120000 Miles 6 years, same disks and pads

[oldaudi]

Hi,
My car just passed its MOT with no issues. However, my question is regarding my disks and pads. Ive had the same ones for 120K miles. I drive mainly on the motorway and live close to where I join the motorway and work close to where I exit the motorway. As in a few miles each side.

I work odd shifts so the motorway and roads are fairly empty during my travels. I dont speed about so I rarely need to use my brakes and drive so I measure my distance, speed and conditions of the road and I seriously think I can drive my 35 mile motorway journey without using the brakes. Only using them on the few miles of road either side.

My question is, the car has passed its MOT, loads of wear left on the pads and the disks are fine. Should i be changingthem regardless?!

Please dont turn this into a moan about my driving skills, and the fact I drive everywhere really slow, I just want to know if the MOT should be able to test my brakes enough, so that if I need to use them in an emergency they dont turn to dust.

Cheers!

[C.A.R.]

Does the car still stop as well as you expect?

What would it cost to replace them all-round?

[mnkiboy]

If there's material left on the pads, and the discs are within tolerance without being overly rusty, then I don't see the issue.

I've known a few cars (mostly owned by my parents!) fail the MOT due to the rear discs going rusty through lack of use.

Sounds like you're very mechanically sympathetic and getting the most mileage out of your brakes.

[J4CKO]

I would whip the wheels off, have a good old look round and replace anything if required, they dont go out of date, your usage and driving style is obviously quite gentle on brakes. Six years isnt that long, I wouldnt expect seals and pipes to be corroded/perished or whatever but best to have a proper look.

[james_gt3rs]

That's incredible mileage to get out of one set of pads!

[J4CKO]

james_gt3rs said:

That's incredible mileage to get out of one set of pads!

He didnt mention the 23 new bonnets, 40 new headlights, 30 new bumpers and 27 new grilles.

[Krikkit]

If the disks and pads are still in good condition, and with enough material on them, then I wouldn't worry!

[mrmr96]

It's worth inspecting them for corrosion.
It's also worth finding a quite and safe place where you can do an emergency stop from the speed limit down to about 5mph at full braking force to see how they react.
Are you still having your brake fluid changed regularly?

[Muncher]

The pads and disks should be fine but I would want to change the fluid every 2-3 years.

[psychoR1]

Did the same in my Mondeo 140k in three years original discs and pads all round.
Dealer asked for approval to change as 75% worn but they easily had another 20k in them so left them on.
High mileage cars can be very cheap to run....

[Dave Hedgehog]

i got 9k miles out of my first set of disc and pads

[GoodDoc]

My car is seven a half years old with 70,000+ miles and it's still on it's original discs and pads. Not as impressive as your 120,000, but my car does 95% of it's mileage on the motorway. With a little forward planning while driving on monotonous motorways it's amazing how much money you can save on fuel and maintenance.

Car was serviced in December and the brakes passed with flying colours.

[oldaudi]

Many thanks for the responses everyone. The car is being serviced every 10K miles by Dialynx in Swindon so the rest of the car is being looked after. The brake fluid has been changed recently

Ive had one coolant leak, a CV boot and a bulb go in 120K miles. The car now has 147K

So i guess I should brake test myself and see what happens. I just seriously wondered if they had a shelf life, but I guess if the driving conditions allow you can keep the same brakes and disks.

Ive been fairly "lucky" with car as in Ive always had new company cars. My hand was forced into this car after losing my job years ago and (touch wood) its been more reliable, cheaper to run and fault free compared to brand new cars.
Thanks again everyone

Edited by oldaudi on Wednesday 15th January 16:50

Edited by oldaudi on Wednesday 15th January 16:51

[NPI]

I'd (or I would get someone) to strip and clean the sliders, calipers etc. I might pass MOT with a hefty shove but lightly used brakes start to feel "dead" and you don't notice it unless you drive other cars.

[RizzoTheRat]

Assuming it's not some dodgy MoT place they will have tested the braking force so they're clearly working fine, I'd leave well alone. The lack of wear and tear on the car when just cruising on motorways is quite impressive.

[rallycross]

oldaudi said:

Hi,
, I just want to know if the MOT should be able to test my brakes enough, so that if I need to use them in an emergency they dont turn to dust.

Cheers!

The MOT always tests the brakes with a good hard push on the brakes on the front and then the rear axle, this is done using a rolling surface wheel to test your brake effectiveness and even-ness acorss the Axle.

I also am amazed at how long you made them last - good effort at driving gently!

[joebongo]

Other end of the spectrum my XJ got through a set of discs in under 50 miles. Something related to the brake judder and wheel judder at high speed had pushed them out of true in that time.

Problem is ongoing and I expect to find the indie saying this set are shot as well. Nobody seems to know the answer to this arse of a problem.

[JulianHJ]

Top work OP, you appear to have good acceleration sense.

[poing]

Dave Hedgehog said:

i got 9k miles out of my first set of disc and pads

Thank god for that, I was getting worried that I've done a set of disks and pads in only 10% of the op's miles!

[Disco_Biscuit]

Might be worth doing a fluid change thought