My wife drives a 2019 Nissan Rogue with 37871 miles. I had the car in for service yesterday at a Nissan dealer and was told that the car needs rear brake pads replaced. I was told that the left rear pads measure 4mm thick, and the right rear pads measure only 2mm thick. Several questions...
Can it be a normal situation for these pads to differ so much in thickness? Or is there an additional problem causing this disparity, such as possibly a seized caliper? I don't notice anything odd when driving the car.
I don't notice any vibration when applying the brakes. The Nissan dealer is willing to install new brake pads while using the existing rotors, machining them as necessary. I was told by the dealer that they won't know if there is a caliper problem until they get everything disassembled. This sounded to me like a potential for it costing me lots of money. Do the brakes need to be disassembled inorder to determine if the caliper is seized? Or if there is some other problem causing the brake pad thickness disparity?
Another shop that I called said that the existing rotors are not serviceable and cannot be reused. They will only install new brake pads with new rotors. This shop has not inspected the brakes.
Much obliged for any clarity that you can shine on this situation.
Thank you.
Sounds like a couple of places are trying to put you through the grease. If you look at the rotors and don't see any obvious grooves or pits, they should be OK. I would just replace the pads. And the fronts at the same time since they take about 70% of the braking.
I was told that the left rear pads measure 4mm thick, and the right rear pads measure only 2mm thick ... Can it be a normal situation for these pads to differ so much in thickness?
I don't think that 2mm difference is terribly unusual. Do you brake while turning?
Do the brakes need to be disassembled inorder to determine if the caliper is seized?
of course.
Another shop that I called said that the existing rotors are not serviceable and cannot be reused.
they determined that over the phone did they?
Can it be a normal situation for these pads to differ so much in thickness?
2mm is quite normal.
Another shop that I called said that the existing rotors are not serviceable and cannot be reused.
If your steering wheel doesn’t shake/shudder while you brake at high speed, I would install good quality Akebono front brake pads and call it a day.
Have you ever changed your front brake pads, or are they still the factory pads? Unless you're driving like an absolute lunatic and going backwards, or the parking brake is sticking, the rear pads should have a lot more "meat"on them than the front pads do at this point. You would also likely have a relatively sudden change in MPG if the caliper started sticking, or smell brakes after driving a while.
You would more than likely notice if you had that thin of a brake pad left. 2 mm is hardly over 1/16 of an inch. Squealers should've been sounding, if the metal backing isn't already grinding on the rotors in places.
You can easily check out the pads for yourself! Jack up the rear on one side and pull the wheel off. Take a look at the pads, they're easily visible inside the caliper without taking anything else off. If the rotors are smooth and the pads have more than 1/4 of an inch, they're fine for now.
Sounds to me like they're trying to pull a fast one. Luckily you can easily inspect pads on your own.
