WTF??!!!!?? A rear brake job at 45,000 miles?

[BlueMeanie]

I cruiser was making some really bad noises over the weekend. According to the dealership, the rear brakes and roters need to be replaced at 45,000 miles. WTF??? I though these were supposed to last much longer than this??

Dan

[QuicksilverDon]

Yes, they should. You have 4-wheel discs? I have 72,000+ miles on mine, redid front pads only - no noise, no problems. Have them chech brake proportioning valve (distributes braking f-r), or if the pads "hung up". AND rotors? something isn't right.

[RallyDRock]

what was the noise?
was it a chattery clunky kind of noise whenever you hit a sharp bump or crack in the road?
Especially in snowy climates the pad retainers will rust off of the back of the pads allowing them to float around in the caliper making the noise. I have so much pad left that I simply put a strip of tape across the caliper where the pad sits and it is much quieter now.
i really dont think that you would need rear rotors as well unless you had a caliper seise and wipe out the pad completely to the metal.

always let the tech know that you want to see the old parts to see how/why they failed and not go by their explanation (which could be a stretch from the truth)

[-GW-]

If your rear brakes only need replacing then something is wrong. The majority of braking is done by the front brakes - they should go first.

-GW-

[BlueMeanie]

I called them back. They claim that the four wheel disk set up has a 60/40ish braking distribution, but they will check on the valve.

Dan

[MX-5]

The brakes are split 50/50 under light braking, and the variable proportioning valve splits them under moderate to severe braking.

The valve would be prime suspect in your case.

The rear pads have about 1/2 the surface area of the fronts.

[BlueMeanie]

Originally Posted by MX-5

The brakes are split 50/50 under light braking, and the variable proportioning valve splits them under moderate to severe braking.

The valve would be prime suspect in your case.

The rear pads have about 1/2 the surface area of the fronts.

They will probably claim that it is just fine. Just like the lifter tick that I have. If it is the valve, I may be able to talk Chrysler to cover it under warranty.

Dan

[JOEM]

Originally Posted by BlueMeanie

I called them back. They claim that the four wheel disk set up has a 60/40ish braking distribution, but they will check on the valve.

Dan

Sorry to hear that. Even if the valve is the culprit, you still seem to be having to change out your rear brakes too soon.

[2_2COOL]

Have you had the front brakes done yet? Sounds kinda weird that the backs would go before them!
I had my front disks replaced TWICE by the time I had 28K miles on my PT. Turned out to be a malfunctioning caliper ( they didn't catch it till the second brake job needed to be done just 8K miles after the first one).
I've got 60K miles on my crappy old-fashioned drums....seems your disks should do better than that! I hope they find a flaw ( sounds weird), so you can get it covered under warranty!

[orocruiser]

I replaced my front pads at about 18K just because I couldn't stand the noise and brake dust anymore. Replaced the rear pads at about 36K, as well as the caliper hardware. Tech had been telling me for a couple of visits that the calipers were hanging up, causing uneven wear on the pads. Last visit they seemed to be wearing evenly. No rotor replacement, but may have caught it before the uneven wear caused further problems. The brakes on PTs, like the auto tranny, have not received rave reviews.