We recently brought our 2016 Honda CRV in for normal service. They called to tell me that the front brakes need to be replaced. But the brakes are making no noise at all, no vibration. No problems at all. I think this is a scam. What do you think?
With regard to brakes, my grandfather had a pretty good saying.
" A car that won't start or move is an inconvenience, a car that won't stop is a disaster"
The pads on your car might not have mechanical or electronic wear indicators. depending on the type of wheels you've got on you may well be able to check the thickness of them without removing it, if they're equal to or less than the thickness of a coin, then replace them before you end up causing further damage to your car or yourself.
If you don't trust mechanics, do it yourself. Check and see how much pad you have left and if it isn't much, replace it.
Parts don't have to make noise/scream/squeal/smoke/pop/etc. to need replacement.
The word "scam" is so overused these days it is ridiculous.
Why would you want to wait for drivability issues before replacing worn brake pads?
Welcome to the concept of "preventative maintenance".
The idea is to monitor and replace "wear parts" before they create a driveabilty issue, a break down, or an accident.
Brakes, for example, should be replaced when the pads wear down to a thickness specified by the manufacturer.
Pic 1 shows a worn brake pad that was replaced with a new brake pad before it created a problem. (probably like yours is now)
Pic 2 shows a worn out brake pad which was ignored, damaged the rotor, and could have caused an accident in an "emergency stopping" event.
So, at which point do you want to change your brake pads? "Worn" or "Dangerously Worn"?
(If you're the distrusting type, tell the shop to save the old brake pads and you can inspect their wear for yourself)
Pic 1
Pic 2
Excellent post.
Do they no longer put wear indicators on cars?
Many cars don't have wear indicators. I don't think any I've ever owned have had them.
If you can't tell when your brake pads need changing, and you're not willing/able to do this simple job yourself, it seems that you have no choice but to trust your mechanic.
After 5 years, depending on miles it would be perfectly normal for front brake pads to be getting thin. You don't want to wait for them to wear down to the point where they grind metal-to-metal on the rotors.
Pull your front wheel off and look inside the caliper. You'll be able to see how much pad is left and whether you need that brake job or not. Be pro active, don't just accept what the service center tells you.
maybe i;m old school, but i have always had a professional shop service my brakes. if you do it yourself and a problem occurs, you have no one to turn to. at least at a shop, it's on them.
if a problem occurs, you turn to yourself, you find out what happened and if it's something you did. You change your process, and that's how you learn new things. 🙄