Brakes at 34,000

[presbo]

My wife drives our '08 the most. She says after we have put on new tires and had them mounted and balanced that she feels a vibration when she is stopping at 50 MPH at the end of the braking. Called the tire man and he said he would look at it. He also said it might be the brakes. Its the Original set of brakes. About 34,000 miles on them. My question is do you think I might need brakes?

[gary1949]

Originally Posted by presbo

My wife drives our '08 the most. She says after we have put on new tires and had them mounted and balanced that she feels a vibration when she is stopping at 50 MPH at the end of the braking. Called the tire man and he said he would look at it. He also said it might be the brakes. Its the Original set of brakes. About 34,000 miles on them. My question is do you think I might need brakes?

I do not know what the life expectancy is on OEM brakes, as driving style can greatly affect brake wear. However, I do have a comment. If there was NO vibration caused by worn brakes detected before the tire change then replacing the tires would not suddenly make a brake vibration appear. This appears to be a tire balance or tire defect problem.

If I were in this situation AND the tire replacer also performed brake jobs, I would be very cautious. If a brake service such as pad replacement and/or rotor replacement were to be done it would be quick and easy for the service person to rebalance the new tires at the same time . . . the vibration would probably be gone at the end of the service, but the brakes probably were not the true cause of the problem.

[Glenn8963]

Originally Posted by presbo

My wife drives our '08 the most. She says after we have put on new tires and had them mounted and balanced that she feels a vibration when she is stopping at 50 MPH at the end of the braking. Called the tire man and he said he would look at it. He also said it might be the brakes. Its the Original set of brakes. About 34,000 miles on them. My question is do you think I might need brakes?

well driving types do differ from one person to another, so brake life is dependent on how a person uses the brakes, rides the brakes, etc,etc.

now, given that, and that they are front brakes, the front brakes will wear out faster than the rear as all the weight gets shifted towards the front when we apply our brakes. the rear brakes come on, but all that weight transfer has no place to go, but up front.

ok, now.....if there was NO brake pedal before the new tires were put on then i would highly suspect the tire installer used the air impact wrench with all it's might/power, and probably over-torqued the lug nuts, warping the rotors....

you say...."when she is stopping"....this tells me, she has her foot on the brake pedal....

for added information, my dad's car had 55,000 miles on it before it needed front brakes..2000 Camry LE......

so if your wife is a "rider of the brake pedal" then yeah, she could be in need of a new set, as well as rotors now as well....always MAKE SURE ANY mechanic, tire changer, etc,etc, USES A TORQUE WRENCH TO PROPERLY TIGHTEN the lug nuts....!!!!

[inov8]

Many a perfectly good brake rotor has been ruined by inept tire installers with their lug nut guns set to "kill". The factory-recommended lug nut torque for the Avalon is only 76 foot-pounds, whereas for a typical SUV it is over 100. Rather than adjust the tool for each car (which might take all of 30 extra seconds), they simply set it higher than required for an Escalade Mighty-Max with 3-foot high tires.

Glenn8963 has it right. If the vibration was not there before the tire replacement, and only is felt when pressing the brake pedal, it sounds like you will need new rotors to eliminate it. Can you guess why the "tire man" already knows the problem is brakes? I certainly would not be planning to let him touch my car again.

[presbo]

Not to be mean but when someone is stopping they usually have their foot on the brake.Wink Anyway, BIG thanks to ALL for your advice.

[boosted-fc3s]

My oem pads lasted 58k. I am still on the oem rotors with 88k. Rotors still look brand new. I'm going to have to agree with those saying the lugs nuts probably had the sh*t torqued out of them. Loosen all the lug nuts and re-torque to the appropriate spec. If it still does it, the rotors are toast. If so, either live with it, or buy new rotors.

[grandpapa]

try to rotate the tire and see if there is any different.

[mano]

My '07 LTD needed new brakes at about 36K. My 4 mile daily commute to and from work is all stop and go so I figure that wore them down quicker.

[presbo]

Mano,

You are right on the $$$$$. Its ALL stop-and-go traffic that she does. So thats why the need for brakes. TY

[inov8]

When he said "It might be the brakes", he may not have meant the vibration was a consequence of the brake pads being worn. The 2005 Avalon original factory brakes have audible wear indicators at each wheel that will make a noise (reminiscent of a wind chime rubbing against a grinding wheel) when the pads need replacement. It is loud and unmistakable, though a slight vibration may be felt in the pedal as well (caused by the wear indicator). If you have vibration but no noise, the pads still have some service life remaining and are not the source of that vibration.

However, the pad assembly has to be removed to service the rotor, so it makes sense to replace pads at the same time, regardless of their condition.