I have now found out what happened to my brakes and prevented me from attending the Marlow meeting. I have managed to wear my front pads from 60% wear to 100% wear in 7,000 miles. Possibly the way I drive, and that I spend a lot of times on "B" roads including the Peak District.

The problem is they just broke with a total brake fade for one depression of the brake pedal, then recovered with a second press of the pedal and then a horrible grinding noise. Reason for the fade is suspected boiling of the brake fluid. I could have had an accident, but fortunately I was only doing 20 MPH.

What I have discovered is that the warning light is only attached to a sensor on one pad. So if the other one wears more then there is no warning light on the dash. It is costing me £230 for new pads and discs as the warranty won't cover it, this is as well as the total inconvenience. .

I will be checking my pads more often in future !

Paul

 

Paul Hi - Thats a heck of a lot of money for discs and pads - they can be bought for around 65.00 for the whole kit. Take a look on the net or ebay - if you can get to Newark with the car I will fit them for free. You could still drive the car if needed (with great care) as the damage has allready been done.
Ive just put new rear discs and pads on mine about £40, but I know the fronts are a bit more money. Let me know if you need any help!
Cheers
Steve

 

I have an '05 Limited Roadster, but as I have been into them a few times-I can assure you that mine has sensors on both front calipers. I can't imagine why yours wouldn't?

 

There are sensors on both calipers, but only on one pad each side. Mine have always started to feel and sound rough before they are worn down enough to trip the sensor.

 

Alrighty then...I misundersood. Not an uncommon thing for me.

My military service ingrained in me a near-religious fear of open road failure. I perform PMI's (Periodic Maintenance Inspection) on my little fleet of vehicles every 2-3 weeks. Lights, fluids, brakes and tires. I don't keep records like the olden days, but I do keep track of basic vehicle condition. And I can't imagine a more basic function than brakes.

I think if my brakes failed through neglect, I would be more concerned with my liability (going through a shop window, or running over granny) than with why there aren't sensors on all 4 front pads. Never trust your instrumentation. Bend over and look!

Sorry. A bit of a rant.

 

thanks for all the info and your offer Steve ! I have had it done at my local independant garage and saved a few quid. I need it for work and as long as I am spending less than I am getting in car allowance, I am happy.

It is true I relied too much on what I was told at the last service by the Chysler Dealer and as my previous cars for the last 17 years have been company cars have probably got a bit lazy. Still not sure why the wear rate should have changed so much if what they told me was true. But my previous cars were more "normal" and the brake pads probably lasted much longer.

I will certainly be checking it more often myself now. I'm also now going to order a set of Rotex low dust pads for the next replacement and get them in stock. The back ones will need doing soon and at this wear rate on the front will need new ones there a few months from now.

Paul

 

OK - oil and water I can do - I've had cars where it was necessary to check every few weeks for so. The Crossfire is the first car I have owned when I can actually see the brakes without taking the wheel off. Brakes were usually checked/fixed at services/MOTs and when I felt they were getting "soggy". This regime seemed to have worked for me so far.

So what should I be looking for, and where/how do I check that the brake wear is acceptable?

 

Hairy, may I call you that?

Mine is a strange habit-if I didn't do it in the past, I was either scolded or given extra duties!

30% of original pad thickness, one should start looking for replacements. Or earlier-as the thinner they get, the less heat they can dissipate. And that extra heat starts warping rotors. A much more expensive bit of kit.

I can inspect my 3 cars in about 1/2 hour. But it's an old habit and I can do it without true thought. Just that old habits die hard, as they say.

I truely didn't mean to sound so...negative. And certainly not to chastise, but it really came out that way.

I apologize.

 

Hi Paul,

With the wheel positioned so that a spoke isn't covering the caliper you should be able to see the top edge of the pad (see pic). I usually do this when I'm washing the wheels and think about changing when pad material gets down to about 5mm, but by that point you should have started to notice them the pedal feeling a bit softer. Another thing to keep an eye on is the fluid level in the reservoir. Apart from the fact that its obviously something you should check regularly anyway, if the level is very low it can be a good indication that the pads are getting near their limit.

 

Woody,
thanks - I know what to look for now.

 

lovely diagram Woody. When I was at Kwik Fit when it first happened and asked them to do a "free" brake check they used a recargeable thin tube inspection lamp like this :

to throw light on the edge of the pad. just helps with a bit of light, maybe one of those dentists angled mirrors as well ?

Paul

 

Glad you got your brakes sorted in the end!

Yes a bit of light on the subject certainly helps, especially if you are running stock pads that cover everything in black dust! A mechanic I know uses a small LED torch that has a long thin (6mm dia) 'probe' on the end that lets you direct the light right where you need it - He says it saves him hours of dismantling when just doing routine service checks. I really ought to get one