csorrows

Took my 2006 C4 in for servicing. One of the front TPMS sensors needed replacing. In doing that, they noticed that the front pads have worn down to the sensors, so will need replacing soon. Also the rotors (guess they're replaced together?)

Didn't think much of it when I was on the phone with them, but afterwards I got to thinking....I bought the car when it only had 11k miles on it, and I've put another 7k on it, bringing it to about 18k miles total.

Shouldn't the front pads/rotors last longer than 18k miles? If so, what could be the cause of them wearing out so soon? I don't ride the brake, and the mileage I put on the car is by far more highway miles than city driving. I don't have the previous owner's history of how he drove the car, but I find it very hard to think he would have tracked the car.

Ideas? Anything mechanical I should have them look into that could be causing premature pad/rotor wear?

Thanks!

Minok

Its not the 18k miles that iss the question, but how were those 18k miles experienced by the brakes.

If there as lots of heavy braking in the history of the car, they could well be worn.. but if only one side is worn out and the other not... that is very odd.

On a road car I normally drive, I get well over 50k out of a set of brakes, but then I don't rush from red-light to red-light in my daily driving, and can imagine others I encounter in traffic would need their brakes done much sooner than I would.

DMoore

As Minok says, it depends entirely on how the car is driven.

With my GTS, I needed to replace the front pads and all four tires at 2700 miles. Of course, those miles included 5 track and two autocross days. On a previous Carrera, I traded in the car with 21K miles and it still had its original brakes and tires.

How the car is used determines all.

DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S

GuyIncognito

+1 to the above.

I just did rotors/pads on my 997 C2....at 48k miles. and that was after multiple canyon runs and track days. and I live in West LA, the land of stop and go driving.

csorrows

Re: one side or the other, they said both front pads/rotors needed to be replaced (not just one side). So they wore evenly, I'm assuming.

I just found it odd they needed to be replaced so quickly. It's a 2006 C4 cab, and was in pristine condition when I bought it at 11k miles, and no evidence of hard use, track days, etc. Although I don't know the previous owner, it just doesn't seem the type of 911 that got lots of stop-and-go city driving, hard driving, or track use.

Stranger things have happened, however...

jason74

Why rotors at this point?

Jay H

Keep in mind that brake pad material in a Porsche is designed to wear quickly, hence the incredible brakes on a Porsche as compared to more pedestrian cars out there. So, 18,000 miles of life on a set of front brakes is probably more common than uncommon on a car with such performance capabilities.

If the car was driven on back roads pretty hard, did any autocrossing or even a few track days, the car could still cosmetically appear perfect, but have decent amounts of wear on brake components and tires. My concours 964 spent a good portion of it's life as an autocross car. The car has a perfect interior and the paint is pretty good, but I needed a complete set of pads and front rotors when I bought it with barely 27,000 miles on it. I had no clue the car was an autocross car until I talked with the previous owner.

DMoore

I've heard that some Porsche dealers tell customers that Porsche insists that the rotors must be replaced each time the pads are changed.

Other dealers (mine included) say that's nonsense - replace the rotors if and when they need it.

One wonders if some dealers are simply taking advantage...

DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S

Jay H

+1

I had one dealer tell me that I needed a full set of pads and rotors on an '02 Boxster I had a few years ago. The car had 40k on the clock. I decided to get a 2nd opinion from the other dealer across town. The 2nd dealer refused to change the brakes out since they felt I could have gone another 10k to 15k on the brakes I had on the car. So, yes, some shops will always try to push parts and service before it's due. The service departments are huge revenue sources for dealerships (not just Porsche dealerships either) and those service advisors are paid commission or given spiffs on some services and/or parts that they sell.

FrankyV

I got almost 40k out of the front brakes on my 2008 C2S and I drive in a lot of traffic with my foot to the floor (either brake or gas) whenever I can. Still have some miles left on the original rear brakes.

jason74

Thanks for the confirmation. I hate it when dealers do this crap. I feel bad for the people that follow every recommendation from the service dept and/or lack the know how and simple tools to do this.

My old Infiniti G35 chewed through brakes like crazy. The dealer in downtown Chicago want $1000 to change them. Went to autozone, bought $75 worth of pads and changed them in my public garage in one hour. The great thing is that I tell my wife that's free money for me to spend!

I'll actually do brakes for my neighbors for a nice bottle of wine. Everyone wins!

csorrows

Thanks for the replies, everybody. Service manager told me the same, it totally depends on driving habits, so I'll have to chalk it up to some behavior on the part of the previous owner.

I definitely was NOT looking to drop $$$ on tires right now, but my right rear had a nail puncture in it, that was the cause for losing so much PSI every day. And because of tread wear on all of them, they couldn't replace just that one.

So...I put on a set of Michelin Super Sports. Same tire I was going to put on in the springtime.

I realize these are performance tires and wear faster, but I sure hope they last a little longer than 18k miles

(I know, I know...wishful thinking)

DMoore

"I realize these are performance tires and wear faster, but I sure hope they last a little longer than 18k miles."

Michelin advertises that the PSS will last longer than the previous PS2's. You must understand that any tire in sizes to fit a 911 is a "performance" tire, and none of them are designed for high mileage as a priority.

18k miles is near the upper limit for rear tires on a 911. They typically go through two sets of rears for each set of fronts, at least when used for road miles. (Track mileage is a different animal altogether.) The rears go especially fast if there's much negative camber dialed into the rear suspension. For maximum mileage, you want to take out virtually all the negative camber in back. Do that and the tires will wear more evenly, with much less of the characteristic wear of the inside portion of the rear tire. Do that and drive conservatively, and you may get 20k or a little more from your rear tires. Only problem with that is that it detracts from the car's handling, which is why most of us bought the car in the first place!

DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S

JohnnyBahamas

Similar situation on one of my relative's Cadillac.

Brakes (pads and rotors) completely shot in 12k miles.

Reason is that the driver rests their foot on the brake pedal while driving.

JonasJ

I dont think millage was that good either ^^