What is a "brake service"?

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Labor is expensive at dealership. If you want to do it and save labor yes it will be cheaper. Techs, service writer, electric bill etc. all get paid. The small shop I worked at charged 120 an hour and went under from expenses especially insurance. Remember if we don't support the workers the cost will go up.
 
Originally Posted by wolf_06
My Mazda dealership wants me to do a "brake service" at my next oil change.

My Mazda 3 2018 only has 25,000 km on the clock.

They charge me 200$ for that "brake servicing". What the heck will they do? Lube up calipers pin and put it back in place? Sounds fishy to me.

The owners manual only says "brake INSPECTION" at 24,000km...... inspection.

Any inputs?



This is going back about 8yrs, but shops in my area at that time would do this brake service for about $100. The local Quick Lane at the time charged $75 and did a very good job.

It entailed releasing the calipers and popping the pads off of all 4 corners, cleaning all contact points, cleaning/re-lubing caliper pins and reinstalling original pads. I've found living in rust-belt central, doing this would double the life of the brakes.

Is is still worth it at $200? I guess if they do a good job it could be, given the dealer charge for a brake job (pads and rotors all the way around) is like $700 or more these days.

For non rust belt life I wouldn't bother with it.
 
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Originally Posted by tiger862
Labor is expensive at dealership. If you want to do it and save labor yes it will be cheaper. Techs, service writer, electric bill etc. all get paid. The small shop I worked at charged 120 an hour and went under from expenses especially insurance. Remember if we don't support the workers the cost will go up.


Very good points.
 
Originally Posted by wolf_06
My Mazda dealership wants me to do a "brake service" at my next oil change.

My Mazda 3 2018 only has 25,000 km on the clock.

They charge me 200$ for that "brake servicing". What the heck will they do? Lube up calipers pin and put it back in place? Sounds fishy to me.

The owners manual only says "brake INSPECTION" at 24,000km...... inspection.

Any inputs?

It is a necessary service in climates where rust is an issue. The service involves disassembling the system and cleaning the rust off of the caliper bracket and the pad ears, as well as lubing the slide pins.

Here is a 10 min video of the entire process:
https://youtu.be/plo8tZWNsfY

The service is legitimate. As far as a reasonable cost for the service, well, that will depend on your local market.
 
This is absolutely not a "necessary service in climates where rust is an issue." I live in Saskatchewan and my many vehicles have never had such a service with no ill effect. In fact, I only know of one person who has been talked into this type of "brake service."

Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by wolf_06
My Mazda dealership wants me to do a "brake service" at my next oil change.

My Mazda 3 2018 only has 25,000 km on the clock.

They charge me 200$ for that "brake servicing". What the heck will they do? Lube up calipers pin and put it back in place? Sounds fishy to me.

The owners manual only says "brake INSPECTION" at 24,000km...... inspection.

Any inputs?

It is a necessary service in climates where rust is an issue. The service involves disassembling the system and cleaning the rust off of the caliper bracket and the pad ears, as well as lubing the slide pins.

Here is a 10 min video of the entire process:
https://youtu.be/plo8tZWNsfY

The service is legitimate. As far as a reasonable cost for the service, well, that will depend on your local market.
 
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If it includes a brake bleed, disassemble clean and lube pins and surfaces on all 4 corners, price is about right (for dealer pricing).

Problem is jobs like that sometimes turn into "mmm pads are thick, looks good to me" on the lift.

Is it necessary? A matter of debate. We learned here recently that most aftermarket pads do NOT have the corrosion resistance of OEM pads.

I consider it necessary for aftermarket pads in salty conditions, and for extreme use (towing, racing).
 
Generally a brake service involves resurfacing the disk (or drum) and replacing the pads (or shoes) as well as a new hardware kit. This job is done per-axle, either front or rear or both. If the disk (or drum) is beyond specification and cannot be resurfaced, usually they will charge you extra to replace the part. This is counter-intuitive because a new part costs about the same as the labor time to resurface the existing (old) part.
 
I recently went for an oil change and asked again for the brake service. Its basically 100$ for front and 100$ for back. They said its to keep the warranty on the discs and pads, discs are warrenty 3 years for warping and pads 1 year. Is the whole thing worth 200$ I have no idea..
 
Originally Posted by Uregina09
This is absolutely not a "necessary service in climates where rust is an issue." I live in Saskatchewan and my many vehicles have never had such a service with no ill effect. In fact, I only know of one person who has been talked into this type of "brake service."

Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by wolf_06
My Mazda dealership wants me to do a "brake service" at my next oil change.

My Mazda 3 2018 only has 25,000 km on the clock.

They charge me 200$ for that "brake servicing". What the heck will they do? Lube up calipers pin and put it back in place? Sounds fishy to me.

The owners manual only says "brake INSPECTION" at 24,000km...... inspection.

Any inputs?

It is a necessary service in climates where rust is an issue. The service involves disassembling the system and cleaning the rust off of the caliper bracket and the pad ears, as well as lubing the slide pins.

Here is a 10 min video of the entire process:
https://youtu.be/plo8tZWNsfY

The service is legitimate. As far as a reasonable cost for the service, well, that will depend on your local market.




I've seen rust build up between the Caliper Bracket & Anti Rattle Clips here in North Texas, Lubing Brake Shoe slide points is also important.

It being necessary is probably debatable, But I've seen many brake pads get smoked because stuck slide pins & Pinched pads.
 
Originally Posted by clinebarger
I've seen rust build up between the Caliper Bracket & Anti Rattle Clips here in North Texas, Lubing Brake Shoe slide points is also important.

It being necessary is probably debatable, But I've seen many brake pads get smoked because stuck slide pins & Pinched pads.

I agree. It may not always need to be done; many cars around me seem fine (don't hear about their owners complaining about frequent brake jobs). But in my experience, one caliper will will show problems on one pad--it's the luck of the draw as to which one (usually it's a rear), and when. But since I can just go around the car and relube during a tire rotation, I don't think much about it. Once a year I check all the brake pads.

Now as far as needing to be done to keep warranty... I'm not so sure about that. I'd ask 'em to point out where it says it needs to be done in the maintenance schedule.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted by wolf_06
I recently went for an oil change and asked again for the brake service. Its basically 100$ for front and 100$ for back. They said its to keep the warranty on the discs and pads, discs are warrenty 3 years for warping and pads 1 year. Is the whole thing worth 200$ I have no idea..


The only correct answer is "it depends". There are simply too many variables for everyone's personal anecdotes to apply to YOUR situation. Brake system quality and aversion to rust varies. Driving habits vary. Local climate varies. Service garage quality varies.

Educate yourself about preventative maintenance procedures so you can judge service shop suggestions. Attempt (it's extremely difficult) to locate a shop that you can trust to be truthful. I.E., that warranty excuse above raises red flags for me. He should have said that the service checks for component condition and ensures that everything is/will continue to work well for the life of the components. For $200, the service should included everything in The Critics video links and maybe also a fluid change.

Asking questions here is a good start to educating yourself. Only you can decide what is important for your situation. It will get easier with time. I know, Captain obvious remarks here everyone, LOL.
 
Originally Posted by wolf_06
I recently went for an oil change and asked again for the brake service. Its basically 100$ for front and 100$ for back. They said its to keep the warranty on the discs and pads, discs are warrenty 3 years for warping and pads 1 year. Is the whole thing worth 200$ I have no idea..

This dealership is shady.... Brake pads/rotors are very unlikely to be covered by the factory warranty anyway - they are wear items - so I think they are misleading (lying to) you. The price is outrageous too.

Call Mazda and ask them a) if your brakes are covered under warranty and b) if you are required to have this service performed. If the brakes aren't warrantied, you don't even need to ask the 2nd question.
 
LOL, since when does a brake service involve swapping the fluid or turning the rotors? Some threads on here are like magnets for misinformation.

You HAVE to do it in the rust belt, every other year minimum if you drive in the winter due to grease washing out. It's easy to do it every year if you change to snowies, that's when I usually it.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by wolf_06
My Mazda dealership wants me to do a "brake service" at my next oil change.

My Mazda 3 2018 only has 25,000 km on the clock.

They charge me 200$ for that "brake servicing". What the heck will they do? Lube up calipers pin and put it back in place? Sounds fishy to me.

The owners manual only says "brake INSPECTION" at 24,000km...... inspection.

Any inputs?

It is a necessary service in climates where rust is an issue. The service involves disassembling the system and cleaning the rust off of the caliper bracket and the pad ears, as well as lubing the slide pins.

Here is a 10 min video of the entire process:
https://youtu.be/plo8tZWNsfY

The service is legitimate. As far as a reasonable cost for the service, well, that will depend on your local market.


i would not let that tech touch my brakes. he uses a regular caliper to measure the disk thickness instead of a disk thickness one. he lets the caliper just hang there unsupported by the hose
 
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