Brakes at 27k miles? Really?

[KentuckyX]

Part of the joy of driving a Tesla is the fact that you can relax a little when it comes to maintenance. Just the little things; wiper blades, tire rotations (on the Model 3), tires and 12V batteries on occasion. Today, I took my car to my trusted tire guy to get my wheels balanced since I'm making a long trip next week. When he was finished with the wheels, he informed me that my front inner brake pads were at 3mm. Since I've only had the car a month, I don't have a clue how the car was driven the other 26.5k miles of its existence. But damn, the previous owner must have had the regen turned off and constantly stomping on the brakes. I'm also a little miffed as to why Tesla, after performing their "70 point inspection" prior to putting this vehicle up for sale, would do so with pads at the minimum acceptable thickness. In my 4 years of forum crawling and 2 years of driving a Tesla, I've never heard of anyone having to replace brake pads this early in ownership. I'm going to appeal to my service advisor in hopes that Tesla will make this right for me.

 

[Hwood]

Part of the joy of driving a Tesla is the fact that you can relax a little when it comes to maintenance. Just the little things; wiper blades, tire rotations (on the Model 3), tires and 12V batteries on occasion. Today, I took my car to my trusted tire guy to get my wheels balanced since I'm making a long trip next week. When he was finished with the wheels, he informed me that my front inner brake pads were at 3mm. Since I've only had the car a month, I don't have a clue how the car was driven the other 26.5k miles of its existence. But damn, the previous owner must have had the regen turned off and constantly stomping on the brakes. I'm also a little miffed as to why Tesla, after performing their "70 point inspection" prior to putting this vehicle up for sale, would do so with pads at the minimum acceptable thickness. In my 4 years of forum crawling and 2 years of driving a Tesla, I've never heard of anyone having to replace brake pads this early in ownership. I'm going to appeal to my service advisor in hopes that Tesla will make this right for me.

Gosh, that’s very uncomfortable news...hope your advisor can give you a due bill to replace the pad for you. You should notify them with your tire guys inspection if there’s any documentation. My car is in service since last week for a few things and fsd upgrade. One thing is the second row gloss back have a big break, probably someone moved furniture used the trunk and hit it. So this was not in any of the picture, and I told my adviser about this, they asked sent pics for them to inspect, so they help to submit a due bill to replace the gloss back. So I would suggest you to talk to your used car advisor not service advisor. Try both though. Worth for a flight. Keep us posted and good luck!

 

[scottf200]

...he informed me that my front inner brake pads were at 3mm. Since I've only had the car a month, I don't have a clue how the car was driven the other 26.5k miles of its existence. But damn, the previous owner must have had the regen turned off and constantly stomping on the brakes. ...

I wonder if the previous owner pulled a trailer that didn't have a brake built into the trailer (electric or surge) or didn't have the trailer brakes adjusted correct.
OR as you say they could have just driven in 'low' vs 'standard'.

 

[docboy]

OP seriously, 27k miles? A benefit of EVs (and hybrids) is regenerative braking, which should allow brake pads to last a LONG time. I've heard Prius owners not having to replace brake pads until well past 100k miles. I would assume Tesla's pads would have similar life spans, if not longer.

Keep us updated and hope Tesla makes it right.

 

[scottf200]

OP seriously, 27k miles? A benefit of EVs (and hybrids) is regenerative braking, which should allow brake pads to last a LONG time. I've heard Prius owners not having to replace brake pads until well past 100k miles. I would assume Tesla's pads would have similar life spans, if not longer. Keep us updated and hope Tesla makes it right.

Remember you also should still do brake maintenance. Clean and lub so everything slides freely. Our electric cars have not needed brakes except for one sometime back when the brakes got stuck and wore out quicker. Since then I get them cleaned and lubed every couple years. (< $100).

Also this is one of the most important parts of your vehicle that you and your family use. You don't want just OK working brakes during a potential accident situation you want excellent/best_they_can work brakes!!

 

[Master Chief]

I was just thinking the other day that the only time I use my brakes is in tight traffic and if I misjudge a stop light. It is getting more rare for me.

Interesting thing about regen. When I first picked up my X in December 2019, if the car had a full charge, regen was almost non-existent. Now, after several upgrades, it seems to work fine all the time. Not sure if it was software or it finally just broke in...

