Brake pads worn warning appeared

[Shehab]

Hello everyone,

My father has a 2010 LR4, and about a week ago, I noticed the orange exclamation light in the dash screen and it said "Brake pads worn".

I know what it means, but about a month ago my dad bought and installed new front disks and pads, and sensors.

So, the warning must've been caused by the rear brake pads, which he didn't change, although I told him to .

Once I saw the warning (seven days ago), I examined the rear pads my self, and did notice that they were worn out (a small bit is left).

Now my question: how much longer can we keep using the car with the worn rear brakes? giving that our average distance is 50 km per day inside Sana'a city which is a braking city (you can't go like a 100 meters without braking in Sana'a).

Or, when the warning light first appeared, how much more could the brakes survive?

Because my father is on a bussins trip, and he will be gone for three more weeks, and my mom said and I quote "don't stuff your nose in you father's car, wait for him to come back" which means that I shouldn't try to fix the car by my self. (I'm 20!! )

So, giving that the average distance is 50 km and the warning first appeared seven days ago, that's: 50 X 7 = 350 km, which is the distance we've done so far.

Can anyone estimate the distance I have left on the worn brakes? and what could happen when I finally reach the end of that distance? will the car fail to stop, or will the front brakes cover the rear's job?

PLEASE forgive my CRAPPY grammar. I'm Arabian from Yemen.

Thank you in advance .

 

[umbertob]

It's not a critical fault you should address right away, but you should replace those pads and sensor as soon as possible. It's hard to gauge how much pad life is left with any sort of precision, short of measuring each one with a caliper, and although the sensor is supposed to give you a warning when the pads are about 75% done, that's far from an exact science (the sensor is installed on one pad only, the other 3 may be show more or less wear than the "monitored" one.) On top of that, consider that those sensors are fairly crude mechanical devices, and they don't always work as intended. So many times they aren't even triggered and the pads are already worn beyond the acceptable service life. Depending on how and where you drive another 1000-2000 kilometers should be no problem, but don't delay that service too much longer than that.

If you end up grinding a disc with a completely worn pad, you will ruin the rotors and eventually the car will become dangerous to drive. You don't want to take that chance.

PS: Your English is way, way better than my Arabic.

 

[Shehab]

It's not a critical fault you should address right away, but you should replace those pads and sensor as soon as possible. It's hard to gauge how much pad life is left with any sort of precision, short of measuring each one with a caliper, and although the sensor is supposed to give you a warning when the pads are about 75% done, that's far from an exact science (the sensor is installed on one pad only, the other 3 may be show more or less wear than the "monitored" one.) On top of that, consider that those sensors are fairly crude mechanical devices, and they don't always work as intended. So many times they aren't even triggered and the pads are already worn beyond the acceptable service life. Depending on how and where you drive another 1000-2000 kilometers should be no problem, but don't delay that service too much longer than that.

If you end up grinding a disc with a completely worn pad, you will ruin the rotors and eventually the car will become dangerous to drive. You don't want to take that chance.

PS: Your English is way, way better than my Arabic.

Thank you VERY much for taking the time to answer my question, and I will try not to use the car as much as I did.

 

[TLB]

"Brake pads worn" light came on today. ( I knew they were about to be replaced ). I was planning a moderate to difficult trail for tomorrow and planned on replacing brakes after that trip. (I scheduled my brake service for next week already). Street driving should be fine till next Thursday but would you even consider off roading with the warning light on??

 

[umbertob]

It's not going to brake any different tomorrow than it did today just because that silly little wire finally broke off... If the braking performance seems adequate and you don't hear any funny grinding noises when stopping, I say go and have fun tomorrow (unless you are starting the Paris - Dakar tomorrow, that is)! Those sensors aren't too accurate to begin with, and if they are working as intended they are just warning you that you have about 25% of your pads remaining before you grind metal. In theory, you should still have plenty of meat left, regardless of where you drive tomorrow.

 

[TLB]

Thanks Umberto,
I was told about rear pads wearing off 2 weeks ago.
My rear brakes are making more an more noise at low speed breaking.
Now to give you guys some more info about my brake usage .
I have 2013 LR4 purchased in May '13. Since then we put 18,300miles , daily driving in a city traffic plus off roading once a month. Some highway driving.
I have extra weight from skid plates ( tactical rovers full underbody protection plus asfir sump guard) and heavier BFG TA KO tires at 4 corners and spare under the truck.
Considering this extra weight and my driving environment should I expect more life from the brakes or it is just about right.
I would think that front brakes should give up first.
Those of you who added extra weight at what milage did you have to do a brake service?
PS. I am happy with perfomsnce of stock brakes and do not care about brake dust.
If you hate brake dust on your rims get anthracite compomotive wheels. You will **** two birds with one stone.

 

[AxelR]

I've also been told by LR service guys that when the light comes on the pads are only about 75% worn. So you'll be fine.

 

[umbertob]

My 2013 is fitted with aftermarket goodies similar to yours TSB, and I also put myself through daily traffic (although my mileage is almost quadruple yours...) My rear pads gave in first at about 19K miles, the fronts lasted 27K for my first brake service. Apparently these heavy beasts often seem to go through the (considerably smaller) rear pads first, so your experience and mine are not unusual. I didn't need new rotors until the second set of rear pads, though.