Stock Brake Pad Life Expectancy?

[MattK]

Hi all,

This is my first automatic vehicle and I understand that they go through brakes faster than manuals. I purchased my JTR in May 2020 and it has 28k miles on it. I am starting to get that squeak a few slow rotations around, (whatever is squeaking), as I pull away from it being parked and in my experience that could be brake pads. Seems to go away if I apply brakes. They do not squeak when applied or at higher speeds off the brakes.

Whatever it is it got me thinking about how long I can expect out of the stock pads. No towing or anything just normal on/off-roading.

Thanks for any info!

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[Mr._Bill]

I bought my Overland in July 2019. I'm just over 53k miles and still on the original pads with no noticeable noise. I've been watching the Big Brake thread and looking at getting new pads and rotors. The Power Stop Z23 is about $300 cheaper on Amazon to buy the Front and Rear kits separately, instead of buying the Front and Rear kit.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This is my first automatic vehicle and I understand that they go through brakes faster than manuals.

Not been my experience. I expect that unless these brakes are really crappy,
I expect to get 50,000 to 80,000 out of them. I've never gotten less. If they can't make at least 60 then they are pretty lame.
I've had such a mix of cars and trucks over the years - automatic and manual, and I've had only a handful that ever needed brakes and those were at very high miles. Lowest I've ever gotten is about 80K, highest if well over 100,000 miles.
I've not seen a lot of difference.
It depends on drivers more than transmissions.

Squeaking can be corrosion on the rotor, glazed rotors, etc. Hard to say without looking/inspecting the brakes, but it seldom means they need replaced.

When I replace mine, I have no intention of making any real changes - will go back to stock type of replacements. I've only had one car or truck that needed new rotors - that was at 160,000 miles.

 

[GOCAMPN]

I'm also on my original brakes, 45k.

Edit to reflect on other comments:
45k miles on stock brakes. Living in NJ so regular NJ driving, multiple cross-country trips, heavy off-roading in Moab and at Rausch / AOAA in PA. Fine sand, dirt, mud, and I don't wash it very often. Not a squeak from them yet.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'm also on my original brakes, 45k.

No reason not to unless you abuse them - or off-roading will be tougher on brakes. But for typical use, I can't see why they won't get a lot more miles.
If you take them off-road a lot, that's a whole different animal and even then it depends on use.
Some people can destroy brakes in 40K miles. Others get at least double that.
I do a firm, quick, brake tap going down hills or when wanting to slow and let the transmission kick down and use engine braking. I'm not the sort to ride the brakes. I let the transmission and engine do the work and these are pretty slick at reading your brake pedal use.

 

[JTmac]

I am close to 80k on original brakes. At last oil change they handed me the inspection report and it said 12mm still on the pads. I asked the service writer if it was correct, he disappeared momentarily, came back and said yes. He said you may get 100k out of them. I was surprised. Don’t recall my other vehicles lasting that long.

 

[Rahkmalla]

It depends on driver

No reason not to unless you abuse them

With all due respect to your extensive mechanical knowledge: you live in Iowa.

Try a work commute that involves 55mph roads with constant red lights along the way. Constantly speeding up and slowing down is a way of life for people in more densely packed locations. 80k on a set of brake pads for me would be unheard of and I can assure you that while my brakes may get plenty of use, they are not being abused. I am a consummate engine braker and am never the type to speed up to a red light.

Your theory that short-lived brake pads only derive from owner abuse is regionally biased. In a vehicle that weighs 2.5tons i'd consider myself lucky to get 50k, but realistically expect 40k. Longest I've ever gone was 65k on a 2dr civic.

 

[jjmstang]

2020 Rubicon Launch/ 55k original pads, no squeaking

 

[ChrisNLA]

My JT only has 13K on it, so can't comment there - but my previous JK I had bought new and when I sold it at 87K it still had tons of pad left. I'll bet they make it to 100K on the next owner...

 

[jav_eee]

With all due respect to your extensive mechanical knowledge: you live in Iowa.

Try a work commute that involves 55mph roads with constant red lights along the way. Constantly speeding up and slowing down is a way of life for people in more densely packed locations. 80k on a set of brake pads for me would be unheard of and I can assure you that while my brakes may get plenty of use, they are not being abused. I am a consummate engine braker and am never the type to speed up to a red light.

Your theory that short-lived brake pads only derive from owner abuse is regionally biased. In a vehicle that weighs 2.5tons i'd consider myself lucky to get 50k, but realistically expect 40k. Longest I've ever gone was 65k on a 2dr civic.

This. Brake life depends on use, not abuse. I live in a city full of inconsiderate drivers and stop signs and red lights. I don't expect my brake pads to last very long at all.

 

[RodRecket]

No reason not to unless you abuse them - or off-roading will be tougher on brakes. But for typical use, I can't see why they won't get a lot more miles.
If you take them off-road a lot, that's a whole different animal and even then it depends on use.
Some people can destroy brakes in 40K miles. Others get at least double that.
I do a firm, quick, brake tap going down hills or when wanting to slow and let the transmission kick down and use engine braking. I'm not the sort to ride the brakes. I let the transmission and engine do the work and these are pretty slick at reading your brake pedal use.

I'm also a big proponent of coasting. You don't have to be all gas/brake. Additionally, tire/wheel combo will impact wear as well. I'm running beadlocks and 37s (relatively light KO2 37s, but still), pull a pretty light teardrop (1500ish lbs) cross country, do some pretty tough rock crawling (4, week + trips/year), and DD the truck. All of these factors will impact the longevity of my brakes.

My brakes have held up but I think I'm heading towards the power stop upgraded rotor/pad combo. I'm at 36k miles and see myself heading toward 38" tires. Will probably make the change before the 50k mark after I swap out to RCVs.

 

[Minty JL]

Life expectancy on brakes is subjective at best, too many variables involved.

Do annual inspections or as needed based on performance/sounds and so on. Common sense goes a long ways.

 

[PsyRN]

I'm at 37k miles, at about 30k miles they got really soft and would fade on steep driveways and a little chirp on occasion, and I thought it was pads too. I was going to replace the pads but they were like new still, so I bled the brake lines and all is right again, except for that occasional chirp.

 

[KQL]

Why not just check how much material is remaining? You may not even need to remove the wheel for the initial check. Granted, if you had a stuck caliper that was causing more wear on the inside pads, you might not notice until you check when rotating your tires, but a quick check of the outside pads is pretty easy.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

With all due respect to your extensive mechanical knowledge: you live in Iowa.

Try a work commute that involves 55mph roads with constant red lights along the way. Constantly speeding up and slowing down is a way of life for people in more densely packed locations. 80k on a set of brake pads for me would be unheard of and I can assure you that while my brakes may get plenty of use, they are not being abused. I am a consummate engine braker and am never the type to speed up to a red light.

Your theory that short-lived brake pads only derive from owner abuse is regionally biased. In a vehicle that weighs 2.5tons i'd consider myself lucky to get 50k, but realistically expect 40k. Longest I've ever gone was 65k on a 2dr civic.

Yeah, and dumb of me to forget those times going through the Atlanta area, Nashville at rush, the road destruction (they call it construction but one could argue the point), and I'm sure there's plenty of other areas.
Those were times I put my JT in manual mode, and like you, relied a heck of a lot on the compression of that engine for braking and when we went through those areas with the JLU it was on maximum regen - I swear THOSE brakes will last 200,000 miles (now if we can get the rest of it to last that long ?
Your call = good
My leaving out what even I have experienced = bad
How the heck could I possibly forget Atlanta with my extreme levels of ADHD wanting to throttle certain drivers.

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