How long do front brake rotors normally last?

[drewjp]

I am now approaching 52k miles on the PT Cruiser, and am still using the OEM rotors on the front. I am on my second set of OEM pads, which cause a lot of dust and are most likely eating away at the rotors.

By next summer, these pads should be basically shot(judging by last set), and I was going to replace them with Akebono pads.

Should I just go ahead and replace the rotors while I'm at it? How much serviceable life do they have left with a life of these hard pads??

 

[01rangerxl]

I never touched the rotors on my Ranger before 70,000 miles. They were still okay at that point, but I replaced them with new Auto Zone rotors anyway. One thing to keep in mind, if you turn the old rotors, they will be more prone to warping later on, but if new rotors are expensive for your car, it may be the best thing to do.

 

[Robert1955]

It all depends on your driving style. If you are hard on your brakes then they will not last as long if you go alittle easier on them. Also City driving will kill them fast while highway they can last forever I had 110,000 on the rotors on my Elantra when I traded it in and I got 130,000+ out of the rotors on the front of my 89 Toyota 4X4. But before I put the last set on my Elantra I only got about 17,000 out of the factory rotors on the Elantra, there was a well known issue with Hyundi rotors on the 2002s :-(

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
I never touched the rotors on my Ranger before 70,000 miles. They were still okay at that point, but I replaced them with new Auto Zone rotors anyway. One thing to keep in mind, if you turn the old rotors, they will be more prone to warping later on, but if new rotors are expensive for your car, it may be the best thing to do.

Theoretically, that may be the case. However unless the particular application is notorious for rotor problems, resurfacing the rotor will not cause problems in most cases.

Usually on domestic and Japanese applications, the rotors can be resurfaced once. On German cars, they usually need replacement at every pad change.

On the PT, I would resurface the rotors and install new pads if the rotor thickness is not within 20% of the discard spec after resurfacing.

 

[Master ACiD]

got 175,000 miles out of the original rotors on my dodge stratus. they had been turned a few times but the last time i put new pads on, the machine shop said the rotors were slightly under minimum thickness and could not be turned again. the previous times they were turned, they lasted for the life of the pads that were on at the time. i am still on the original rear drums and shoes. the rear drums need to be turned, but im waiting until next year when i put new pads on the front. then ill tackle the rear as well. but judging from this years inspection, all i will need is a drum turning and won't need to touch the pads.

i think it is just silly how often most people replace perfectly good rotors and drums just because they don't want to spend the 5-10 dollars and get them turned. know that rotors and drums have a minimum spec cast into them? you can turn the rotors and drums until that minimum is reached.

brake pads and shoes work just as good when they are new or they are worn down to credit card thickness. the only time they don't work good is when the friction maternal is actually worn off the backing. but you can run em right down to almost nothing with no negative results. ive done it plenty of times.

my crv thats got about 95K miles, i recently had the 2 rotors and 2 drums turned. the rear shoes were still in great condition so i re used them. but i did put new pads on the front since the pad material was worn down to credit card thickness. the car stops great again and that slight shimmy it had when braking is completely gone. with any luck it will be good for another 95K miles.

 

[byez]

how do you know if its time to get them turned? surface scores?

 

[Kestas]

For most cars that I've taken care of, I noticed the rotor develops a bit of shimmy as it reaches its minimum thickness. This is usually at 70-90K. If you don't have brake pulsation, don't worry about your rotors. Michigan driving is rather easy on rotors. If you lived in the mountains I'd recommend you measure your rotors to find out if they need replacing.

byez, as far as turning rotors is concerned, it's a judgement call. Some insist on doing it every brake job to provide a fresh surface for ideal embedment of new pads, or for maximum pad contact from the start. Others, like myself, do it only if the surface is too rough for new pads, which is rare under my watch.

 

[ted s]

front rotors on my 05 Dakota been replaced under warranty at 15 k miles and at 25k are wrapped again.

 

[JakeR22]

On small cars, rotors are so cheap, they're not even worth the time to have them turned. I never get them turned, just change pads, and have never felt a difference in braking performance.

