Rear brakes are grinding and need new pads at 23k

[Blmpkn]

Thanks for the suggestion but I've tried driving this truck with the traction control off and it's not good. The rear end fishtails very easily.

That IS good.

Unless your to the point in age where your fine motor skills and reflexes are degrading a meaningful amount... all your truck is doing when it dances around a bit is teaching you vehicle control.


My mother flipped her last vehicle onto its lid, totalling it, because she had 0 idea on what to do if the back end starts to wiggle.

My thoughts too. If it ain't warranty I'll just do it myself. Situation is ridiculous.

I almost want to ask for the dealers name so I can call and berate them unmercifully.

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[upnorthranger]

Getting told 550$ for a pad-slap is grounds for the service advisor to get slapped with something else.

That price maybe included rotors as well. I'm not sure, I wasn't hearing any of it because I should not be paying anything for brakes at this milage and was annoyed that the advisor could not conceive there being an underlying issue that would wear the brakes down so soon.

 

[Blmpkn]

That price maybe included rotors as well. I'm not sure, I wasn't hearing any of it because I should not be paying anything for brakes at this milage and was annoyed that the advisor could not conceive there being an underlying issue that would wear the brakes down so soon.

If rotors were part of the price I'd say that's nearly reasonable.... NEARLY. Still a load of money, I wouldn't be impressed either. Fight it as hard as you can.

 

[JasonTremor]

Traction control applies rear brakes as part of the control process. If your regular driving without traction control turned on results in fish tailing, I suspect traction control has been working overtime for you.

 

[JasonTremor]

I have seen Mustangs that were driven aggressively on a regular basis with traction control on burn through rear brakes in 20-25k miles.

 

[Rp930]

What are your driving habits like?

 

[upnorthranger]

What are your driving habits like?

Normal driving. Mostly highway miles, no towing and not aggressive.

 

[upnorthranger]

I have seen Mustangs that were driven aggressively on a regular basis with traction control on burn through rear brakes in 20-25k miles.

I don't drive aggressive but if I have in fact already burned through my rear brakes, then why is there a grinding sound coming from the wheels when they are not being used? There is an audible noise from the wheels as soon as they start rolling, no gas, no brakes. Perhaps this is normal for worn rear brakes on this truck? I'm not sure but seems like something else is wrong.

 

[JasonTremor]

I don't drive aggressive but if I have in fact already burned through my rear brakes, then why is there a grinding sound coming from the wheels when they are not being used? There is an audible noise from the wheels as soon as they start rolling, no gas, no brakes. Perhaps this is normal for worn rear brakes on this truck? I'm not sure but seems like something else is wrong.

The brake pads only retract a few thousands of an inch from the rotors in normal operation. If they are worn to the wear indicator, they will make a scraping noise as indication to replace them.

The noise intensity could point to other issues at play, but we are at a disadvantage by not being able to see/hear it in person. If, for example, the inner pads are worn heavily and the outer pads are closer to new, it would indicate that your rear caliper(s) have an underlying issue where they are dragging constantly and wearing out the inner pads.

If you were able to remove a wheel and get us pictures of the pads/rotors up close, we could provide better feedback.

 

[upnorthranger]

The brake pads only retract a few thousands of an inch from the rotors in normal operation. If they are worn to the wear indicator, they will make a scraping noise as indication to replace them.

The noise intensity could point to other issues at play, but we are at a disadvantage by not being able to see/hear it in person. If, for example, the inner pads are worn heavily and the outer pads are closer to new, it would indicate that your rear caliper(s) have an underlying issue where they are dragging constantly and wearing out the inner pads.

If you were able to remove a wheel and get us pictures of the pads/rotors up close, we could provide better feedback.

Good to know about the grinding noise being an indicator of the worn pads. Thank you, would have been nice if the service advisor could answer that question.

 

[Rp930]

Normal driving. Mostly highway miles, no towing and not aggressive.

Are tire sizes the same all the way around?

Same brand? Same tread depth?

 

[Friday yet?]

I almost want to ask for the dealers name so I can call and berate them unmercifully.

Same!

 

[MountainGoat]

It's not a strong theory.

One of these days I'm going to take an infrared temp reading of the rear rotors after two identical drives in identical conditions, one with trac on and one with it off and see what I get. Lotta variables though.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I brought the truck to the dealer recently as I was experiencing a grinding sound coming from the wheels when coasting at a low speed. The sound is not amplified at all when hitting the gas or brakes, it's just audible as soon as the wheels start rolling. Dealer said the read pads are worn and need to be replaced which they quoted at $550. The truck has 23k miles on it and I was told the brakes are only covered for 16k miles/18 months. It seems there is an underlying issue that is causing the brakes to wear so quickly but the service department seems mostly incompetent and could only quote the brake service. I'm taking the truck to a different dealer tomorrow. My two questions are:

If the brake pads are worn out, is it normal for them to make a grinding sound when coasting without applying the brakes?

Does the warranty period for the brakes (16k miles/18 months) only apply to pads and rotors or is that for the entire braking system (calipers, etc)?

I searched the archives here and found a few posts about premature wear on the rear brakes so this seems to be a common issue with the Ranger.

Hi UpN,

Most brake pads today are designed with audible warning before serious damage, so the sound is bad but hopefully there is no real damage to rotors etc. That said, 23K is way too early, even for Sever Duty applications. SomeTing Wong! Should be under the bumper to bunper warranty

Best,
Phil

 

[1pt21gw]

Thinkin', yank a wheel and take some pics. I bet we see 10mm thick pads, or uneven ones.

You do not happen to drive with both feet do you? (left foot brake / right foot gas)

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