how long should brake pads last?

Personally, if it were my brakes, I would be getting the wheels off and measuring both pads and discs rather than asking remote strangers who can have no idea what state your brakes are in but that just my two-penneth. ;-)

Andy

It depends on how you drive, some people are a lot harder on them than others so the life can be very different.

What sort of thickness should I replace them at?

What model car? Perhaps someone who knows will post or you could go along to Halfrauds and get the book and then you could perhaps change them as well.

Andy

Something approaching a thin one :-)

The one before you start usin the metal bit of it, to brake.

The message from Andy Cap contains these words:

Indeed. I have a piece of string here. Is it long enough?

Pads at a minimum of 3mm. Discs if heavily worn, scored, or thinner than the minimum thickness recommended by the manufacturer. But it does sound as if you need someone who knows about cars to examine and advise. Mike

Many brake pads have a slot in them - if you can't see the slot, it's time to replace. Lots of modern cars have pad wear sensors . Depends on the car, and how you drive it. Get the wheels off, look at the pads. Bear in mind that new ones would be 8-10mm thick - how far have they gone?

Let's face it, most pads are faily cheap, and replacement usually a simple job, so why skimp on a safety item? Probably best to change them anyway.

Discs should last a lot longer than that, so unless they're scored or warped they should be OK for another 30K+.

How long's a piece of string?

Does the car have a warning system for pads near the end of their life? The driver's handbook should give clue. If not, the only way is to measure the friction material thickness - something like 2mm or less means they need changing. However, they're likely to still work fine until the moment they wear through to the steel backing...

As long as the ball it came in.

-- Stuart

When your car sounds like a train doing an emergency stop - that means you should have replaced them 1000 miles ago.

-- Stuart

They can do 10,000 miles or 100,000 miles depending on how the car is used. Take the wheels off and look at them. The handbook may give the minimum permitted thickness of pad material, but generally it's about

Partly true, but the pad material is also a good thermal insulator and protects the caliper (and fluid) from too much heat. A couple of millimetres of pad is a much worse insulator than 10mm, not that fluid overheating is often relevant unless you live in the Alps.

Measure them. Typically pads come with 7mm of lining, and a worn when down to 2mm - but you can check the first figure by having a look at some brand new pads and measuring them. e.g. if originally 7mm, and they now have 4mm, you have a total usage of 5mm of which you have used 2 - or pads are about

Then from that you can work out how long they will last.

I used to drive around town a lot, with occasional mway journeys on holiday, and pads would need replacing @ c30k (discs with every 2nd set of pads perhaps)

Now I commute on the mway and pads lat 2 - 3 times as long.

When I used to drive enthusiastically I could wear pads out in 12k miles ...

The message from "Depresion" contains these words:

You sure it isn't

That's more than half the thickness of some new pads. The MOT guidelines say 1.5mm.