Force

Had my dealership do my 20,000km (12,400mi) inspection the other day, my actual mileage being 17,600km. When they inspected the rear brakes, they informed me the rear pads were completely shot and would be replaced under warranty.

So let's re-cap my brake warranty work:

Front rotors warped at 12,000km - turned
Front rotors warped at 15,000km - replaced
Rear pads shot at 17,600km - to be replaced, rotors to be turned

I can only imagine how they'll hold up long term . On a side note, the parts have been ordered, but how long a wait am I looking at? I seem to remember SS rear pads being on a national backorder.

DISCLAIMER: No, I don't ride my brakes. I downshift and rev-match every gear and coast down as much as possible, in addition to having properly bedded the system when I bought the car.

jsscooby

damn another one. glad it was covered under warranty.

Force

The tech was really good about it. I wasn't expecting the pads to be gone that fast, so it's not like I told him to look. He told me right up front that he'd "never consider brake issues this early to be anything but warranty work", and that they'd be fixed no questions asked.

He was all the more flabbergasted when I told him about my front brake issues, which I had done at another dealership. We'll see how long I wait

Boosted_Cobalt09

yep my cars going in sometime next week. just turned 8400 and the rear rotors are screwed.

madmark

iTrader: (1)

im just curious if gm decided to borrow the pads and rotors from a dodge caravan? lol

ssturbd08

had my rears replaced couple months ago and now i noticed they're gettin scarred again!!

Permafried-

Out of curiosity, was your inner pad worn far more than your outer, or were they relatively even across?

SSsteve

I had my rears replaced at 8000 mi. The tech tried telling me that I abuse them too much. I also coast as much as possible. They are fucked again. I'm just waiting to bring it in

Frank B

Going over there tomorrow to get the new rear rotors installed... 14ks

They've been very comprehensive and proactive w/ the whole situation, they are not arguying because they know rear pads should not have worn out and eaten through rotors this quick. But I still had to ask the manager :
"I've now been here 3 times in 9 months for pads and rotor issues front and back. If the pads stink that bad and Gm doesn't do anything about it... will I have to come here every other month or so to get new pads and rotors for the next 4 to 5 years ? It doesn't make any sense." adding "I'm on warranty now but the problem will remain when my warranty comes to an end.".

The guy is alright and all but he didn't really know what to say... they recognize the fact that my pads & rotors front and back have been an issue but they don't seem to know it's a reoccuring TC issue. I told him it was and he just nodded, saying he doesn't know about it.

So basically, GM doesn't think much of this problem. We have to start making a lot of complaints.

Force

I didn't even bother asking. I more or less laughed when he told me, then told him to go look up my service history so he could see my other brake repairs. I'll be going in there this week to have a discussion about this process with them, so I can ask then. Looking back, he made it sound like it was both sets which were done for.

This is the exact approach I'll be taking. I'm going to make it clear to the dealership that this isn't exactly inspiring confidence in GM products. Basically, we need to get on record about our rear brake issues and let them know that we will, in all likelihood, be back quite soon to have the work re-done. Luckily my hometown is fairly small, so any discussions of this nature will immediately make them worry about word getting around.

Are there any formal bulletins out in the GM system about these brake issues? Even if there isn't, we all stand a much better chance of getting help long-term if we voice these issues now and get it on record. At the end of the day, we need to know where we stand if this keeps happening over the next few years. The end-of-warranty thing really concerns me. If this happens again, which we invariably know it will, I may push them to go aftermarket. Hopefully by then there's good solutions.

On a side note, I've started to notice the problem now... I'm pretty disappointed with myself for not noticing it sooner. Under braking, even light, I can feel a gentle lean to the front, like the momentum is being transferred to the front brakes. It's the same feeling as when you have a trailer out back, pushing the vehicle.

Rownan

About to roll 12,000mi here and not a problem yet. I don't baby the car either.. Guess I'll keep an eye out.

I only need them to last long enough anyway for Hawk to get off their ass and offer the HP+

Black on Black :D

my rear brakes are on 5% and i am on 18345 km the dealer says they will not cover them
my rotors are not looking good either
What should i do?

Force

What's the dealer's reasoning for not covering them? You have way too few kilometers on the car for that kind of wear to be normal. Try another dealership, maybe, or be more forceful with the current one.

