I'm definitely not what you would call an expert on cars, someday I'll learn but for right now, no time.

Preface: Just bought an 04' 5 A/T coupe with around 40k mi from a dealership near me. They have a 30 day/1500 mile warranty out the door and I did end up going with th 3yr/36k for a discount (or so they tell me).

Issue: I've been noticing some squeaking going on with my breaks recently and I now know that the g35 brakes do tend to do this more than some vehicles. Regardless, I took it in to get checked out.

The manager or possibly owner of this dealership calls me into his office and says something to the effect of "Your brakes were right on that line where we could let em' go, or replace them and charge more for the vehicle...we decided to let them go and you will be responsible for getting them redone, but let me know and I can get you in at our cost around 600-700" - I didn't have time (in a rush) to ask what parts he was talking about (pads, rotors, front, rear, etc...)

I ask how much life is left, he replies "depends, maybe around 10k mi".

First, red flags go up because I am talking with the manager instead of the service guy (tactic tells me that maybe he thinks I would have thrown a fit with the service guy). Second, I have no idea whether he is telling me the truth or not.

Questions: Is there really an arbitrary line that is drawn at dealerships when to, or not to replace brakes? When he says "10k mi" should I be worried that he really means 5k? Is any of this covered under a warranty or would it be somewhere in my purchase agreement?

I've looked all over for typical life span on pads and rotors and can't really find a straight answer. I know that everyone drives differently but there has to be some kind of average for a certain driver type.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

I think the A/T do burn out pads fast from what I've read. I have an 04 6mt and so far no issues, mind you I've only put on 2k from 36k when I bought it. I have read however, that going with aftermarket pads (hawk?) seem to help the life span because the oem are too soft. I'd get the pads and do it myself. Pads/rotors are almost never covered and are considered a wear and tear item.

I should mention I noticed a vibration in the steering AFTER i bought my car, and it shook the steering wheel at 120km/hr... After numerous trips I learned of the famous aggressive camber that wears the inside of the front tires very fast. It was so bad, they replaced my front tires at their cost, because I DID throw a fit. They also scraped the **** out of my front wheels replacing them and I had to go back and they resurfaced both of my front wheels. That seemed to be the end of their good nature with freebies however. But I also haven't had another real issue yet.

 

I assumed that the brakes are considered a normal wear and tear item, I guess I was more referring to whether or not the dealership should replace them given that they might have "10k mi" left on them.

I have read other threads that recommend Hawk HPS pads and I will definitely consider them, I just wanted to get a feel for what other people would do in my situation, knowing more about cars and dealerships than I.

 

I would raise the f'kin roof and get new brakes personally. I didn't even have to complain much to get 2 new tires @300each (their prices) and $200 for each wheel to be resurfaced. Besides, if it was a borderline fix or forget issue, wouldn't they have informed you of this before you bought? I mean lets get real, you buy a car, you shouldn't have to make any MAJOR PLANNED repairs already...

 

If the mileage is accurate, based on my somewhat conservative driving, The pads and rotors would have been replaced twice...the rears may have be resurfaced and new pads as well.

They had an extended warranty for the 03-04 model year brakes. Due to excessive wear issues, they decided to replace/repair all brakes for the first 3yrs or 36,000 miles.

Since the mileage is already expired, I would say you probably will need to replace them sometime in the near future.

If you don't trust the dealership, go to another Infiniti/Nissan dealer and have them inspect them for you.

I would argue for a new set free or maybe split the difference, depending on how much you paid for the car to start with.

 

Welcome to the land of Stealerships, if the brakes were that close they had
no right selling you the vehicle without replacing them! If, you know of a
reliable brake shop in your area have them check out your brakes. Try doing
a search on Driver under Brakes/Pads, there's much better aftermarket pads
than using OEM pads (junk) You could buy the pads and have the shop of
your choice install them....best bet! I'm using Hawk HP pads....

 

So, are you saying that with moderate driving the pads/rotors on an 04 will last around 20k mi total? In which case if he is telling me 10k is left that is about the halfway mark. Am I reading that right?

If this is the case I'll go back and expect that they'll at least split the difference with me being that I wasn't even told about the brake pads/rotors being that far used.

 

well, its not up to the dealership to inspect your car, its up to you. Im sure the warranty that they offered is only on the powertrain, not on wear items. Just go to a independent repair facility, have the rotors turned, and have the brake pads replaced and call it a day. You shouldnt be out but maybe a few hundred at the most. OR you could do it yourself. It only takes a few minutes to change the pads. Most auto parts stores turn rotors for just a few $$ a piece.

 

well my 6mt was squeeling / squeeking ungodly, i replace the pads myself about 2 weeks ago, very easy to do. dont go to the dealer, they are going to rip you off. but i was quoted from a dealer to put on two pads for 450. it seriously took me max of 45 min with jacking the car up and down.


my car i just purchased in jan and they started to squeel about 2 weeks after i got the car

 

Most of the 03-04 Auto owners had up to three (3) sets of brakes replaced under warranty. Depending on your daily driving habits, you could easily eat up the front rotor/pads in 12,000 miles.

They hardly ever recut the fronts because of tolerences. So, the rears could be resurfaced maybe twice, but the fronts are usually replaced with new rotors and pads.

I was able to stretch my changes out from 18,000 and 35,000 respectively.

I did alot of highway driving, so braking was limited to paying tolls.
If you do more city/stop and go driving, you will definitely wear them out much quicker.

I would go aftermarket rotors and pads when I'm due next time. No sense in spending all that money to replace something thats known to wear excessively.

 

Yes, there is a set amount of wear. It's really only enough to be safe (same thing with tire wear), and that is if the pads are within factory tolerances for wear (not factory new). I don't know what the measurement is exactly though.

His "10K" estimate is just that, an estimate. You can eat through those brakes in one day at a track, so he has no way of guaranteeing they will last a certain time.

Others mentioned a brake warranty on some models. I would definitely look into that. edit- Scratch that, I just saw the warranty was up to 36K.

 

[QUOTE=scottsg35]well, its not up to the dealership to inspect your car, its up to you. QUOTE]

Not exactly true:

Did the dealership do your state inspection on the car before you bought it? If so, then as long as the brakes were not out of spec, they are not obligated to change them.


If they sold you the car "as is" and you had to get the car inspected yourself, then it is totally in your court.


If the brakes are squeeking because the squeelers are hitting the rotors, then I would be surprised if they would pass inspection.

If you get a copy of their inspection report and they lied on it, well that is a very different matter. They should have given you this with the car if they did the inspection.

 

Thanks for the replies and advice, I'm going to get some tint done at a shop this weekend where I know one of the installers and I'm going to have him check out the breaks too. I'll also have to get that inspection sheet from them (they did the full inspection but must have forgotten to give it to me, or I forgot to ask for it).

 

Update:

So now less than 2 months and around 2k miles later the fronts are at 2mm and the rears are at 4mm, so much for the 10k estimate. This car is a daily driver and mostly highway miles, I probably put about 30-50miles per day on this car and I've never raced it etc... Time to go to the dealership and see what the deal is.

I also just took the car in for the first oil change (since I've owned it) and they did a check on the air filter etc... According to them my air filter needs replacement so I go to check it myself today and find a two things. 1) I definitely need to replace the filter, looks like the car has gone like 15k on this filter and I've had it for 4k, and 2) There are three pins/clips missing/broken on the filter housing. Not only are they missing but one piece (not hugely important piece) is just resting in place, not secured at all. Seriously wtf?

 

Did you buy from an infiniti dealership?

These are all things that should have been taken care of BEFORE you purchased the car.