How Thick is the Brake Pad Before It Needs to Be Replaced?

Everyone knows the importance of a car braking system. If there is a problem with the brakes while the car is running, the consequences are very serious. Car brake pads are a very critical accessory in the braking system. With the increase of use time, the brake pads will inevitably wear to a certain extent. Especially when the thickness of the brake pads becomes very thin, the braking performance will be greatly reduced. So, what about the thickness of the brake pads, how much less than the thickness of the brake pads needs to be replaced?

1. Brake Pads

Brake pads are also called brake pads. Brake pads are the most critical safety parts in a car's braking system. The quality of all braking effects is determined by the brake pads, so a good brake pad is the protector of people and cars. We need to check the brake pads frequently to see if they need to be replaced.

2. Brake Pad Replacement Cycle

Brake pads are different from various fluids, and there are no hard and fast rules for replacement time and mileage, which mainly depends on wear and tear. Measure the thickness of the four-wheel brake pads during each maintenance, and then refer to the vehicle manual or the OEM's recommendation to replace the thickness value. The replacement time period of the brake pads and brake discs depends on the road conditions of the vehicle, the frequency and strength of the driver's application of the brake pedal.

3. How thick is the brake pad before it needs to be replaced?

The thickness of a new brake pad is generally about 1.5cm, and the thickness will gradually become thinner due to constant friction during use. Professionals suggest that when the thickness of the brake pads is only about 1/3 of the original thickness (about 0.5cm), the owner should increase the frequency of self-checks and be ready to replace them at any time. But some vehicles cannot be judged by clear observation, you can judge by disassembly. Xiao Bian suggested finding a professional repair shop for inspection, and the failure of the brakes was caused by the unreasonable installation of disassembly by yourself.

There is a raised mark on both sides of each brake pad. The thickness of this mark is about two or three millimeters. This is also the limit for the thinnest replacement of the brake disc. If the thickness of the brake pad is already parallel to this mark, it must be replaced. Therefore, when the thickness of the brake pads is close to this mark, the car owner must observe and prepare at any time, but it is difficult to observe accurately with the naked eye without removing the tires. As suggested, it is more convenient than a self-test.

In addition to the popular science about brake pads, click here to learn more about hydraulic pumps.

4. What conditions will speed up the wear of the brake pads?

（1）Often stop and go when driving. For example, if you drive a car in an urban area, there will be a lot of braking opportunities, and the wear will be faster.

（2）The automatic transmission costs more brake pads than the manual transmission because the shifting of the automatic transmission depends on the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal.

（3）The larger the load, the greater the inertia of the car, the greater the friction force of the brake pads, and the greater the loss of the brake pads.