Has ANY LEAF required a brake pad replacement yet?

[SageBrush]

Just replaced the front brakes on my 2012 LEAF at 77,700 miles and exactly 6 years.

Are you on your first or second battery pack? Trying to determine when you went through a period of reduced re-gen...which would (theoretically) cause additional brake wear.

First a correction, it was the rear brakes that were replaced. I find that odd as any other car I've owned always went through front brakes faster.

I have the original battery, down 25% according to LeafSpy, down 2 bars on the dash. I have to charge to 100% (currently 214 GIDs) half the year to make my 40 mile one-way commute. So for half the year I lose regen for the beginning of each commute as well as due to the cold, typically between 10 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit for the worst few months.

Is my regen permanently reduced due to the battery degradation?

Not at two bar loss, but as degradation progresses your regen will decrease further. By four bar loss I think most people report no more regen and that is even true in warm climates where a cold battery is not an additional culprit.

 

[garsh]

I have 93,000 miles on my 2012 Leaf. I'm planning on replacing all the pads (and rotors) this month, before getting it inspected.

I've been down 4 bars on the battery for quite a while now. Nissan severely dials back the regen when the battery gets this degraded. It's really sad that one of the features I loved about driving an electric car is now pretty much gone. And of course, it's wearing through the brake pads now.

 

[arnis]

Why replace things if they are still fine?
Usually, discs last longer than pads.

 

[jjeff]

Why replace things if they are still fine?
Usually, discs last longer than pads.

In the US very few people and even fewer shops will just replace the pads, even if the rotor looks good. The people that end up replacing both may do so because the rotor may have become slightly warped, causing a pulsating when you press the brakes. If you take it into a shop they'll more than likely say the rotor has worn too thin and they need to also replace it.
In the old days you could take your rotor into a machine shop and have it resurfaced, the last couple I've taken in for this they've told me it's too thin to resurface and they won't do it That said I've been known to DIY and just replace the pad, cheaper and less work than replacing the rotor too, but unless you want to DIY or know a guy, you'll end up getting both replaced Of course if paying someone else to do just the pads, it might not be a lot more to do pads and rotors, also cheaper to do both at the same time than the pads and then maybe the rotor at a later date if it starts to puslate(warp).
BTW I've not had to replace the pads on either my '13 or '12 although the '12 with it's degraded battery and very little regen(thus relying more heavily on the brakes) frequently have lots of brake dust on the rims, a sure sign the pads are wearing

 

[garsh]

Why replace things if they are still fine?
Usually, discs last longer than pads.

Because the rotors are not fine, and I either need to replace them, or have them resurfaced. I found some decent rotors on clearance, so I'm just replacing them.

 

[arnis]

Just telling that there is a massive difference in brake pad compound.
Newer Leafs (at least European) have very soft brake pads.
They wear down much faster but hardly wear the disc surface.

I'd replace rotors when they actually are warped (vibration is felt during braking)
or when they actually are worn down. I wouldn't wait for brake pads to wear down
if I already feel vibration.

I've seen rotors worn down to zero, literally zero. With no "side effects" :lol:
Same story with annual brake fluid replacement. It's not bad but it is unreasonable
to replace rotors as soon as they wear down by 1...1.5mm.
It's not like you can save the pads from replacement if you replace rotors before
they wear down to unacceptable level.

As for shops, I'd just tell them: "You want my money, change the pads, that's all".

 

[garsh]

Newer Leafs (at least European) have very soft brake pads.

Mine is a 2012. The problem is that the battery is degraded, and Nissan's software pretty much eliminates regen in most circumstances when the battery is this bad. So the brakes have been getting a much greater workout the past one-two years.

I'd replace rotors when they actually are warped (vibration is felt during braking)

Yep, there is a slight vibration. Thus, they either need to be replaced or resurfaced.

As for shops, I'd just tell them: "You want my money, change the pads, that's all".

Well, there's your problem. I would need to take it to a shop to have the rotors resurfaced. But I can replace the rotors and pads myself. I found a good deal on new rotors, and because I'm doing it myself, it's actually going to be less expensive than having the existing rotors resurfaced.

 

[arnis]

Well, then it appears to be reasonable to do it yourself.
If you do the whole thing, consider new parking brake pads as well.

 

[specialgreen]

I've seen rotors worn down to zero, literally zero. With no "side effects"

My brother drove a set of rotors until they split apart. When the car was braking, all was fine(*). When the car was driving without applying the brakes, it sounded like someone had filled the tires with horse-shoes: very loud deep clanking. It turns-out that the metal vented ribs holding the left and right disc brake friction plates together had rusted clear through, and so the wheel now had two separate brake disks, which could spin independently of each other. When the rusty chunks of ribbing knocked into each other, that produced a clunking sound. But when the calipers squeezed them, what was left of the ribs interlocked, so the car could still stop.

(*)well, mostly fine: the friction side of the disc was also missing a few chunks at the outer third of the surface. But the pads had worn-away there, so they were still grabbing the smooth inner 2/3 of the disc, and it worked. :roll:

 

[Nubo]

Manufacturers give specifications for minimum thickness after resurfacing. As long as the disc stays within specs after turning, then you're fine. Often, the depth of grooves will be the determining factor. I've had plenty of drums and rotors turned successfully for nominal fees.

As for vibration this is often attributed to so-called "warping", which is widely misunderstood:

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/-warped-brake-disc-and-other-myths

 

[LeftieBiker]

The above link appears to refer to race cars. I've seen plenty of warped discs in Japanese passenger cars, and you can tell they are warped because they don't just vibrate under hard braking. They do it under everything but the lightest braking.

 

[goldbrick]

The last time I did the brakes on my (ICE) car I replaced both the rotors and pads. I'm pretty sure the pads cost more than the rotors and regardless, I don't skimp on brakes since they are important and last for years.

There was good information in the article but it's just not possible to generalize the 'best' approach for every car. For example, on my car, there are wires embedded in the pads that get worn away to activate the brake warning light. It has nothing to do with the fluid level or floats in the brake reservoir as mentioned in the article.

I'm just glad I live in a sunny climate since the way I drive my Leaf the pads would rust before wearing out if I was in a place with road salt. It's not unusual for me to travel my entire commute without having to touch the brakes at any speed over about 5 mph. I should probably remember to coast and use the brakes to stop at least once a day to keep the braking surfaces clean.

 

[Nubo]

The above link appears to refer to race cars.

My dude...

When disc brakes for high performance cars arrived on the scene we began to hear of "warped brake discs" on road going cars, with the same analyses and diagnoses. Typically, the discs are resurfaced to cure the problem and, equally typically, after a relatively short time the roughness or vibration comes back. Brake roughness has caused a significant number of cars to be bought back by their manufacturers under the "lemon laws". This has been going on for decades now - and, like most things that we have cast in stone, the diagnoses are wrong.

In fact every case of "warped brake disc" that I have investigated, whether on a racing car or a street car, has turned out to be friction pad material transferred unevenly to the surface of the disc. This uneven deposition results in thickness variation (TV) or run-out due to hot spotting that occurred at elevated temperatures.

 

[LeftieBiker]

You're likely right. I didn't automatically associate the phrase "road going cars" with "family cars." I thought it meant "street legal track cars." The second phrase makes it more clear.