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Old 13th November 2007, 13:56   #1
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Early indicator of brake pad failure?

I recently had to replace the disk on my indica(right size) as the brake shoe had gone and the metal had cut the disk. The detail follows.
My indica brake shoes were replaced around 16K kms back. I was planning to get them replaced anyways around 18K(thats my regular interval), but I guess lots of city driving had taken its toll.
anyways, the brakes were working perfectly fine. No squeeling, great stopping power, no weird sounds. Then while driving on the weekend to chd, I started hearling a strange sound while braking. It was late in the night on the highway, drove on the chd. At the next opportunity got the brakes opened up, and the left shoe was at end of life, and the right one was gone, with metal cutting the disks.

Now this happened suddenly. Arent brake shows supposed to give warning before going? Once the leathers get worn out and are near end of life brakes should fade etc., but in this case there was no warning.

So can you guys suggest an early warning? Right now I plan to check brake shoes every 12K kms during service(service interval is 6K). But from what I know, normally brake shoe wearing out is accompanied by brakes getting weaker.
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Old 13th November 2007, 14:26   #2
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brake down

I thought there was a special brake pad layer, a type of backing material, that would start making noise when wear brought it in contact with the disk. I keep track via how much distance I have put on the brakes, by the feel of the brakes and by the sound. But I have been fooled a couple times, expensively.
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Old 13th November 2007, 14:29   #3
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there was no indication or sound. I had to waste 400rs on the brake disk, money which could have been saved! I guess I will stick to 12K kms.
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Old 13th November 2007, 14:38   #4
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Could be that the pads which you replaced were cheap knockoff's hence missing this. There are a lot of spurious brake pads in the market, some with original packing which make it almost impossible for the layman to differentiate between original and knockoffs.
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Old 13th November 2007, 15:07   #5
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generally there is no specific warning of brake pad worn out except, that a metal strip start touching the disc the minimum depth of pad, making screeching noise.

If you look at the pads, you can see the small metal strip at the minimum level of brakes pads. If you buy the pads from local shop, they may give local pads without those strips. Which means that you will burn the pad till metal touches metal, making disc unusable.
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Old 13th November 2007, 15:12   #6
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Tanveer - You mean Brake Pads right?? Brake shoes are used in Brake Drums, not in Brake Discs.

I usually get mine replaced around the 18-20k mark as by then they are more or less worn out. As a rule they they should also be inspected in every service by all garages.
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Old 13th November 2007, 15:23   #7
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Yes I meant the pads.
Earlier pads were replaced by T.A.S.S. so there is a good possiblity that they were duplicate.
this time I bought TVS Girling packed pads with hologram from a known source.
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Old 13th November 2007, 15:52   #8
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What's the average life of brake shoes and pads?

What am I reading???

My NHC has done 50000KM and still no signs of anything wrong with the brake pads or shoes!!!

Am I missing something?

I am not a sedate driver though I anticipate traffic reasonably well. Also, I press the clutch to the fullest while braking. Does this improve the life of brake pads and shoes?

What's the normal replacement interval for brake pads and shoes in general and for NHC iDSI in particluar?

I don't want to end up having any expensive surprizes. But my NHC manual says that brakes will give me audible warning loud enough that can't be ignored and distinctly different from regular screeching. This has not happened yet. I specifically asked the service guy to check the pads and shoes during the 50K service and they confirmed that nothing is due for replacement yet. They were also a little puzzled looking at the odo.

Please comment.
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Old 13th November 2007, 16:25   #9
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Why do you press the clutch while braking? Unless you are hitting stall speeds for that gear, you do not need to press clutch.
50K for brake pads is a tad too much. If you get your car serviced regularly the service center will change the brake pads every 15K kms or so.
check out your old service bills, see brake pads anywhere?
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Old 13th November 2007, 17:01   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post
Why do you press the clutch while braking? Unless you are hitting stall speeds for that gear, you do not need to press clutch.
50K for brake pads is a tad too much. If you get your car serviced regularly the service center will change the brake pads every 15K kms or so.
check out your old service bills, see brake pads anywhere?
Pressing the clutch while braking was to save my clutch plate from unnecessary wear. I do that even when I know that the slowdown is not going to result in any downshift.

And no brakes pads replaced yet - for sure. I get my car serviced in my presence (though Deccan Honda is a little uncomfortable with me stying at their premises throughout the servicing time and frequently ask me to confine to the waiting launge rather than worksop ). Service records show no mention of brakes in any of the services.
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Old 13th November 2007, 17:21   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post
Why do you press the clutch while braking? Unless you are hitting stall speeds for that gear, you do not need to press clutch.
50K for brake pads is a tad too much. If you get your car serviced regularly the service center will change the brake pads every 15K kms or so.
check out your old service bills, see brake pads anywhere?
I have completed 35K(26 months of owner ship) till date in my Baleno and as far as I remember no brake pad changed. I think it all depends upon driving style. Generally speaking 40K is the mark people should certainly change the same.
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Old 13th November 2007, 17:27   #12
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I do a lot of highway driving which means brakes at 100kmph. Even light braking at that speed means lot of pad wear!
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Old 13th November 2007, 17:50   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post
I do a lot of highway driving which means brakes at 100kmph. Even light braking at that speed means lot of pad wear!
So do I. And pressing the clutch while braking means saving the clutch plate but transferring that wear to brakes pad and shoes (I think). Or is it the opposite (I am just thinking aloud)? Pressing the clutch means wheels are completely disconnected from the engine power and are freely rotating so brake pads and shoes have lesser resistance???

Or does this have anything to do with that much talked about "Honda quality"?

Last edited by anandpadhye : 13th November 2007 at 17:52.
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Old 13th November 2007, 18:51   #14
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@tsk You could have got the disks polished fom some workshop, Provided they had the required amount of thickness, and used them again, if they were thick enough it is just wastage of money by replacing them for those lines formed. BTW I had experienced this and this is from my experience. No service people will ever let you do that, they always ask you to change the disks, even my Service center told me the same. I just told them I don't have the budget right now, so just use new pads and within few days I will come again to change the disks. As soon as I got my spacio delivered, I took it to my trusted local mechanic, dismounted the disks, and took it for polishing.

When I had asked the service people about the indications, they told me that the pads hade a notch made in between them the depth indicates the life of the pads, which is to be checked during every service. No other reliable method is available.

Last edited by sumitkalindi : 13th November 2007 at 18:55.
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Old 13th November 2007, 19:03   #15
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i had a similar problem with my accent viva crdi but there was no warning here too, just that the brake pedal went way too inside which i realised only after the new set was replaced.

i had to replace them at 10000kms on the odo and they were defective i guess, after replacing them i have successfully completed another 20k kms on the odo. and no problems so far.

i guessed them to be defective because they gave way, way too early and the car did not face the kind of punishment that started after the replacement which is after the 10k kms mark.

guess happens sometimes with some cars.
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