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How long do original brake pads & rotors normally last on a Sierra

Kcwilliams

By Kcwilliams
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Kcwilliams Enthusiast

Kcwilliams

Posted
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I'm still a newbie to this group, so please bear with me on this topic. I purchased a 2011 GMC Sierra Denali last August 15th. It was considered a GM Certified Pre-Owned with 37,500 miles on it. It was and still is in mint condition. Back in the end of March, I noticed the brakes were starting to give the feeling like they needed to be recut. It wasn't very slightly noticeable...so I waited until May for when it was do for inspection. I asked them to check out the rotors and pads. The dealer said it passed fine but will need to be taken care of by the end of he summer. By this point, I only put about 6,000 miles on it from August to May. Well, the brakes started getting worse by mid June. I took it back to the dealership and they said the pads & rotors need to be replaced all around. I was quite pissed. They said they were the originals all around as well.

 

So the question is, how long does original brake pads and rotors last with "normal" driving? The dealership's used car manager was driving the truck for about 2 years and said he put about 15,000 miles on it during that time frame and it had one original owner that only drove the truck around town. Is it normal to have to replace the original brake pads and rotors at 43,000 mile mark?

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Aldila Enthusiast

Aldila

Posted
Posted

Depends on driver. I bought a new 2007 silverado Z71 and put 110,000 miles on it before trading it off. It had original brakes and they still worked/felt fine.

Kcwilliams Enthusiast

Kcwilliams

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I agree that the driver does play a significant role in the wear of the brakes. I did more digging into this while I was on the phone with GM Corporate. I looked deeper into the paperwork I have and the dealership received the truck back in the end of October 2012 with 16,077 miles and the certification for the "certified pre-owned" was done on April 21, 2014 with a mileage of 37,930 and they did a PA inspection sticker of May. The actual mileage I purchased it was 37,995. So they drove 21,853 in the matter of 18 months or so. The certification states the front pads were 6mm and the rear were 12mm. From the time I purchased it till March of this year when we first noticed the brakes starting to act up, we put roughly 4,000 miles. When we took it in for inspection towards the middle of May was 5,500 or so and they passed the truck for inspection! Unfortunately, I don't have written documentation of what the millimeters were on the pads at that time. I just don't understand how they could've passed the truck for inspection, especially when we asked them to look into the brakes! Soon there after, the brakes got to the point where we needed to get them done! I don't understand how original brakes can only last 44,000 miles or so!

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newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted

Passed the truck for which inspection, the Certified Used inspection process or the PA state vehicle inspection?

 

The minimum limit for pad thickness on Certified Used is 5mm for the front and 3mm for the rear. Looks like they just skirted by on the tires though, as the minimum is 5/32 of tread.

 

PA vehicle inspection regulations state that pads or shoes can not be making metal to metal contact.

 

When they did the brake inspection for you what was the pad thickness at the time?

Kcwilliams Enthusiast

Kcwilliams

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Posted

The pic above was of the "172 point inspection" for the "certified pre-owned" classification back in April of last year. I believe they did the PA state inspection at that same time, since that was the month sticker on it when we purchased it. I looked through my documents/bill/receipt for the inspection they (O'Neil Buick GMC in Warminster, PA) did this past May and it did not have the breakdown of the pads or what the rotors looked like. I will be contacting them on Monday to get this information. The mechanic had to of written it down somewhere!

DanMan_S Enthusiast

DanMan_S

Posted
Posted

On my 2009 Silverado, I did the rotors and pads at 70000 miles and there was still lots of material left. Enough that I actually was able to sell them.

txab Senior Enthusiast

txab

Posted
Posted

Just get the brakes replaced and move on. You have know idea how the truck was mistreated before you purchased. It could have been towing a 10,000# boat everyday for all you know. Or the diver could have been driving it like he stole it. Pedal to the metal stop and starts

Kcwilliams Enthusiast

Kcwilliams

Posted
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Posted

Got word the dealership is picking up the tab to replace the rear pads n rotors since they realized they should've done a better job at handling the entire brake problem from the beginning!

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