Brakes longevity, front and rear - ballpark average lifespan

[Mark]

Had my Mirage inspected yesterday at the local garage. My front brakes' still have 5 mm of wear left on the pads (so 20,000+ km's left) and 2mm on the back drums. The tech told me to leave the drums forever. So Let's see if I can get 200,000 km's on my drums

Overall, my Mirage has worn well over 7 years of ownership now. I just don't know why the Mitsubishi dealer charges about 2x the amount as my local Ford dealer, for service. And they know my name at Ford lol.

It's nice that you have a good relationship with the Ford dealership. Some dealerships are definitely better than others.

I am not so sure about "leaving the drums forever" statement? With manual vehicles, I use my parking brake more. If my parking brake isn't holding well, the rear drum brakes are getting redone.

I do wish the Mirage had 4 disc brakes.

[dspace9]

It's nice that you have a good relationship with the Ford dealership. Some dealerships are definitely better than others.

I am not so sure about "leaving the drums forever" statement? With manual vehicles, I use my parking brake more. If my parking brake isn't holding well, the rear drum brakes are getting redone.

I do wish the Mirage had 4 disc brakes.

Routine maintenance costs would be more money with 4 wheel disc brakes. Maybe the whole economy-mindedness of the Mirage design is why they have drums in the back? I dunno.

You should have seen the mid-60's Plymouth Valiant they had at the Ford dealer. My favourite car of all time.

[Mark]

Routine maintenance costs would be more money with 4 wheel disc brakes. Maybe the whole economy-mindedness of the Mirage design is why they have drums in the back? I dunno.

You should have seen the mid-60's Plymouth Valiant they had at the Ford dealer. My favourite car of all time.

Do 4 disc brakes add more routine maintenance costs? I think rear disc brakes are easier to service. Rotors are much cheaper than drums to replace. Rear drums are not a deal breaker.

[pawpaw]

Had my Mirage inspected yesterday at the local garage. My front brakes' still have 5 mm of wear left on the pads (so 20,000+ km's left) and 2mm on the back drums. The tech told me to leave the drums forever. So Let's see if I can get 200,000 km's on my drums

Overall, my Mirage has worn well over 7 years of ownership now. I just don't know why the Mitsubishi dealer charges about 2x the amount as my local Ford dealer, for service. And they know my name at Ford lol.

Just a data point. Replaced the rear brake shoes on my 2006 corolla for the first time in August. 188520 miles on the car. One shoe was worn to the metal in a small region. The other shoe had a sliver of friction material left. These qualify as "lasting forever".

First replaced my Mirage front pads at 20225 miles but that was after almost three years of short trip duty.

[Cobrajet]

Had my Mirage inspected yesterday at the local garage. My front brakes' still have 5 mm of wear left on the pads (so 20,000+ km's left) and 2mm on the back drums. The tech told me to leave the drums forever. So Let's see if I can get 200,000 km's on my drums

Mitsubishi says 2mm on the rear shoes is the service limit. They come from the factory with 3.8mm of friction material. There are no wear indicators in the back...when they are gone, you will hear metal grinding. By then it might be too late.

Ask me how I know.

https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...n-introduction

[dspace9]

Mark: I thought drums were around 1/3 the price of replacement brakes up front, both pads and rotors. At least that's how Mitsubishi quoted me when I got my front brakes done back in 2017, and I never did my drums. I get that they wear down, but they are at 2 mm in almost 7 years / 141,600 km's of driving. I think the manual saves the drums more than anything else affecting it. Driving style plays a bit factor with this, and I'm real easy braking when coming to a stop sign, especially.

CobraJet: Time for new drums then, in the spring. Could be good idea to do it now, but I think I will be ok Thanks for the information eh. I will pay attention to when they fail on me.

pawpaw: 188k miles on your old Corolla's drums? Wow that is amazing, over 300,000 km's.. ha they had a wear mark like you get with your favourite old jacket. I am just really gentle with my braking and maybe take advantage of my clutch all the time, because i think other people would have more wear on their drums by now. You must have great braking skills! I wouldn't mind a brand new Toyota. A Mitsubishi is like my Sharp TV instead of a Sony. Sony being Corolla. Overall with Toyota though, I feel their reputation is half warranted. I have heard plenty of recent Toyota/Lexus horror stories in the news so.. won't even go there.

