Brake pads worn out after less than 3000 miles, options?

[BogleMelon]

This is our second (spare) car. We don’t drive it very much.
8 months ago a local mechanic changed its front brake pads and rotors (I paid $360 for that job), today I noticed a metal friction noise comes from the front wheels (usually the noise when the pads are completely worn out). Since I changed the brakes, we only drived 2800 miles!
I assume the pads are faulty or really made of a cheap quality. I plan to call the mechanic the next business day, however and as it is always my experience with the mechanics in our area, he will probably argue back something like “it must be your driving style that worn out the brakes…etc”.

I am not claiming I am a better driver than the average, but also it never happened before that I tear out pads very soon like that.

Is there anyway I can make him liable for any defective parts he used without going into stressful arguments or time/energy consuming procedures?

Also would it make sense later to use the dealership for brake jobs for a better quality which should last longer (i.e a bigger bang for my buck, even after the higher fees?)

[bob60014]

This is our second (spare) car. We don’t drive it very much.
......

How do you know they are worn out? It may be something as simple as surface rust, especially if the vehicle is not driven much.

[BogleMelon]

This is our second (spare) car. We don’t drive it very much.
......

How do you know they are worn out? It may be something as simple as surface rust, especially if the vehicle is not driven much.

I should have mentioned that the pedals also feel too low when braking

[hunoraut]

the noise doesnt mean the brake pads are worn. you can simply inspect the pad to see how much material is left. there are many causes of the squeak, most of them involve refitting and lubricating the components, commonly the so-called 'backing plates'.

if the pads are truly worn beyond their service life, the squeaking noise is really really loud. less a squeak and more a shout.

[whodidntante]

It's probably not the brake pads, but you have a mechanical issue like a stuck parking brake or a stuck caliper or the pads are binding so not able to move as intended. Certain parts need to be lubricated when replacing the pads, and if not done, it will lead to issues. The bottom line is there is no way to know without looking.

This kind of stuff happens. Has the mechanic been reliable otherwise?

The pedal being low is not a reliable indicator that the pads are shot. You have to look.

[twh]

previous post beat me to it!

Of course the pads could be complete garbage, but even so, the mileage you report is just very very low even for garbage pads.

Could it be the front calipers are locking up? This can happen for one of several reasons, probably the most common being the slide pins on the caliper are caked up with dirt and grime and not sliding. What happens then is the caliper is unable to relax after you apply the brakes and then the brake pads wear very fast.

[shunkman]

Sometimes a small stone can get caught in the brake system. Try driving in reverse and see if the sound changes.

[hunoraut]

I should have mentioned that the pedals also feel too low when braking

most likely related to brake fluid.

disc braking systems are self-adjusting -- the pad slide along the piston -- so wear doesnt affect the bite point

[hershey102d]

Inspecting pad thickness is not a difficult DIY and even cheap pads will last 2800 miles.

[Parkinglotracer]

Nicely ask you mechanic to check it out. If his answer seems far fetched nicely check out other mechanics.

[twh]

Ok, the pedal feels low post...

If it really feels low, and that is subjective, it could also have something to do with the brake master cylinder. I've not seen this myself, but I did have a clutch master cylinder corrode inside the bore -- the clutch pedal went to the floor and didn't retract (while driving, not fun). I changed that clutch master cylinder and then also changed the brake fluid in the clutch master cylinder every couple years after that so it didn't happen again.

[brokendirtdart]

Does the noise stop when you apply the brakes? If yes, then that is an indicator of a worn pad.

Pop the wheels off and take a look. It's a 10 minute DIY to visually check it out. Add some time if you want to pull the calipers off.

Unless the pad had a complete failure such as the backing plate separating from the friction material, your pads are probably fine. I had that happen to a set of pads, but it was after 80K miles. Plenty of material left-it just separated.

It could be any number of things, pins rusting so the pads don't slide, leaks in the brake lines, master cylinder issues(vacuum booster or electric?), stuck pistons, rust on the rotors which will get scrubbed off with driving, complete malfunction of the pads, or you drive like you're short track racing on the Winston Cup circuit.

You won't be able to tell until you look, and tbh already aiming to make your mechanic liable for something that may not even be a problem is a bit cringy to steal a term from the young folks.

Many brake pads come with great warranties.

[vfinx]

The more likely cause of the noise is a failure to thoroughly clean all surfaces when the brakes were changed. This dirt, rust, brake dust, etc. causes out of spec vibrations, which causes noise. You can likely just redo with the same hardware, and make sure the necessary surfaces are prepared well. You can also try to cheat with the red CRC “brake quiet” paste. Some shops even use this now by default just to avoid take backs (and to allow themselves to spend less time cleaning).

It is highly unlikely you wore through pads after only 3000 miles unless a race track was involved.

[Johny Fever]

Dont know what kind of car this is but $360 for pads, rotors and labor is a very fair price. I think you got a decent guy to work with so drive down there and let him take a look. Pedal fade could be a few things..moisture in the system is one from not being driven much...master that is getting weak, caliper, just as a starting point. I would be amazed if the pads were worn that much in that mileage...what kind of car we dealing with here?

