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Have you replaced your Volt's brake pads due to wear?

  • I have never replaced my Volt's brake pads due to wear.

    Votes: 94 96.9%
  • I have had to replace my Volt's brake pads due to wear.

    Votes: 3 3.1%

Brake Wear

14K views 55 replies 44 participants last post by  Prohidium 
#1 ·
I was speaking with a friend the other day about brake wear in EVs. This was prompted by his reading an article that stated that brake dust is the primary harmful pollutant that cars put out. The article then went on to claim that EVs actually produce more brake dust than their ICEV counterparts.

We all know this is erroneous because EVs use their brakes far less frequently and intensely than ICEVs. But when I offered up as an example that I had never heard of a single Volt owner who has replaced brake pads due to wear, it got me thinking, how many of us actually have? I'm not going to include this in the poll, but feel free to comment on your total mileage and your mileage when you replaced your pads (if ever).
 
#5 ·
I've never had to. A co worker, however, did have to have his rotors replaced. It seems they eventually start rusting unevenly from lack of use. At least his did, anyway. It was like some parts of the rotor were rusting and others were not.
 
#6 ·
I've never had to replace brake pads on any of my ICE vehicles either. I have put 140,000-175,000 miles on several without ever needing new pads. Maybe it's just the way I drive, but I highly doubt my Volt will ever need any either, as the brakes are used even less.


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#38 ·
I've never had to replace brake pads on any of my ICE vehicles either. I have put 140,000-175,000 miles on several without ever needing new pads. Maybe it's just the way I drive, but I highly doubt my Volt will ever need any either, as the brakes are used even less.
Dude, yer in Arizona for crying out loud. Try driving in West Virginia some time <grin>.
 
#7 · (Edited)
We know EVs and hybrid have less brake wear, but I analyzed how people drive with ICEVs, and I discovered why some drivers had more than one pad change per year. The main problems are with the automatic transmissions and engine creep in ICEVs. Most drivers with manual transmissions learn how to use the hand brake when stopped so they can rest both feet (clutch and accelerator). Automatic vehicle drivers don't do that, so they tend keep the transmission in "D" (drive) and ride their brakes with the right foot because of the engine creep. In my GM vehicles, I learned to drive like it was a manual by shifting to "N" (neutral) to release the engine (and prevent creep), and use the hand brake to keep it still when stopped.

So for my past 1995 Buick Regal, in 21 years of ownership, the brake pads were replaced three times (i did the last two in my carport). My present 2009 Chevy Equinox still has the factory pads after seven years. My method works!
 
#8 ·


Pads and rotors front & rear still had plenty of thickness on my Volt back at 50,000 miles when I last checked but what was really bugging me was the intermittent brake squeak being caused by rusty/worn brake hardware that I pulled off pictured above.






Spent a whopping @$20 total from O'Reilly to replace the worn brake hardware on my Gen1 with the Carlson QuietGlide Disc Brake Hardware Kit which has eliminated any further squeaking. Part#s for this replacement hardware on the Volt was H5851Q for both front brakes and H5852Q for both sets of rear brakes.
 
#11 ·
Never cleaning brake dust off the wheels like an ICE car. Brake dust is brake pads wearing. No wear, no dust.
 
#13 ·
I have a 2002 Chevy Avalanche with 130,000 miles. My rear pads needed to be replace at 70,000, but my front are still original. They were checked last week when I had new tires installed, and they are still have 50% pad left.
 
#17 ·
And this doesn't make sense either. Usually the front pads go first as they are the major stopping force of a vehicle.
 
#18 ·
I have not had to replace the pads. I have, however needed to replaced the left rear rotor and caliper on my 2011 Volt, which were completely corroded and frozen up. I live near the ocean, and the car is parked outdoors, hence the corrision. But it also illustrates how little the rear brakes get used.
 
#20 ·
I have never had my brakes replaced and at my last service (70K miles), the service tech said that the brakes looked new.

Like others, I do get the squeak due to rust. Putting the Volt in neutral on a highway off ramp (to force use of friction brakes) cleans off the rust and no more squeak.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Hello 70 to a hundred thousand miles on aICE vehicle is inconceivable to me. Well I guess anything's possible.
I was quite pleased when I got 45000 on a 2013 volt and no brakes needed. I saw the brakes because I bought new tires before handing the car in and they still look good.
 
#31 ·
I've only got 1000 miles on the Volt so there's no issue there, but my C-Max Energi had over 40,000 miles and the pads looked almost new. Also, one of my Priuses had 105,000 miles on the original pads when I sold it, and they still had a lot of wear left in them.
 
#33 ·
My VW Passat 4-Motion, with upgraded Koni DFS dampers, never had to change the front pads. After 190,000km and over 16 years I changed the rears once, granted I was probably getting close to changing the rears again when trading it in for the Volt. I used the tiptronic downshifted a lot.

My GF's 12 year old Subaru Impreza also hasn't needed fronts. The 4 corner struts on it are real firm!

My theory is that cars with firmer suspensions, less nose dive, are less likely to wear the front pads. The lower weight transfer to the front may play a big part in that.
 
#36 ·
Almost 60k on my Volt and pads are near-new looking. My wife's Camry Hybrid is at 105k now and front pads still look at about 80%. I did have to change rear pads on it as one side developed a stuck caliper and wore that side. We had a Saturn L sedan that always went 100k on front pads. It was a manual and we live in the country, and my wife is apparently easy on brakes. Sold that car to my neighbor with 280k on it and rear pads were original! I think the calipers may have been stuck a bit though.....
 
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