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Uneven Wear in Brake Pads

16K views 44 replies 13 participants last post by  friendly_jacek 
#1 ·
Yes, I searched and this different from what Vanib posted a year ago.

My rav4 has nearly 50000 miles and recently there was subtle grinding sensation when braking at low speeds. I remembered the pads looked fine 3000 miles ago when I rotated the tires. So, I removed the pads and the outer pads have more wear than inner pads:



This is on the driver side. The passenger side was similar but not as bad. I didn't have new pads, so I "rotated" them (had to swap the shim hardwere) and greased the pins. I have to say the pins had little factory grease and there was some mild wear on them. I'm thinking this was a problem with insufficient grease from factory.

Some sources form internet say mild uneven wear is normal: What Is the Cause of Uneven Wear in Brake Pads? | eHow

yea or nay?
 
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#2 ·
Since there is no mechanism to retract the outboard pad from the rotor it is always dragging a little bit even when the brakes are not applied. If the slider pins of the caliper are sticking at all it will wear your pads down rather quickly, if the piston itself is sticking you'll likely have the brakes overheat and be able to smell it, the wheel will also be hot to the touch. You probably noticed some crappy braking performance after you rotated those pads because now they will not match up to the grooves in the rotors. Just replace them when one pad is worn below spec and make sure the caliper and piston have full freedom of movement before you put it back together. You must use a brake caliper crease on those pins, just about everything else will cook and cause them to bind.
 
#5 ·
Jacek, I just replaced my front pads today and they looked almost identical to yours. The outside pads had more wear than the inside. So I'm going to assume this is normal. I replaced mine with Advics pads even though I had never heard of them. But look at the name forged into your calipers: ADVICS. So they are almost identical to the pads sold by the dealer but include shims at a lower price. Surely you can scrape up 50 bucks:

Amazon.com: Advics Disc Brake Pad... AD1211: Automotive
 
#8 ·
cheaper at Rock Auto

Part Price Quantity Total Remove
Click to Jump to This Car in the Part Catalog2009 TOYOTA RAV4 2.5L L4
Click to Jump to This Part Listing in the Part CatalogBrake/Wheel Hub : Brake PadRelated Parts
ADVICS Part # AD1210 {#044650R010, 0446542160} Kit Includes: Brake Pads with Preassembled Shims and Molybdenum Silicone Lubricant Advics OE
Flag indicates this part fits vehicles sold in the US Market. It does not indicate where the part was made -- manufacturers produce parts in multiple factories worldwide. Flag indicates this part fits vehicles sold in the Canadian Market. It does not indicate where the part was made -- manufacturers produce parts in multiple factories worldwide. Front; Sport; Except Japan Built Vehicle; OE Pad Material is Ceramic
Flag indicates this part fits vehicles sold in the US Market. It does not indicate where the part was made -- manufacturers produce parts in multiple factories worldwide. Flag indicates this part fits vehicles sold in the Canadian Market. It does not indicate where the part was made -- manufacturers produce parts in multiple factories worldwide. Front; Sport; Japan Built Vehicle; OE Pad Material is Ceramic
Flag indicates this part fits vehicles sold in the US Market. It does not indicate where the part was made -- manufacturers produce parts in multiple factories worldwide. Flag indicates this part fits vehicles sold in the Canadian Market. It does not indicate where the part was made -- manufacturers produce parts in multiple factories worldwide. Front; Base Model; Limited; Except 3rd Row Seating; Japan Built Vehicle; OE Pad Material is Ceramic
Flag indicates this part fits vehicles sold in the US Market. It does not indicate where the part was made -- manufacturers produce parts in multiple factories worldwide. Flag indicates this part fits vehicles sold in the Canadian Market. It does not indicate where the part was made -- manufacturers produce parts in multiple factories worldwide. Front; Base Model; Limited; Except 3rd Row Seating; Except Japan Built Vehicle; OE Pad Material is Ceramic
$40.79 $40.79 Remove Part
ADVICS Part # AD1212 {#0446602220, 0446606060, 0446606090, 0446633160, 0446633180, 0446642060} Kit Includes: Brake Pads with Preassembled Shims and Molybdenum Silicone Lubricant Advics OE (Only 11 Remaining)
Flag indicates this part fits vehicles sold in the US Market. It does not indicate where the part was made -- manufacturers produce parts in multiple factories worldwide. Flag indicates this part fits vehicles sold in the Canadian Market. It does not indicate where the part was made -- manufacturers produce parts in multiple factories worldwide. Rear; OE Pad Material Is Ceramic
$39.79 $39.79 Remove Part
Subtotal $80.58
Discount -$4.03
Country: Postal Code:
Shipping: (You should receive by July 25) $10.73
Total $87.28
How Did You Hear About Us?
 
#6 ·
Why are you guy hitting me for not replacing the pads? First I didn't have them handy, second, they are not totally worn out, third, I like turning wrenches, even if that makes me sweat.

JuneBug: Good to know it's normal. Did you look at your pins?
 
#7 ·
No I didn't inspect the slide pins. I pushed them and the boots back in and they felt silky smooth.
 
