2007 Avalon Premature Brake Wear - Recommended Pad Material

[PatL]

My 2007 Avalon seems to eat brake pads (and seems pretty rough on rotors).

The car has 55,000 miles on it and I am about to install the 3rd set of front brake pads. The originals lasted 26K, the next set at 41K, and now at 55K. The rears were done at 38K miles.

It is my wife's car and sees mostly in town driving, but this seems like a very high wear rate.

My question is what pad works best. I tried Autozone Duralast Cmax Ceramic for the 1st replacement, then switched to DGC906 Duralast Gold since the ceramic didn't last as long as the originals.

Any suggestions welcome.

Are other seeing similar wear for city driving patterns?

[boosted-fc3s]

Is she riding the brakes? That seems awful fast for a set of pads. I'm using Wagner Thermoquiet Ceramics from Oreilly. I have 30k on them at the moment, and they are barely worn.

[PatL]

Thanks for the reply. I just took off the front pads a few minutes ago and the drivers side is worn much more than the passenger's side. Everything is sliding freely. I lubed the pins when I did the last brake job and replaced the shims. No rust. The driver's side outer is on the sqeaker (that why I looked at the brakes) and the passengers inner pad has 1/4" of pad left.

Any idea why the uneven wear? The rotor material is wearing also. It is even but is worn probably .020 of metal wear based on the lip I see where the pads don't contact.

[boosted-fc3s]

You may have an issue with your electronic brake force distribution, brake bias, or possibly ABS. The pads should generally wear evenly on both sides. They will for obvious reasons wear unevenly front to back, but side to side on each axle should be close.

[grandpapa]

brake quality can also affect the wear and tear I think. Maybe you should go back to Toyota pad and see if it gives you better result next time

[mac12]

I have 69k on my 07 XLS and am still on the original pads and rotors. It seems that you do have a problem in the equalization of wear. It probably would serve you well to carry it to Toyota. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Mike Murrell]

If none of the high-end techno issues mentioned above play out - you may have a faulty driver sde brake hose or stuck caliper.

[billberry12]

Approaching 70,000 on my 2008 touring, and still on original brake pads. You definately have a problem somewhere.

[TedL]

Assuming this is not your wife's first car, did previous cars display quick brake wear?

[CISA93]

Brake wear varies from driver to driver. I've done hundreds of brake jobs on many brands of cars when I worked at an import shop. Brake material is a big factor, but also the type of driving, city vs. highway or mixed. Toyota pads are good, but you can also find Akebono pads or ATE pads. These pads are all ceramic and don't have the "grab" of a semi-metallic, but you'll also wear your rotors a bit with the semi-metallic vs. ceramic. I highly recommend to have your calipers inspected, pins lubricated, and have a brake system flush. I don't play around with cheap brakes and check my brakes about every 20k (just a stickler for performance and safety) I tossed my factory rotors within 10k miles of getting my 05 and went to cross-drilled and Akebono ceramic pads (a very good pad) however, I just installed some Toyota TRD pads and they've already been seated (much better than Akebonos). The stopping power is MUCH BETTER than stock, a little more brake dust. Nonetheless, you're getting some good information on here. I just stay away from Autozone, Orielly and Pepboys because of what I've seen. Good luck