 

[mechtech2]

If you put in new pads at an expected 60,000+ miles on your PT Cruiser, go ahead and get plain new rotors from the parts store.
Don't waste your time or $ cutting the old ones.
Clean the shipping oil off of them, and clean the hub thoroughly where they mount. Then use a little grease to prevent corrosionat the mating surface.

 

[bdcardinal]

on my mustang, i changed the factory pads, rotors, and calipers at 105k miles. after a few track days i was changing pads and rotors at 120k miles as they were both worn past minimum.

o and if you road race or auto-x, they usually wont let you on track with anything less than half pad thickness. ive seen some brand new rotors that after 1 20minute hotlap session have cracks down the face of the rotors and all around the hat.

 

[Palut]

I bought my Accord with 90,000 miles on it, it just hit 205,000 tonight. I don't know how long the front pads and rotors were on before I bought it, but I haven't touched them yet. 115,000 miles and they still have plenty of pad left and the rotors are fine!

 

[mazduh30]

I usually just visually check the once a year (grooves, etc) every other year I mic them and grease the pins.

 

[Eddie]

I've never had to change one before 125,000+ miles. My success comes from changing pads when about 80% gone rather than trying to get the last few thousands miles out of them. Don't keep the brakes locked tight after a hard stop. Purchase a brake pad that complements the rotor material. i.e. if the original came with semi metallic then replace with a quality or OEM semi pad. JMO Ed

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
byez, as far as turning rotors is concerned, it's a judgement call. Some insist on doing it every brake job to provide a fresh surface for ideal embedment of new pads, or for maximum pad contact from the start. Others, like myself, do it only if the surface is too rough for new pads, which is rare under my watch.


Ditto. Turning rotors is only for those who don't figure out that they're wearing out pads in a timely fashion and wait until there is a warped/scored condition to change them. Too busy to preemptively change out pads ...so they take time for a career in rotor buying and resurfacing. Either that, or they're hammering the brakes unnecessarily as they're hammering their car. Anything else is either a design flaw or poor engineering that sacrificed longevity for performance. A Chevette comes to mind. I drove one almost all highway and the rotors warped. Every other vehicle used in the same service virtually never needed brake service at all.

If I hadn't had to have new rotors machined (the hub opening) for my wife's jeep lock out hub kit, she would have been on the originals @ 130k+. I went to ceramics to save money on wheel cleaner. Every other year is good for her driving. She's got a 5 speed ..but also has 33" tires which are a bit more than OEM design for stopping. I don't think she can lock them up on dry pavement.

 

[PW01]

At 81,000 miles, I still have the OEM rotors on my Ranger and am on my first set of replacement pads

 

[The Critic]

I'll just say that I disagree with the majority of the crowd here. If you install new pads, it's a must that you either resurface or replace the rotors to allow for a fresh surface.

There's more to resurfacing than simply grinding off the old layer. You also need to use a ballhone or similar device to create a "crosshatch" finish to allow for proper seating. Finally the rotor surface must be washed with soap and water to remove any embedded metal that could otherwise contaminate the new pads and ruin them.

Reusing old rotors with new pads without resurfacing greatly increases your risk of noise issues. Proper bed-in with a more aggressive procedure can help a lot in this area and is very important if you are going to skip rotor resurfacing/replacement.

 

[XS650]

A quick sanding with 320 grit goes along ways towards getting the rotors ready if they weren't showing any signs of problems.

Unfortunately, rotors are often showing signs of problems by the time you need new pads.

 

[benjamming]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Reusing old rotors with new pads without resurfacing greatly increases your risk of noise issues. Proper bed-in with a more aggressive procedure can help a lot in this area and is very important if you are going to skip rotor resurfacing/replacement.


I'll refer to a post you made a few weeks ago from Akebono: don't use an aggressive bed-in procedure for the ProACT pads. They also don't mention rotor resurfacing.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: benjamming
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Reusing old rotors with new pads without resurfacing greatly increases your risk of noise issues. Proper bed-in with a more aggressive procedure can help a lot in this area and is very important if you are going to skip rotor resurfacing/replacement.


I'll refer to a post you made a few weeks ago from Akebono: don't use an aggressive bed-in procedure for the ProACT pads. They also don't mention rotor resurfacing.

True, which is why I still think that rotors should be resurfaced so the pads can seat more easily.

I'll have to ask Akebono about rotor resurfacing.