Almost every set of pads that arrives here as an emergency was fine three months ago. Brake wear is slow and completely predictable — right up to the point where it is not, and by then the disc is going with it.
A new pad carries between 10 and 12 mm of friction material. We flag a set at 4 mm, replace at 3 mm, and refuse to sign a car off below 2 mm. Those numbers are not a house rule; they are what the manufacturers publish and what an inspection measures against.
What the noise actually means
The high squeal on light braking is a wear indicator: a small metal tab designed to touch the disc once the material is nearly gone. It is doing its job. A grinding noise is different — that is backing plate on disc, and it means the disc is being cut. Pads are a routine job; a disc and pad set on all four corners is not.
If you can hear it from inside the car with the windows up, book it in this week rather than next.
We check pad thickness at every service and write the measurement on the sheet, so you can see how fast your own driving wears them rather than relying on a rule of thumb.
Leave a Reply