Brake Mileage for 2003 Forester

[W. eWatson]

I bought my Forester in Sept. 2002, and apparently drove 42K without getting
new brakes. I then drove 22K before getting new breaks, and finally another
22K, when I now need new front brakes. I live in a foothill area of Calif.,
and drive up and down at least one 5-600' hill each day. I talked to a
mechanic today and he said that brake life is usually quite good at the start.

--
Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

 

[Tony Hwang]

I bought my Forester in Sept. 2002, and apparently drove 42K without
getting new brakes. I then drove 22K before getting new breaks, and
finally another 22K, when I now need new front brakes. I live in a
foothill area of Calif., and drive up and down at least one 5-600' hill
each day. I talked to a mechanic today and he said that brake life is
usually quite good at the start.

Hi,
With manual shift equipped car, brake can last longer.

 

[W. eWatson]

Hi,
With manual shift equipped car, brake can last longer.

I have an automatic. It's good to see there's someone here besides myself.
When I rejoined today, I saw only one other post. Months ago there were
hundreds.

--
Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

 

[johninky]

If you had the original OEM pads replaced with OEM pads then ignore my
suggestion. If the original pads were replaced with non OEM pads then
that may be the problem.

 

[W. eWatson]

If you had the original OEM pads replaced with OEM pads then ignore my
suggestion. If the original pads were replaced with non OEM pads then
that may be the problem.

The new brakes were not put on by Subaru; however, when I talked about this
with them, they made no claims about having superior brakes than a third party.

--
Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

 

[John Varela]

The new brakes were not put on by Subaru; however, when I talked about this
with them, they made no claims about having superior brakes than a third
party.

If you got 42K miles with Brand A and have twice gotten only 22K miles
with Brand B, you might consider returning to Brand A.

 

[mred]

On Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:02:03 -0400, W. eWatson wrote


If you got 42K miles with Brand A and have twice gotten only 22K miles
with Brand B, you might consider returning to Brand A.

I get 60 k miles from my front pad, I only use OEM.

 

[Todd H.]

I bought my Forester in Sept. 2002, and apparently drove 42K without
getting new brakes. I then drove 22K before getting new breaks, and
finally another 22K, when I now need new front brakes. I live in a
foothill area of Calif., and drive up and down at least one 5-600'
hill each day. I talked to a mechanic today and he said that brake
life is usually quite good at the start.

Brakes have been a pain in the ASS on my 01 Outback.

I have followed a similar pattern as you have, but in IL with no
freakin hills.

The next ones will be OEM Subaru pads without a doubt.

 

[W. eWatson]

If you got 42K miles with Brand A and have twice gotten only 22K miles
with Brand B, you might consider returning to Brand A.

The thought has certainly occurred to me.

--
Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

 

[W. eWatson]

I get 60 k miles from my front pad, I only use OEM.

Do you drive up and down steep hills and have you consistently gotten 60K?

--
Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

 

[The Other Dave]

Has anyone tried ceramic brake pads on a Forester? I have a 2006 with 29K on
it, and the brakes are still fine, but wondering if ceramics could be used
when they need replacement. I have a 2000 half ton Chevy Silverado with four
wheel disc brakes. I have driven it 151,000 miles, with no replacement of
the original ceramic pads! My mechanic thinks it will go to 200,000 before
needing brakes.

 

[Terry Russell]

My brakes have been a royal pain on my '01 Outback. I have frequently had
to replace both pads and discs, and I have only used OEM. Brakes are my
only complaint, but they are a big one. Otherwise, the car is great.

 

[Bob Bailin]

The thought has certainly occurred to me.

Something else to consider:

When the pads are replaced, is your mechanic also lubricating the sliders
and checking that they slide freely? If your calipers use the full-length
rubber boots that are on the older Imprezas, rust can develop between
the boot and the caliper, constricting the boot and not allowing the slider
to move freely with very little pressure. The result is that the pads,
especially
the outer pad, are always in contact with the rotor, not enough to notice
any drag or pulling to one side, but enough to cause faster wear.

An easy check would be to drive the car for a mile or so and then check
the temp of both front wheels (not the calipers!). Both sides should be
ambient
temp or just a little warmer, and equally warm. If the wheels are hot to the
touch, the calipers are dragging and they should be checked out further.

A similar problem can occur at higher mileage when the caliper piston
boot starts to leak, or rust builds up between the boot lip and the
caliper piston seal. When changing pads, the piston shouldn't require
an excessive amount of force to be pressed back into the caliper,
especially if the bleeder screw is open.

