2002 Plymouth Voyager Minivan Front Disc Brakes

How many miles between pad replacments? I find the vans needing pads between

Also make sure the rear drum brake adjusters are working properly. I've seen where they will not auto adjust if they are installed too loose. A good way to test they are working is to see if the parking brake sets up easily and can hold the vehicle from moving forward or reverse when in gear at idle.

I also get between 20-25K miles before replacing front pads on our 1999 T&C Minivan.

Bob

WOW.... I just replaced my front pad at 76,000 miles on my 1999 Dodge Caravan.

Dan

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valve. I do

I agree. Make sure that the rear brakes are doing their share of the work. I about went off the road during a steep canyon descent. The front brakes were doing all the work. I had just had the rear brakes replaced, and they were not adjusted properly.

-Kirk Matheson

How many miles do you drive in 6 months? What kind of driving?

How many total miles on the van?

You can tell if the rear brakes are working by slamming on the brakes on a dirt road. If they don't lock, then they aren't working, at least not very well.

Matt

What should they do if they have rear ABS?

Just what pad is worn out. Do some pads look unworn?

Richard.

The van has 60,000 miles on it. It is mainly driven in the city. Once a year we will vacation from 500 to 1000 miles away. I am only getting about 5000 miles of front pad life.

Then something is wrong with your front brakes. Even if the rear brakes aren't working at all, the fronts should last much longer than that. Even with the rears working, the fronts still do most of the work.

The only other explanation is that you are really hard on the brakes. I've seen people that make maximum performance stops at every stoplight, stop sign and turn. I've also seen left foot brakers who ride the pedal all the time keeping the brake lights one. Either of these driving "styles" will ruin pads in a hurry. I get 60,000 miles or more on my front pads and nearly the same on the rear shoes.

Matt

I set the park brake while the van was in idle. I then switched from park to drive to reverse. The brakes held.

What can I say? I personally get ~35K miles from my front discs and about double that from the rears, but this T&C van is driven primarily by my wife who is very hard on the brakes. It sees almost entirely stop and go (around town short trips) driving and averages about 9-10K miles per year so I end up doing the front brakes about every 2-2.5 years. Our 1999 van has ~65K and the fronts are just about ready to be done again (will be the third time). Incase anyone is wondering, I use Raybestos (best) ceramic pads. I've only done the rear shoes once during that time and expect these will last till I need to do the fronts again about 25K miles down the road.

The calipers are not sticking and the braking performance is good (it was never great). But the van is very heavy and given the usage (and the driver), I just live with the maintenance as these are easy to replace and the van is otherwise running very well and still in very good condition.

Bob

Or if they are rear drums, hold the release and push down on the parking brake. Rear wheels should lock.

I don't believe that the parking brake uses the hydraulics on a Chrysler van, but actuates the brakes using a cable. As such, the hydaulics could have a problem that affects the service braking, yet doesn't affect the parking brake.

Matt