she needs to take the parking brake off when she drives.

Well, that's not the case in this situation. And it's my understanding (though I may be wrong) that the parking brake only enages the rear driver's side brake. Therefore, this would not explain the same wear on the passenger's side. My intial thought was that maybe the parking brake wasn't releasing completely, but if my assumption is correct about the parking brake only engaging one set of brakes, that eliminates that as a possiblity as well.

Don't be so sure. I just checked the online service manual on Hyundai Webtech and the parking brake definitely works on BOTH rear wheels. For that matter, I've never heard of a car that only used one wheel. Remember, in addition to it's parking duties, this is the emergency brake that you're supposed to use in case of a hydraulic failure in the main brake system.

Check the proportioning valve. (I assume it has one!). The function of this valve is to reduce braking pressure on the rear brakes. That's because the rear wheels are much easier to lock under hard braking than the front brakes. It's possible that computer control/ABS have supplanted the proportioning valve. I haven't been under a new car to check, thank goodness. :)

Meanwhile, you can jack up each rear wheel and give it a spin. They should spin freely, or perhaps with a slight intermittent light rub. (Even near-perfect rotors usually have .0005-.001 runout, and can rub a little bit in spots.) If the pads rub hard enough to prevent a full spin or 2, you have a problem.

I'm not familiar with the Elantra, but does it actuate the normal service brakes for the parking brake function? I'm pretty sure the new Sonata has separate drum brakes for the parking brake separate from the disc service brakes.

Matt

Yes, it does.

That appears to be the case. The diagram isn't as clear as I'd like, but it looks like it actuates pads that run inside the periphery of the cylindrical part of the brake disk. If that's actually the case, it may be fine for parking, I can't see it being of much use as an emergency brake.

Smart companies like Saab use the front brakes as parking/emergency brakes so that you still have ~70% braking capacity in the case of a complete hydraulic failure. They also use dual diagonal braking circuits instead of front and rear circuits, so you don't lose more than 50% braking capacity if one circuit fails.

This being the case, it sure sounds like the person had run the car for a long distance with the parking brake on to wear our the rear pads well before the fronts.

Does the Elantra and the Saab actuate the service brakes as parking brakes using the main hydraulic system or do they use a mechanical system that somehow actuates the main brakes?

Matt

They're cable actuated.

How does the cable actuate the hydraulic disk brakes? Is there a separate set of pads for the parking brake? Does the cable actuate a separate master cylinder that applies the brakes?

Matt

Check out the diagrams in the online manual at

No.

....I remember when I was a kid and a new licensee....My older cousin was up from Maryland with his newish Audi Fox. He let me and a buddy take it for a joy ride. We went 20 or so sluggish miles. It smelt really bad when we pulled into the driveway! You can guess... we went those miles with the E-brake set. What a knucklehead I was.

I don't like rear discs they seem to wear out way too fast My 95 elantra has 150K miles===Still has the original rear shoes & drums. On its 2th set of pads & rotors

So you'd rather have inferior brakes just because they last longer?

The original poster's situation is not at all typical of the rear disc brakes on the Elantra.

That is only because the rears aren't working properly.

Matt

It has the original shoes and drums because they are not doing anything. You can expect to get a million miles out of these. But that does not make them a good brake system. Drum brakes are essentially useless after