[Tripod]

On a recent service visit, I was told that my rear brakes had less than 15% life, while the front brakes were fine. Since this seemed very unusual, I asked to see the brake pads, and the rear pads were indeed worn, while the front pads were fine. (I did have the worn pads replaced immediately.)

Given that this is on a car with a lot of power to the rear wheels, it still seems unusual to me. Do you all think this is likely, or should I be looking at other issues that may have led to his? Thanks for your input.

[gd1418]

Which car are you talking about and how many kms it has run? Driving style also matters a lot to the brakes.

Originally Posted by Tripod

On a recent service visit, I was told that my rear brakes had less than 15% life, while the front brakes were fine. Since this seemed very unusual, I asked to see the brake pads, and the rear pads were indeed worn, while the front pads were fine. (I did have the worn pads replaced immediately.)

Given that this is on a car with a lot of power to the rear wheels, it still seems unusual to me. Do you all think this is likely, or should I be looking at other issues that may have led to his? Thanks for your input.

[Tripod]

Driving style would definitely impact brake wear, but shouldn't the front invariably wear faster than the rear? The vehicle is an Infiniti G.

[nitrous]

Do you use the handbrake for anything other than parking?
Like for halting from slow speeds at a traffic signal?
Is there a possibility that you/someone forgot to take off the handbrake and drove with it engaged?

[gd1418]

Since both, front & rear in your car are ventilated discs with ABS, while braking the pressure is appiled uniformly and equally on all the four wheels. So the question of the front wearing earlier/faster than the rear doesn't arise.

Yes the fact that the rear brake disc pads are much thinner than the front, could be factor...

Originally Posted by Tripod

Driving style would definitely impact brake wear, but shouldn't the front invariably wear faster than the rear? The vehicle is an Infiniti G.

[Tripod]

Thanks much for the response - I never thought about the thickness of the pads - that very well could explain it.

I was also thinking about checking for possible issues with the EBD systems applying uneven pressure.

Originally Posted by gd1418

Since both, front & rear in your car are ventilated discs with ABS, while braking the pressure is appiled uniformly and equally on all the four wheels. So the question of the front wearing earlier/faster than the rear doesn't arise.

Yes the fact that the rear brake disc pads are much thinner than the front, could be factor...

The parking brake is only used while the car is stationary or parked. There are very audible warnings if the car is moved with the parking brake engaged - but that is a very valid point - I will check with the other driver(s) of the car.

Originally Posted by nitrous

Do you use the handbrake for anything other than parking?
Like for halting from slow speeds at a traffic signal?
Is there a possibility that you/someone forgot to take off the handbrake and drove with it engaged?

[Rehaan]

Tripod,

Do mention how many km(or miles in this case) your car has run.

Is it possible that only the front pads were replaced at an earlier service - which has led to the current situation?

cya
R

[Tripod]

The car has about 18,000 miles on the odo - it does run triple digit speeds a lot with some heavy braking.

The front pads have never been replaced.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Tripod,

Do mention how many km(or miles in this case) your car has run.

Is it possible that only the front pads were replaced at an earlier service - which has led to the current situation?

cya
R

[GTO]

Surely a peculiar situation:

1. Could be that Infinity has the brake distribution set up such that the rear brakes are working harder (prevent weight transfer) etc.?

2. Did you ever drive with the parking brake on? Or that it was stuck?

2. Inferior quality rear pads (relative to the front)? Or thinner?

[reignofchaos]

Does being a RWD car have anything to do with it?

[Tripod]

That was my first thought - the EBD systems had something to do with it.
The parking brake is never engaged until the car is stationary. The rear discs are smaller than the front - and I suspect that the pads could be thinner, which will explain it.

Originally Posted by GTO

Surely a peculiar situation:

1. Could be that Infinity has the brake distribution set up such that the rear brakes are working harder (prevent weight transfer) etc.?

2. Did you ever drive with the parking brake on? Or that it was stuck?

2. Inferior quality rear pads (relative to the front)? Or thinner?

[brraj]

Even i have this doubt, This is common in my elantra, but not sure why?

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by brraj

Even i have this doubt, This is common in my elantra, but not sure why?

Same stuff happened in my Elantra CRDI. Backpads got wornout around 10K Kms before front ones. Are we assuming front should get worn out first since the weight is more in front? I am thinking both should happen more or less the same time

[GTO]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Does being a RWD car have anything to do with it?

My C220 is RWD and has pretty much the same equipment (ESP, EBD, all discs etc.). Still, the front pads wear out at about twice the rate as the rears. In fact, I remember changing my front pads at about 30K, but don't think I have touched the rears yet.