Hey everyone, I've been lurking around here for a while- thought it'd be the right place to ask. My car is an '04 coupe with about 29k mile. Recently I noticed that after a round of spirited driving, my brakes usually start to act up. It's hard to describe, but it feels a little like the ABS is coming on (that same sort of vibration), even though I'm braking only lightly-moderately. I also noticed that the brakes seem to smell a lot stronger now, although it may just be my imagination.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is this a sign that the brakes need changing? It's been about 25k miles since the last time they were changed, but I'm not exactly sure if that's a lot or a little when it comes to brakes. Also, if they do need changing, would it just be the pads or the rotors too?

Any help is appreciated.

 

Let me be the first to welcome you to our forum.........congrats on your

Depending on the condition of the rotors and pads, the brake job could vary..

The 03-04 model years had High maintenance brakes....the pad and rotors on the front under normal conditions would last on average about 15-18,000 miles.
Then, they either needed to replace or resurface the rotors, and new pads.....the rears are usually just resurfaced and new pads.....

My car had two replacement sets of front rotors and pads, and the rear were resurfaced twice and pads replaced both times as well....

I drive pretty conservatively, and I could only manage about 18,000 miles each brake job.

My warranty period for the brakes expired last brake job, so from now on it all on my wallet......

 

Be safe and have them checked out if you don't know on to check them yourself. Remember they're your brakes and you don't want them to fail

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm way over 18,000 miles on my brakes, and I've been driving pretty aggressively, especially as of late. Still, I'm actually planning on selling the car sometime later this year (looking at the new G coupe when it comes out). Is there anything seriously wrong with holding out on these brakes until then? Can I get away with keeping these brakes 'til the end and driving a little more carefully?

 

Well, are they the gold Brembos? The OEM Non-Brembos had the brake problems. Like the other poster said, brakes tend to wear out. When brakes get worn down, they will vibrate with they need to be resurfaced or new pads are needed. Get them checked out.

 

Sounds like the rotors are just warped. I have 29k miles on my 05 sedan brakes and do alot of canyon driving. On the way down the hill at the end when i have to brake hard to slow down (when the brakes are heated up pretty good) i experience alot of vibration from the pedal and the rotors. So my rotors are warped to hell but it only vibrates when they are very hot.

I'd go get your brakes inspected, get the rotors measured, if they can be cut then cut em and go easy on the brakes or they'll become warped soon after that again.
-GP-

 

^ +1
Rotors are warped

 

The dealership should fix you brakes at no charge since our '04s had issues.
One of the major causes for discs to warp is overtightening with those damn
air guns......have your wheels installed with a torq wrench. I always request
the use of the torq wrench anytime my wheels come off.

 

When you get the "abs" feeling when you are braking under normal conditions, it probably means that you should replace your rotors and/or pads soon.

The 03-04 models have fragile brakes, so they squeak, warp and wear more than other years.

What a lot of the members on this forum have done is buy aftermarket brakes. It's too bad that the oem brakes are so terrible...