Black on Black :D

thank you force i'll try an other dealer and i'll let you know how it went.

Permafried-

If they're wearing evenly you're one of the lucky ones. One member at our KW meets got 30,000 highway KMs out of his rears and the inner pad was destroyed while the outside was perfectly fine. Upon inspection the fronts are in perfect shape and don't need replacing at all so if your fronts are torched there's something else up besides the pads themselves; I'd suspect alignment of the calipers.

I'll be taking mine in end of August for the 6 month check-up before winter gets here but based on my rear rotors I'm figuring my inner pad on the passenger side is wearing worse than the driver's. My rotors aren't horrendous so I cant' be bothered taking off my wheels; the car feels like it is stopping fine and the rear brake noise (ie. what people describe as "grinding") is perfectly normal for a pad with the makeup of these ones.

Hopefully you get your case properly taken care of something's up with your car for sure. Mine's going in end of August to have it checked over before winter and I have a gutt feeling I'll be joining the group soon enough.

IsItFast?

I just replaced mine this weekend (saab pads and stock rotors) while I wait for the shipment of the HPS pads.. The inside pad was COMPLETELY gone, metal on metal, while the outside pad still had about half of the material left - WTF?

09turbo

yup, i was installing my springs and noticed how grooved the inside of my rear rotors were.
as soon as i get my wheels back i am heading to the dealer to get some new ****

Permafried-

Right, and that doesn't indicate a problem with the pads, it indicates the rear brakes (being a floating assembly) are completely out of whack. Until that is resolved you're going to continue to go through inner pads like they're free; this is the #1 issue that needs to be addressed BEFORE pads are replaced or you're just throwing your money away .

redninja6r

File a complaint with the NHTSA. If enough people file they could force a recall. I have filed twice, but almost no other people have.

gatekeeper

A local dealer just did mine. New pads and cut the disks at 20,700mi, under warranty, no questions asked. I told them to check for casting flash on the calipers, reportedly they did, and found none. Unfortunately, after only 30 miles I see the beginnings of another groove on one side. Also, the pads only took a business week to arrive; so unless my dealer sourced from another dealer, used Saab or Sky/Solstice pads -- they're in GM's supply chain.

On a side note, my rotors were deeply scarred at only 6k when I brought the issue up with a different dealer (where I bought my car, oddly enough nets worse service -- I don't frequent their operation anymore). They did nothing, and allowed the condition to persist. Just goes to show you the variance in dealer attitude regarding warranty work....

IsItFast?

I wonder if there is any way we can correct this since it appears GM doesn't give a damn?

Permafried-

This is where I need a mechanic to explain it to me . If I'm not mistaken the rear brakes are a floating assembly meaning there should be adjustments available to shift the "alignment" (lack of better term) in or out either on the assembly itself or each individual shoe. I'm too lazy to take my wheels off and even if I did it would be trial and error more than anything which probably isn't a good idea with brakes . I'm convinced the inner pad is pushed way too far towards the rotor from factory resulting in it taking the brunt of the load while you brake...but again I'm not a mechanic so I might be oversimplifying this.

BartSS

My brakes just started making a squealing noise while driving yesterday. I'm bringin the bitch in within the next couple days

Force

UPDATE: Spoke to the service tech again today, he said he has no clue on arrival time for my pads... All he can say is they're coming from the States, so it could be three days, two weeks, who knows...

Encouragingly, however, he said that I shouldn't worry about it and that any other damage incurred (i.e. torched rotors) would be covered under warranty as well, no questions asked. I spoke to him a little more about the situation, and he said he clearly remembered the inboard pad being the one which was completely gone, so I guess I'm consistent there too. He hadn't heard about any of these issues at all when I told him it was a rampant problem, but he also admitted never having worked on an SS/TC before; my home town only has one other .

So they'll look at the caliper alignment when the pads come in and hopefully address the issue for good, but we'll see. I'm still content considering how forthcoming and friendly the guy is being about the repair work. I must say, issues aside, I'm impressed.

Permafried-

Let us know if anything is done about the alignment. I'll be taking mine in for inspection in the near future and if the inner pad is ruined I'll be asking them to look into this as well.