#9 ·
Check the pad support plates. They should be smooth and lightly lubricated with synthetic brake caliper grease.


I have attached an image of the brake hardware.


These should be replaced at every brake job.
 

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#11 ·

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#18 ·
The inner and outer pads wear differently, this is normal. Hence why the "peep hole" in the caliper lets you see only 1 pad by design...the pad that wears faster.

My front pads came off the same way as you describe...
 
#19 ·
Thanks for the input. I always had even pad wear in all cars I maintained over 20 years, except for one old car that had seized calipers long time ago. Even in my RAV4 there is perfectly even wear in rear brakes. The front passenger side was a bit uneven, but much less than the driver side (pictured).

Now, the peep hole is for the inner pads, because the brake cover obscures the view. The is no peep hole for outer pads, because your can see them easily from outside.

So, was it an outside pad that had more wear in yours, too?
 
#28 ·
I finally found my Starrett micrometer so I went ahead and measured my original front brake pads. The inside pads measured .200 (5.08mm) inches and the outside pads were at .131 (3.3mm). According to the service manual, you can run them down to .039 (1mm), but that would be pushing it in my opinion. The new pads are supposed to have a thickness of .472 (12mm). This is measuring the entire pad with shims removed, then subtracting the thickness of the backing plate which is .225.
 
#32 ·
I don't know about the Rav4s but on my '04 Civic, pushing down to 2mm on front pads left me with no pressure sensitivity. Meaning I had to press further down the brake pedal before I feel the brakes are applying. I recently changed the pads only (Akebono ProACT from Rockauto) and lubed everything. Now, a slight press on the pedal is all I need to brake.
 
#33 ·
I've never owned a vehicle that wore the outer pads before the inner pads in my young 46 yrs. :) Since the calliper presses on the inside pad , it has always worn faster than the outside pad on my vehicles.....always. My Rav had me shaking my head when the brake pedal would sink farther to the floor as my pads were wearing. I always had calipers that would adjust to the pad thickness then back off ever so slightly when you released the brake pedal. Now it seems the caliper retracts ALL the way back every time you release the pedal for some reason , like there is a spring inside there or something?? That's why the pedal travel tells you how worn your pads are. I'm not used to that.
I got 95,000 Kms out of my first set of front pads and clean and heavily lubricate my calipers every spring and fall when I change from winter to summer tires.
I wouldn't wait for so many miles before lubing the calipers, do it once a yr.
 
#34 ·
I got 95,000 Kms out of my first set of front pads and clean and heavily lubricate my calipers every spring and fall when I change from winter to summer tires.
I wouldn't wait for so many miles before lubing the calipers, do it once a yr.
How do you lubricate calipers? Do you mean slide pins?
 
#35 ·
Yeah......I clean and lubricate the slider pins and also very important, I remove the brake pads, clean the clip grooves and brake pads where they slide and lube them too.You should be able to slide the pads easily by hand once they are installed. If they move hard, they won't release off the rotor when you release the brakes. Basically I have lubrication where the metal parts slide on each other. I find it's a little bit of preventative maintenance that makes the pads last a long time.
I bought my 06 Corolla brand new and only had to change the front pads at 125000 Kms. By the way , that car has 185000 Kms on it now and the ONLY thing I had to change so far was the front brakes and rotors. Tough little cars!!
 
#40 ·
I don't know for sure...I can only assume it is a warning device for brake wear.

I still have the old pads. The inners have the normal wear area along the middle, then the upper and lower edges are worn a bit deeper and rougher than the middle. On the inner side of the rotor, the shiny worn area is flanked a rusty strip either side, which is also elevated compared to the shiny, worn area. The only mechanism that seems to explain that wear pattern for both the rotor and the pads is the scenario above.

I would love to see a pic of some virgin OEM pads to see if I am right.
 
#41 ·
I would love to see a pic of some virgin OEM pads to see if I am right.
Those are hard to come by as most people go aftermarket with pad replacement.
These are mine at 51000 miles. The one on the right is after "deglazing" with 120 sandpaper.

 
#42 ·
Thanks for the pics. I don't see anything resembling a rabbet on your pads. Without such a configuration I am at a loss to explain how both of my inner pads were only wearing the middle part of the rotor surface for so long (69K miles) and now contacting a rusty strip of the rotor, both top and bottom. Not a big deal, but I am a bit puzzled.

I'll try to take pics of my old pads and the rotors too if I can.
 
#43 ·
Here's the picture of a new brake pad from the Advics box. You can clearly see the beveled ends of the pad. I would call it a chamfer rather than a rabbet, but I'm no expert on carpentry terms. The chamfer is probably there to reduce brake noise, and is present on both inner and outer pads:

 
#44 ·
Thanks, but that's not what I am talking about. I'll take some pics, because trying to describe this verbally just isn't working.
 
#45 ·
I just checked brakes in my prius at 44,000 miles. Sure enough, some slide pins had little factory grease and were sticking and every wheel had more wear in outside brake pads compared to inside ones (2-3 mm difference).

I have 3 different toyotas and all of them are consistent in sticky pins and more wear in outside brake pads. Interesting. At least I know now to regrease those stupid pins every 30,000 miles or so.
 
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