Still love my 2015 Denali, but the brakes not so much

Glava2876 · May 3, 2019

So, I bought my 2015 Denali new in August 2015 and after an early fluid flush, the 8M has been pretty good and no other real problems.

I have approximately 42k miles on it now and do live in Upstate NY -OK, we have snow and salt. The front brakes started a little growl about 2 weeks ago and I thought it was a little early, but figured I'd better take a wheel off and get a look. Holy crap, they were total trash on both front brakes - I mean there was almost nothing left on the inside pads and the rotors had were grooved like the grand canyon!

I work from home, and travel to see customers about once a week and was surprised that they could be this destroyed and this was the first time that they gave me any indication.

How have others been doing in Upstate NY or other snow/ salt states?

mookdoc6 · May 3, 2019

35 minutes ago, Glava2876 said:

So, I bought my 2015 Denali new in August 2015 and after an early fluid flush, the 8M has been pretty good and no other real problems.

I have approximately 42k miles on it now and do live in Upstate NY -OK, we have snow and salt. The front brakes started a little growl about 2 weeks ago and I thought it was a little early, but figured I'd better take a wheel off and get a look. Holy crap, they were total trash on both front brakes - I mean there was almost nothing left on the inside pads and the rotors had were grooved like the grand canyon!

I work from home, and travel to see customers about once a week and was surprised that they could be this destroyed and this was the first time that they gave me any indication.

How have others been doing in Upstate NY or other snow/ salt states?

Bro? Take a power hose and shoot those brakes once and awhile? Put EBC rotors and pads on front and Back ASAP....Cost is 700.00 plus tax and you will have EXCELLENT BRAKES I Guarantee IT......

MaverickZ71 · May 3, 2019

Don't they sell special coated rotors for use in severe salt areas now?

Ozer · May 3, 2019

Mine were similar, i did the Power Stop truck kit and works great.

Did you check your parking shoes? My entire system had to be rebuilt due to corrosion and not using it often, the shoes were still good but i put new ones on.

Glava2876 · May 3, 2019

1 hour ago, mookdoc6 said:

Bro? Take a power hose and shoot those brakes once and awhile? Put EBC rotors and pads on front and Back ASAP....Cost is 700.00 plus tax and you will have EXCELLENT BRAKES I Guarantee IT......

I put the picture of my truck on to show that it doesn't look too bad -that is what it looks like 365 days a year inside and out. When I do a winter trip that is on the NYS Thruway, when it is snowy and salted, I stop at a touchless car wash on the way home.

I regularly go to the hand car wash and rise the wheel wells and underside. And when the temperature is 38f or better, I wash the truck by hand -don't know how much more I could clean things up. That's what seems crazy, I have always had only GM vehicles and the ones that I drive in the winter have always had the same care and I have never had the original brakes deteriorate so quickly and so severely.

All I can think is that NYS started using a wet mix of salt brine instead of rock salt and maybe that gets to everything more, but I thought that GM painted part of the rotors to help reduce corrosion -it must not be enough.

funny part is that the brakes still worked excellent and just the recent light growl was the only clue to look at the brakes.

Glava2876 · May 3, 2019

14 minutes ago, Ozer said:

Mine were similar, i did the Power Stop truck kit and works great.

Did you check your parking shoes? My entire system had to be rebuilt due to corrosion and not using it often, the shoes were still good but i put new ones on.

Since the fronts were so bad, I am doing the rear brakes and pads today -they have the same rusty look on the edges. When I felt the back of the rotors they felt like they are getting a pretty good ridge too. I'll be looking at the E brake system to make sure that I don't have anything rusted stuck.

Like I said, it just seems crazy that in only 3 winters and 42,000 miles they could be this bad.

Glava2876 · May 3, 2019

1 hour ago, MaverickZ71 said:

Don't they sell special coated rotors for use in severe salt areas now?

The ones that I got have a heavier corrosion coating and specifically say that they are more corrosion resistant -we'll see net winter!

doozer78 · May 3, 2019

You expect your brakes to last more than 4yrs and more than 42k miles? I have 36k on my 14 sierra and replaced front brakes last summer on it. No disappointment for me. Brakes are normal wear and tear. Id say 42k for original brakes is pretty good.....

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dkjbama · May 3, 2019

With that much salt, you need to be lubing the sliders and pins on the calipers every spring. Its pretty plain to see what happened. The pad backers corroded and stuck on the slider. causing the inside pad to wear prematurely. It's not uncommon on GMT900 and K2 trucks to go 100k miles on a set of OE pads/rotors.

L86 All Terrain · May 3, 2019

Just did the first set of front pads on our 2013 2500. At 187,000km (116,000mi), my mind was blown. This is a bush truck and spends most of its life getting sand blasted on gravel roads or slightly air-born on frozen winter roads. All other factory OEM parts are ok at this point...

Our 2015 Canyon, just had wheel bearings and had to have 24 lug nuts replaced due to "corrosion limiting the torque abilities of the nuts". 2014 has had ball joints and a hub.