[hunoraut]

you dont even need to do anything to inspect the pad for wear.

if its an alloy wheel, you can peek straight through the spokes and see the edge of the pad.

even with a steel wheel, pop the cover off and use a flash light for some illumination.

[BogleMelon]

Dont know what kind of car this is but $360 for pads, rotors and labor is a very fair price. I think you got a decent guy to work with so drive down there and let him take a look. Pedal fade could be a few things..moisture in the system is one from not being driven much...master that is getting weak, caliper, just as a starting point. I would be amazed if the pads were worn that much in that mileage...what kind of car we dealing with here?

2016 Mazda 3

[Jack FFR1846]

Open the hood and take a flashlight and shine it at the clear-ish plastic container in front of the steering wheel. That's the brake fluid reservoir. The fluid should be visible and you'll find lines with "max" and "min" written. Is the fluid down to the min or below? Or can you not see the level? That could indicate a problem that could cause a soft brake pedal.

Seldom driven cars get all kinds of bad corrosion issues and rotors and pads are the most common. Wash your car and wheels and leave it till tomorrow. The rotors will be covered with surface rust and when you go to move the car, it'll not move, then "let go". That's because the pads have literally rusted to the rotors. Leave it long enough and it'll be really hard to more. Even sitting unwashed, humidity, especially with big temperature changes can do the same thing.

So I guess what I'm saying is that if this is something like a 3rd car you rarely drive.....get rid of it and only keep the cars you regularly drive.

If pads really did wear out in 2800 miles, there is something majorly wrong with the braking system. The caliper pins are possibly seized in place or something. I don't know.

[RetiredAL]

This is our second (spare) car. We don’t drive it very much.
8 months ago a local mechanic changed its front brake pads and rotors (I paid $360 for that job), today I noticed a metal friction noise comes from the front wheels (usually the noise when the pads are completely worn out). Since I changed the brakes, we only drived 2800 miles!

If is very common for surface rust to form on the rotors, especially on a not-daily driver car. This sounds like scraping metal until it rubs off. It's worse in areas where salt is used, where it can rust overnight. Go drive the car and make several moderate stops from 40mph or so. This will wipe the rust off.

I live in CA and have seen this with a car only driven once a week. First stop sign it sounds terrible. By the 3rd, it's all quiet.

[BatBuckeye]

In agreement with TWH and parkinglot racer.
Stuck caliper.
Maybe a mail delivery vehicle could use up brakes in 3k but not normal.

Very curious to hear what the mechanic says.

And, mechanic should clean and grease caliper pins when changing brakes.

parking brake is in the rear.

[Johny Fever]

Dont know what kind of car this is but $360 for pads, rotors and labor is a very fair price. I think you got a decent guy to work with so drive down there and let him take a look. Pedal fade could be a few things..moisture in the system is one from not being driven much...master that is getting weak, caliper, just as a starting point. I would be amazed if the pads were worn that much in that mileage...what kind of car we dealing with here?

2016 Mazda 3

Well you got 225-250 ish retail in the parts alone...and its about 1.5 hour job on book so the shop is pretty fair in their pricing...give them a shot and see what they got..could be a few things...should be a simple fix.

[Dregob]

I had my car inspected and the mechanic noticed some noise. Looked and said there was some rust. Could be something else but even crap pads should last more than that unless somebody drove with emergency brake on.
And yes, I worked with a student who did that. New driver, first car and his friend who taught him to drive new less than he did!

[tibbitts]

This is our second (spare) car. We don’t drive it very much.
8 months ago a local mechanic changed its front brake pads and rotors (I paid $360 for that job), today I noticed a metal friction noise comes from the front wheels (usually the noise when the pads are completely worn out). Since I changed the brakes, we only drived 2800 miles!
I assume the pads are faulty or really made of a cheap quality. I plan to call the mechanic the next business day, however and as it is always my experience with the mechanics in our area, he will probably argue back something like “it must be your driving style that worn out the brakes…etc”.

I am not claiming I am a better driver than the average, but also it never happened before that I tear out pads very soon like that.

Is there anyway I can make him liable for any defective parts he used without going into stressful arguments or time/energy consuming procedures?

Also would it make sense later to use the dealership for brake jobs for a better quality which should last longer (i.e a bigger bang for my buck, even after the higher fees?)

You should stop making assumptions and just ask the mechanic what the problem is. Either the explanation will be reasonable or not. If you approach this with the assumption you won't be given a proper diagnosis, and if you have some basis for that assumption, you should try to find a different mechanic. There are enough problems in life without speculating about ones that you don't even know will ever exist.

[Northern Flicker]

Auto parts stores may sell aftermarket brake pads with a range of costs and thicknesses/useful lifespans.

Always specify the part to be installed. I had a rebate offer by a car manufacturer for a brake job from any of their dealers that offered an attractive net price. The manufacturer rejected the rebate submission because (their own) dealer installed the cheapest auto part store house brand aftermarket brake pads instead of genuine parts sold by the manufacturer.

The dealer got caught because of the rebate, and I ended up getting an even better deal than originally planned as the dealer wanted the problem to go away. In the investigation, I learned that there are some pretty low quality brake pads available new.