[Cobrajet]

I thought drums were around 1/3 the price of replacement brakes up front, both pads and rotors. At least that's how Mitsubishi quoted me when I got my front brakes done back in 2017, and I never did my drums. I get that they wear down, but they are at 2 mm in almost 7 years / 141,600 km's of driving. I think the manual saves the drums more than anything else affecting it. Driving style plays a bit factor with this, and I'm real easy braking coming to a stop. Always see a stop sign coming a mile away.

Rear brake shoes are generally less expensive than doing pads AND rotors on the front. But if you let your rear brakes wear until they are metal-to-metal then it will be far more expensive to replace both the rear drums and shoes...especially at the stealership. New drums from Mitsubishi are over US$300 EACH! As I mentioned, Mitsubishi says the service limit on the rear shoes is 2mm.

If yours are down to 2mm, you might consider replacing them within the next year or so. There really is no prize for getting 200,000km out of a set of rear shoes, especially if it means risking $600 worth of brake drums.

I made the mistake of letting mine go to far, but I was able to source used parts and do the work myself. It wasn't a big deal.

[dspace9]

Rear brake shoes are generally less expensive than doing pads AND rotors on the front. But if you let your rear brakes wear until they are metal-to-metal then it will be far more expensive to replace both the rear drums and shoes...especially at the stealership. New drums from Mitsubishi are over US$300 EACH! As I mentioned, Mitsubishi says the service limit on the rear shoes is 2mm.

If yours are down to 2mm, you might consider replacing them within the next year or so. There really is no prize for getting 200,000km out of a set of rear shoes, especially if it means risking $600 worth of brake drums.

I made the mistake of letting mine go to far, but I was able to source used parts and do the work myself. It wasn't a big deal.

Alright. I will follow your advice. They have some really bizarre used cars at this dealership. Last year they had an early 80s Rolls. And they have a simliar era Covette in the back. I would never say stealership with these folks. And that is absolutely my usual attitude about car dealerships. Same with real estate too. And you need them both.

Anyway the Ford dealer's owner is super religious, so God Loves Canada in all their ads in the paper. So they have a strange vibe at the dealer lol. Purple aliens get my business if they do a good job.

Key thing is Ford always half the price of Mitsubishi for oil changes, and have 9 bays operation. They have a big operation just a strange twist of rare and bizarre used cars, 4 door Cadillacs with mid century modern interiors that look like museum pieces.

I think I am so tired I forgot to mention the local Ford dealer is always like half the price for oil changes, and up front compared to the area Mitsubishi dealer. Sorry bedtime ah shift work!

[Eggman]

Alright. I will follow your advice. They have some really bizarre used cars at this dealership. Last year they had an early 80s Rolls. And they have a simliar era Covette in the back. I would never say stealership with these folks. And that is absolutely my usual attitude about car dealerships. Same with real estate too. And you need them both.

Anyway the Ford dealer's owner is super religious, so God Loves Canada in all their ads in the paper. So they have a strange vibe at the dealer lol. Purple aliens get my business if they do a good job.

Key thing is Ford always half the price of Mitsubishi for oil changes, and have 9 bays operation. They have a big operation just a strange twist of rare and bizarre used cars, 4 door Cadillacs with mid century modern interiors that look like museum pieces.

I think I am so tired I forgot to mention the local Ford dealer is always like half the price for oil changes, and up front compared to the area Mitsubishi dealer. Sorry bedtime ah shift work!

Night shift is always tough. Get some sleep.

Maybe some day you can post some (more) pictures of these museum piece cars.

[dspace9]

Rear brake shoes are generally less expensive than doing pads AND rotors on the front. But if you let your rear brakes wear until they are metal-to-metal then it will be far more expensive to replace both the rear drums and shoes...especially at the stealership. New drums from Mitsubishi are over US$300 EACH! As I mentioned, Mitsubishi says the service limit on the rear shoes is 2mm.

If yours are down to 2mm, you might consider replacing them within the next year or so. There really is no prize for getting 200,000km out of a set of rear shoes, especially if it means risking $600 worth of brake drums.

I made the mistake of letting mine go to far, but I was able to source used parts and do the work myself. It wasn't a big deal.

Like just replace the shoes, not the drum? I think I gotcha.

Yea Eggman, night shift can be hard, like the night I picked up a Nissan delivery van by accident with the forklift and the forces of gravity