205 CTi, brake pads (front) gone after 30000 km?

Hi,

Went to the MOT the other day and they did not bother about the
headlight adjustment (see above), but found that the front brake pads
were about gone. It is only a little less than 30000 km (18000 miles)
since I last changed them, and I mostly drive long distance at a
rather moderate pace, i.e. I am not hard on the brakes. Is this a
normal figure for the 205? Car I had before went 70000 km with one set
of brake pads, was a Ford Escort. Brake function is normal, as far as
I can judge, and the techs didn't mention anything else about the
brakes. Could it be that a fault in wheel tracking causes the wear?
Since the tracking was way out of normal, and tires were worn on the
outer side (had that fixed BEFORE the MOT).

Cheers,

Norman

 

I don't know if this is it but a guy a few doors down from me has a 205 and
he was complaining about the same thing. According to him it was that the
engine is very heavy for the car and this caused quick demise of his
brakes, suspension and tyres!! He's had to change the front tyres etc
three times but never the back!

Sy

 

Yes, sounds familiar. I also have the tyre-problem, luckily, the
suspension is no issue so far.

Norman

 

Lucky you! On my 205XS the pads and tyres lasted about 10000 miles!

 

I don't know what the tech saw, but it sure were not worn brake pads.
I changed them today, and on the left side, they were only about half
gone, on the right side maybe 2/3 gone, i.e. more than 30 % left. I
don't know, why this would be a safety concern? Even brand new brake
pads tend to wear and might be gone within 2 years.

Is it possible and safe to reuse the old pads (given I mark them and
put in the same places as before), once the now new ones are REALLY
worn? And is there an explanation, why the pads on the right side
showed more wear than on the left side?

Bye

Norman

 

Hi,

WOW ! Don't drive that hard then
On my '93 205D, the front tyres lasted 48000km (30,000 miles)*, sometimes
hardly driven. BTW it was Michelin Classic, so not a too soft compund, but
not that hard too.
* I write 30,000 miles, but the tyres were already fit when I bought it.
Recent, but already here. I drove 30,000 miles.
And it's a Diesel, so a heavy engine !
The front pads were almost new (as the tyres) when I bought it, they're
almost worn now, 65,000 km later - I'll change them at next oil change.

 

Should wear smaller shoes, so he can hit the pedals one at a time )

I think that the excessive tyre-wear in my case is due to the engine
being overpowered for the quite light-weight car, so there is more
stress on the tyres. Besides, the wheel-tracking was off normal, so I
can't really say anything about the tyres right now. But the original
tyres I bought the car with, were like new all around at first, but
then also went off faster on the front.

Good figures. Don't think my pads will ever last that long (but might
, thinking that they were 50% after 30000 km). Do you know if the
faulty wheel tracking does affect lifetime of the brake pads?
Is there any regulation saying at which point brake pad wear is a
security hazard? Because I am slightly pissed at the techs making me
change them at 30% (right) and 50% (left).

Well, good night.

Norman

 

Ask them to put it on the rolling road for a test. (it takes a couple of
minutes to do a test)

Will fail MOT test if braking efficiency is uneven, even if both sides are
within limits.(Could be wrong but seem to remember can not be out by more
than 25%)

Uneven brake pad wear can be a sign of callipers sticking. Also if it pulls
to one side under braking then that could be a safety issue.I would have
this checked out - its not going to go away.

Most pads have wear indicators. If you are lucky enough to get to that happy
stage that a light indicates that you should change pads and your callipers
are working fine and brake pad wear is equal then that is the (theoretical)
time to change the pads.

Personally I have never ever seen a brake wear indicator light up on a dash.
Either they are disconnected or not connected when fitted or some other
problem occurs and new pads have to be fitted

 

Hi,

I won't write LOL since I once knew a guy which had the problem with a 306

Right, usually is a cause.

Classic as it's a FWD. On my car, I get figures like 1 rear set / 3 front
sets (the original set of MXT (certainly the tyres fit when the car left the
factory*) were worn @ 80,000km.
* MXT was one of the OE possibilities on my car - and as I had it @ 70,000km
(70,747 indeed), almost out, I guess it was the first fit tyres. What a damn
good tyre that was the MXT !

I often use engine braking with a very few "pedal braking".

It doesn't affect pads lifetime, AFAIK. Only keeping the foot on the pedal
while on a drive has an effect

Yes. There should be wires for it on the pads, lightning a (yellow) light on
the dash. Sometimes useless (we've all seen cases of guys braking metal on
metal with no light up), sometimes weak (my FR wire just snapped, causing
wrong lightning of the warning.
Best thing is to look rather than waiting for a light to come up.

On more modern cars, like 206s, I've heard of a plastic part which makes a
terrific noise when pads are on their way out.

 

Lucky you! On my 205XS the pads and tyres lasted about 10000 miles!

On my 1.1 GL I had 3 sets of pads and a set of discs in 5 years (40K miles).
Yes, i drive hard. Yes I've worn half way thru a set of pads on my new car
in 4000 miles.

I like my brakes.

J