TugboatSteve

So I’ve been told two different things about my front brake pads. One mechanic told me I have 3-4/32 left on my front pads and I’ll need to change them around mid-January. A couple days later I was told that I had 4-5/32 left and that I could go for a while longer than that if I’m not constantly hard braking.

I’m looking for a third opinion and hoping these pictures taken with a borescope will suffice. Every so often I hear a bit of the usual time-to-change-the-pads squeal when I first press the brake, but it goes away when I press down a bit harder and I don’t hear it everyday. I don’t know if it’s just brake noise or if it’s the wear indicator, and being told two different things by two mechanics isn’t helping.

What do you all think?

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

you don't need a borescope...
You just remove the wheel and look into the opening of the caliper...
only people at the car can measure, BTW. We are just looking at it in the computer screen. Who can measure it is you.
measure both sides, there are differences side to side in wear, as like everything in life

TugboatSteve

Thanks for the insight once again! I live in a complex with really tight parking spaces, so that’s why I was hoping to get away with just using the scope and asking people more experienced than myself. I’ll drive to an open lot this weekend and take a look.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

if those are the outer pads, they look okay, but again, like sdaidoji said, hard to tell without measuring

However, that doesn't take into account the inner pads. If your pads aren't wearing evenly (particularly, if your inner pads are wearing faster than your outer pads), then you'd need to not only replace, but figure out why that is. Typically, slide pins need to be lubricated, at least in every instance I've personally seen.