Just been to Mitsu dealer for service on my 2007 Outlander which has 23000 miles on and is 30 months old.
Told that the rear discs and pads both needed replacing at a cost of £400.The pads were apparently over 80% worn and the discs were corroded.
The front pads are only 50% worn and the front discs fine.
I was told that pads and discs not covered under warranty (so I have had to pay).I know that this is true of pads but does anyone know about discs? The service booklet says "Brake pads and brake shoe lining materials" are non-warranted and also "wear of any parts caused by normal usage."

I find it hard to comprehend that brake discs on a 30 month old car with only 23k miles should need replacing.
Does anyone have any similar experience or thoughts/advice ?

 

the only way I would see rotors being covered under a warranty is if they were warped due to excessive heat from some sort of mechanical failure.

I don't know what kind of part stores are around you, but brake pads (and especially disc brakes) are very easy to change out. If you have a way to do it, you can even take the rotors off and bring them in to the auto parts store and they'll tell you if you need the rotor replaced. They may just want to have them turned, which means they machine off a layer of the rotor for a nice flat finish.

Here in the states, rear rotors are $47 (£30.47) each and pad sets range from $21 (£13.61) to $48 (£31.12). To have the rotors turned/machined down a bit costs $25 (£16.21) each.

On a side note, you could probably take it to a regular mechanics shop. When it comes to brakes, there really isn't much special about brakes.

 

The wear pattern is strange to me. Most vehicles are set up so that the front brakes are doing about 70% of the work. Otherwise the back end will squat down instead of the nose dipping during heavy braking.

Normally you can replace fronts a few times before having to replace rears.
Why aren't they "turning" or resurfacing the rotors? Are they that corroded or out of round?

You'll have to pay for the pads and rotors as they are consumables unless you can prove/convince the dealer that your the braking system is not working as it should AND you did all the suggested service/inspections.

I'd look for better parts from an auto parts store and have them installed.

Have the installer fix the problem with the rears having more friction otherwise replacing the parts will have the problem show up again.

 

Thank you for the replies.
Think I`m going to have to chalk this one up to experience.
I should have asked to see the discs before I let them replace them but one of those times when you`re put on spot and not having time to think properly.
I think I`ll look elsewhere for the servicing next time!!!

 

I don't think you did too bad. If the work needs to be done it needs to be done.
If you're not going to do the work yourself you may find there is only a little savings shopping around by the time you get it off the lift at the dealer and into some other mechanics shop. That depends on your dealer's pricing though - they are all different.

Break jobs are pretty standard work and like most things in life you usually get what you pay for.

 

I know what you`re saying.
It`s just a bitter pill to swallow.

 

Rear pads and discs should never wear out before front pads and discs unless there is something wrong. If the pistons in the rear brake calipers were sticking and applying force all the time, this would cause it but you should have noticed noise or felt the drag of brakes that were not releasing completely. I strongly suspect the dealer was dishonest. My 2007 Outlander has 48,000 miles and is still on original rear discs and rotors. They are almost ready for replacement but not there yet. Definitely find an honest independent repair shop for future repairs. Sorry you had learn the hard way. It has happened to me also. I do most of my own repairs now because of experiences like yours.

BTW, all rotors develop rust on the hub and the outer edges. This is normal. The only place that corrosion is unacceptable is on the actual braking surface. The only time rust develops on the braking surface on my cars is if they sit for a long time without being driven. The brake pads scrub off light surface rust in normal driving.

 

Not just mine then !
Like you say not too good on a car that has cost alot of money at new.

 

Kaarulander, did you actually see the rusted parts? This does not sound right. I do my own brake service and have been doing this for > 35 years on a large variety of vehicles. Brake rotors rarely rust to a point where they must be replaced unless the vehicle is driven on roads with a lot of salt and allowed to sit for a long time without driving it after exposure to salt. I live in a state (New Jersey) where excessive road salt is used and my rotors have not rusted in an abnormal way. It is common for the rotors to rust to the hubs but that is not a reason to replace them. It is not common for the actual brake surface on the rotors to rust unless the vehicle sits for a long time. This still sounds like a dishonest repair shop replacing parts that were still useable. On one of the few occasions when I did take my car to a repair shop for brake related work, they did try to tell me that the emergency brake shoes needed replacement at a cost of $150 US. I was having the shop replace a suspension bushing on the rear of the car and they had to remove the brake discs to see the busing. They wanted to replace my emergency brake shoes claiming that they were worn out. This was a blatant rip off and I refused to authorize that repair. Emergency brake shoes and hardware usually need replacement after >> 100K miles and mine were still in good condition.

Even if you are not knowledgeable about car repairs, you should always ask the shop to show you the worn parts and explain why they need replacement. Some times, this will cause a dishonest shop to think twice before trying to rip you off. An honest shop will educate you and hopefully earn your repeat business and recommendations.

 

It sounds like you have some conclusive evidence of substandard materials used for your brake components. I am sorry to hear that but I hope you are successful in getting some compensation from Mistubishi.

I don't know if this story will help but ... Around 1992, I had a butterfly valve fall off of its shaft and get sucked into the engine on a 1989 Toyota Celica All Trac. The car had only 37,000 miles. It fell off because the screw that held it to the shaft was not staked properly at the factory. It rattled around in the engine for hundreds of miles causing intermittent cylinder misfires while I drove the car home from visiting relatives out of state. (I thought I had an ignition problem and kept driving.) It damaged the valve seat, piston, and cylinder wall. I took the car to my local Toyota dealer. They diagnosed it as a faulty power steering pump and rack causing a vacuum leak. The estimated bill was >$2000. I was sure they missed the diagnoses so I took the car to an independent shop I trusted. He and I took the head off and found the damage. I carefully photographed everything. I went back to the dealer to complain and seek compensation from Toyota because the engine had very low miles and the failure was pretty clearly improper assembly. The dealer blew me off and told me I was disloyal to the brand because I took it to an independent shop instead of letting them work on it. Remember, this is the same dealer that gave me a $2000 estimate with an wrong diagnoses. I persisted and wrote letters to the dealer and Toyota's national office. I included the pictures I took with every letter. After several letters and many months, I got a call from a regional service representative that handled service issues for several states in the mid-atlantic region. Toyota agreed to pay me half of the repair bill. It was less than I wanted but at least they offered some sort of good will gesture. The car was out of warranty. May you have better success than I did.