Bob

 

[mred]

Do you drive up and down steep hills and have you consistently gotten 60K?

Mid Atlantic States, rolling hills. 70% HY, 30 % city. I don't drive
it aggressively on a consistent basis. Its reg engine, not turbo. 5 sp
manual.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Has anyone tried ceramic brake pads on a Forester? I have a 2006 with 29K on
it, and the brakes are still fine, but wondering if ceramics could be used
when they need replacement. I have a 2000 half ton Chevy Silverado with four

Hi,

I haven't used ceramics on anything yet. An acquaintance retired
recently, after working for a Chevy dealership as a brake mechanic for
years. He said the ceramics were going to "put us out of business" as
they lasted so long--so it sounds like your Silverado experience is
"normal." He also said if you're gonna make the switch to ceramics,
spring for new rotors. Mixing new pads w/ old rotors doesn't work that
well w/ ceramics according to him.

Rick

 

[Rick Courtright]

The thought has certainly occurred to me.

Hi,

Seems like a no brainer to me...

Regardless of driving style and its attendant effects on overall brake
life, I've had far better life w/ OEM pads than any replacement brands,
covering several car mfrs.

Rick

 

[Todd H.]

Hi,

I haven't used ceramics on anything yet. An acquaintance retired
recently, after working for a Chevy dealership as a brake mechanic for
years. He said the ceramics were going to "put us out of business" as
they lasted so long--so it sounds like your Silverado experience is
"normal." He also said if you're gonna make the switch to ceramics,
spring for new rotors. Mixing new pads w/ old rotors doesn't work that
well w/ ceramics according to him.

Are OEM Subaru pads ceramic? Does anyone know for sure?

I have this recollection that they might be for these model years, but
that recollection is shaky at best.

 

[Andy]

I bought my Forester in Sept. 2002, and apparently drove 42K without getting
new brakes. I then drove 22K before getting new breaks, and finally another
22K, when I now need new front brakes. I live in a foothill area of Calif..,
and drive up and down at least one 5-600' hill each day. I talked to a
mechanic today and he said that brake life is usually quite good at the start.

--
            Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

              (121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std.time)
               Obz Site:  39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32"W, 2700 feet

                     Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

Hey W,

I had a similar concern with my 2006 Subaru Forrester and I
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and like to do things myself and this subscription gives me diagnosis,
repair, TBSs, recalls and labor times. I hope you find it useful -
it's pretty cheap considering the information comes directly from the
manufacturer.

Check it out - I copied the link below for you.

http://traffic.alldatadiy.com/cgi-bin/redir?pd_link=i1-a44690-o4010-c66365

Andy Deil

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Are OEM Subaru pads ceramic? Does anyone know for sure?

I have this recollection that they might be for these model years, but
that recollection is shaky at best.

They 'appear' to be semi-metallic and from Akebono. I'd bet a search or
asking in the brake forum at www.nasioc.com would tell us for certain.

I must say, the Wagner pads I put on my wife's Outback seem a little
inferior to the OEM.
And I still have a lot of material left on my WRX pads even with 3 track
events. I may go with OEM to replace them and wish I had on the wife's car.

If I did more track/performance driving, I might get EBC yellows for my WRX.

I have read though, that getting rotors from the same company as the
pads is a good idea as they are probably designed to work best together.
So ceramic pads on OEM rotors 'may' accelerate rotor wear.
I doubt it matters much on a daily driver though.

the 'white papers/tecnical information at http://www.stoptech.com/ is
worth looking through for decent info.

Carl

 

[W. eWatson]

They 'appear' to be semi-metallic and from Akebono. I'd bet a search or
asking in the brake forum at www.nasioc.com would tell us for certain.

I must say, the Wagner pads I put on my wife's Outback seem a little
inferior to the OEM.
And I still have a lot of material left on my WRX pads even with 3 track
events. I may go with OEM to replace them and wish I had on the wife's car.

If I did more track/performance driving, I might get EBC yellows for my
WRX.

I have read though, that getting rotors from the same company as the
pads is a good idea as they are probably designed to work best together.
So ceramic pads on OEM rotors 'may' accelerate rotor wear.
I doubt it matters much on a daily driver though.

the 'white papers/tecnical information at http://www.stoptech.com/ is
worth looking through for decent info.

Carl

What are the prices of ceramic, and what's the comparison of OEM brakes
versus "typical" others?

--
Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>