'18 ORP - Rear Brake Fail at 20K!?! Rear Brake Pad wear at 15K!?!

[rodralig]

Something strange happened to our ’18 ORP. My wife called me up that there was a leak on the rear right tire assembly. There was some grinding sound and braking was bad. I was at work, so, I told her to have it towed to the dealer.

The assessment was that the brake system was shot up, ie., the brakes got run into the caliper with the pistons and rotor damaged. $$$ estimates about $1.6K. *ugh*

This is my wife’s daily driver - any ideas on root cause? Dealer says that she should have felt something off with the brakes before it came to metal to metal, but I was told by my wife that she only heard the noise, etc. this morning. Odometer is at 64K.

I will be taking a half day off tomorrow to visit the dealer and get some details; but insights from the collective knowledge of the group would be most appreciated.

In hindsight, as I look through our maintenance records, the rear brake pad seems to wear every 15K-miles... This is FAST!?!

Thoughts on troubleshooting?

TIA!

 

[rdruss]

If you want to save about $1K, do the repair yourself. Sounds like a seized caliper, not uncommon. Replace it, rotor and new pads on both sides. Inspect front and go from there.

 

[John in NC]

My back left caliper was dragging, cost me an early brake job and a ton of brake dust everywhere, and plenty of MPG I'd assume.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

If you want to save about $1K, do the repair yourself. Sounds like a seized caliper, not uncommon. Replace it, rotor and new pads on both sides. Inspect front and go from there.

The savings would be more like $1.3K by doing it yourself. Takes less than an hour per side.

Advice: make a point of driving your wife’s car more often so that you can catch things like this before they become a big fail.

 

[bigdaddy2021]

Yup, common. Fix and move on.

I do all the brakes for our vehicles. Disc brakes are the bomb.com compared to drums. Drums are the devil's work.

 

[Jetboy]

Did you put a "leveling" kit in without resetting zero point calibration? If so, that's likely part of the problem.

 

[rodralig]

Sounds like a seized caliper, not uncommon. Replace it, rotor and new pads on both sides. Inspect front and go from there.

My back left caliper was dragging, cost me an early brake job and a ton of brake dust everywhere, and plenty of MPG I'd assume.

I saw the parts - dang! Both rear brake pads are like way RED... The rear right pad was toast - pistons damaged; while almost nothing remaining on the rear left. This is about 20K miles... I will try to observe it more and see the wear in 5K miles. Question is - something wrong with the 4Runner (calipers dragging, parking brake, etc.)? Or the wife's driving habits?

Advice: make a point of driving your wife’s car more often so that you can catch things like this before they become a big fail.

I used to do that until COVID, ie., at least that 10-miles run every month just so the 4x4 oil gets circulated (when not engaged, etc.)... When I replaced my own driver with a manual, which my wife couldn't drive, the 4Runner became exclusively hers... I am making a point to spent time driving the 4Runner on a weekly basis going forward.

Did you put a "leveling" kit in without resetting zero point calibration? If so, that's likely part of the problem.

Stock.

_

 

[wcjeep]

Are rear brake pads only lasting 20k miles? Something is wrong or your wife has a unique driving style. My wife's 2017 has original pads at 27k miles, all city driving. My 2018 has original pads at 25k miles. Mostly city miles.

My 2006 Dodge 2500 has original brake pads at 130k miles. Most of those miles are towing heavy. Pads now at 50%.

 

[IslandJim]

Are rear brake pads only lasting 20k miles? Something is wrong or your wife has a unique driving style. My wife's 2017 has original pads at 27k miles, all city driving. My 2018 has original pads at 25k miles. Mostly city miles.

My 2006 Dodge 2500 has original brake pads at 130k miles. Most of those miles are towing heavy. Pads now at 50%.

Don't think it would be her driving style as the front brakes should wear out before the rear.

 

[Hungryhawk]

Rear brake problem

This is interesting failure. Corrosion on or in rear caliper seems a possible cause? Has brake fluid been changed? You can learn a lot from brake fluid pumped out caliper bleed fitting: is it black , brown or clear? Front caliper fluid exam might shed light on the rear caliper problem.
Do you drive on icy roads that get salted?
I bought Honda rear brake pads for my Pilot from internet source several years ago and they were clever counterfeit. I discovered 1mm lining left after 17,000 miles and fortunately no damage to the rotors. Now I only purchase brake parts from dealerships.
If corrosion is not obvious culprit, then there are electronic issues to consider with our 4runners.

 

[gomiami]

If it had been a seized caliper, your garage would have been break dust city. My Civic SI developed a seized rear caliper and I smelled the dust, noticed the drag and saw the wheel was coated within a day.

For your wife to say it just happened suddenly (and with that much damage) is fascinating.