I am definitely seeing a difference in quality between the 2 generations personally. Even my 2018 has been to the dealer once, the 2013 has not.

Darksky · May 3, 2019

L☝️dkjbama is spot on with your answer.

Dude, I’m not dogging you. But, you weren’t paying very much attention to your braking. Your brakes corroded and got somewhat “stuck”, leading to that one sided wear. At some point the brake pads on the inside wore down to the “squealers”, (the wear indicators) on the inside pads. You should have heard/felt them when applying the brakes. Then as the wear progressed into the worn through pads cutting into the rotors, your braking performance should have decreased along with a change in sound. As the meat of the rotor is being ground away, the grinding sound should have been pretty apparent as the performance really decreased.

This wear is premature, I can understand how you were a little blindsided by it. Now you’re going to repair, rebuild and improve it. Here is what I would do:

Rebuild all four brakes at once, with all new components, so that you’re getting a complete “fresh start”.

When you buy new rotors, get ones that are lifetime warrantied. They make rotors that are designed for salty, harsh environments as well. Slotted rotors help to get hot gasses out from between the pad and rotor, that’s cool (literally). I don’t believe that cross drilled rotors are as necessary for our application, some people have reported cracking around the holes as well.

There are lots of recommendations for different brands/combinations or pads and rotors. Everybody has their favorites. I’ll just add- you’ve seen how they can wear prematurely, bearing that in mind, get well warrantied parts so you don’t have to purchase them again.

The front calipers were overheated during this event and probably need rebuilt or replaced. If you opt to replace them, make sure your purchase is not “bargain” junk. There are several brands of upgraded calipers to be had with larger/more pistons. Let your wallet be your guide there (ha). Some places even warranty the calipers, that might be a wise investment given your environment.

You need to do a complete brake fluid change. The heat from the grinding, scalded the fluid you have. *If you don’t have one, a power bleeder is a great thing to own- mine is a Motive brand tool.

i would buy a couple quarts of top tier brake fluid and flush the heck out of the system. You may be amazed at how much crap is in the fluid.

Look at the brake lines and consider replacing the flexible lines, if they appear worn or if you think they’ve been over stressed. Again, make sure that your replacements exceed OEM quality. Some of the stainless jacketed replacement brake lines are junk. Just be wary of cheap parts.

When assembling the new set up, lubricate the slider pins and the back of the pads, where the OEM ones corroded.

I go to the pressure cleaner car wash and clean my undercarriage at least monthly. You’ll have to get down on the ground to clean and will need to turn the wheels in/out to get maximum access.

The hard part (for me) is having the discipline to take it apart to inspect and lubricate it at the end of spring each year.

The advantage to the warrantied parts is that every couple of years, when you pull it apart to inspect, you can exchange all the wear items for new ones, if they’re wearing thin. Being able to rebuild your brakes at no additional cost for parts makes me more likely to keep after it.

Make yourself a schedule for inspecting them from here on out. I really like the calendar “event” reminders in my cell phone app. Thankfully this wasn’t a horribly expensive lesson to learn and you didn’t have a total brake failure.

Let us know how you progress and what products you purchase. Best of Luck.

[email protected] · May 4, 2019

5 hours ago, doozer78 said:

You expect your brakes to last more than 4yrs and more than 42k miles? I have 36k on my 14 sierra and replaced front brakes last summer on it. No disappointment for me. Brakes are normal wear and tear. Id say 42k for original brakes is pretty good.....

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

2015 hd I am at 50001 miles today, had major service on all fluid replacements and brakes checked, i haul 6k trailer all is 100% top notch, i plow Kansas snow and salt..... spray everything with Salt Away and it works great. I have better than 50% life left on brakes,,, does HD have that much better brakes????? Plus my trailer brakes don't work well and the truck does 90% of braking?. Just my 2 cents...

Used to live in Syracuse and know all to much about salt and snow... clean salt off regularly and try the Salt Away, got it on Amazon....

doozer78 · May 4, 2019

Hard to believe oem brake pads last past 40,000 miles

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Darksky · May 5, 2019

KSmobile, you probably learned to drive differently than a lot of drivers. Some (ahem,*many*) drivers are very hard on their brakes in so many ways.

-riding the brake instead of coasting.

-accelerating right up until mashing the brakes

-braking while turning (not performance driving situations) just making the front outside wheel plow through every turn, by riding the brakes.

-riding the brakes down every hill, rather than coasting or downshifting

-scalding the brakes at stoplights

By and large, we are terrible drivers and worse at taking care of our equipment. I realize I’m preaching to the choir here, 99% of forum members actually care about and maintain their trucks. But we have bad habits as drivers as well. I have driven too fast by default in my youth, so I’m not free from sin, before anyone gets butt hurt at my accusatory tone. We all could benefit from some driving lessons appropriate for our skill set.

CombsL83 · May 5, 2019

51,000 miles on my 2016. Original pads and rotors. Over half the pad left on all 4 corners. No excessive corrosion or wear on the rotors. I'm light on the brakes. Coast a lot when I see lights change. Engine brake when possible.