 

[brkaus]

Interesting thing about regen. When I first picked up my X in December 2019, if the car had a full charge, regen was almost non-existent. Now, after several upgrades, it seems to work fine all the time. Not sure if it was software or it finally just broke in...

regen is going to be charge and temperature dependent. High charge and/or low temperatures regen will be reduced. Likely just the Warner temperature.

unless they are doing some sort of brake blending now, but I have not read any mention of it.

 

[MP3Mike]

Given it was only the inner pads the prior owner probably failed to have the brakes cleaned and lubed when necessary. (Every year in areas where they salt the roads.)

 

[Qbenjamin]

Wow, 60K miles in Tesla's and I've yet to have any brake pad issues...

 

[KentuckyX]

Given it was only the inner pads the prior owner probably failed to have the brakes cleaned and lubed when necessary. (Every year in areas where they salt the roads.)

My car spent its first 3 years in New Hampshire, from what I can gather from prior service records (and a receipt I found in the vehicle). I'm sure the "salty roads" theory would be correct in this instance. I've got an appointment for July 15 and I hope this gets addressed at that time. I didn't ask my tire guy what the specs were on the other pads (probably because I was so stunned when he told me the inner front pads were 3mm) but I'm going to have them all checked. If they (Tesla) won't replace them as a one-time goodwill gesture, I'll just have them done anyway (don't tell the service advisor I said that). I can guarantee once the new pads are put on, they'll never need to be changed again.

 

[Darmie]

I'm at 54,000 miles. Did an inspection to see what things look like.

If you are having issues with just one side, then the caliber is not moving freely. Lack of use can cause this.

 

[webbah]

Depending on the weather where the original owner lived in winter many people switch to low regen in snowy areas during winter. This ensures that the pads stay clean and are ready when and if you really need them. High regen is great, but with salt on roads, etc, the pads can form a layer of gunk and not be as efficient for stopping in an emergency when really needed. High regen in slippery conditions can also cause the rear end to slip a bit during these conditions. I have a winter driver profile and use low regen and chill mode acceleration when these conditions are present.

The trailer comment mentioned above could also be the culprit.

 

[mswlogo]

It's hard to feel your pain when you buy a used car and haven't a clue of how it was used, misused or maintained.

That's why I would never, ever buy a used car.

As pointed out lack of use on the brakes can cause problems.

70 Point inspection, LOL.

Hey Harry did the doors shut on that one and the windows close, great, put 'er up on the web for some sucker and do the 2 Point inspection on the next one.

 

[Bigriver]

Remember you also should still do brake maintenance. Clean and lub so everything slides freely. Our electric cars have not needed brakes except for one sometime back when the brakes got stuck and wore out quicker. Since then I get them cleaned and lubed every couple years. (< $100).

Curious if you take it to Tesla for this? Can’t imagine any maintenance item by them would be less than $100.

 

[webbah]

Curious if you take it to Tesla for this? Can’t imagine any maintenance item by them would be less than $100.

At least with the Model 3, and I imagine also the X, you can have any service shop that works on brakes do this for the calipers. They are standard. I go to my local performance shop once a year to have them lubed and cleaned.

 

[scottf200]

Curious if you take it to Tesla for this? Can’t imagine any maintenance item by them would be less than $100.

Good point. This was for our Gen 2 Volt a few months back at my local fav mechanic. I need to take my X in and likely will take it to the Tesla service center. Seems there are just some procedures to follow for the electric parking brake but a good shop could probably do it. The Rich Rebuild YT had a good video at his e-shops with Tesla mechanics go over the 3 a few months back.

 

[webbah]

Part of the joy of driving a Tesla is the fact that you can relax a little when it comes to maintenance. Just the little things; wiper blades, tire rotations (on the Model 3), tires and 12V batteries on occasion. Today, I took my car to my trusted tire guy to get my wheels balanced since I'm making a long trip next week. When he was finished with the wheels, he informed me that my front inner brake pads were at 3mm. Since I've only had the car a month, I don't have a clue how the car was driven the other 26.5k miles of its existence. But damn, the previous owner must have had the regen turned off and constantly stomping on the brakes. I'm also a little miffed as to why Tesla, after performing their "70 point inspection" prior to putting this vehicle up for sale, would do so with pads at the minimum acceptable thickness. In my 4 years of forum crawling and 2 years of driving a Tesla, I've never heard of anyone having to replace brake pads this early in ownership. I'm going to appeal to my service advisor in hopes that Tesla will make this right for me.

Here's a good option to replace them with since you need to do it anyway:

NRS Tesla Model X Brake Pads

 

[W&B2017X]

I would think Tesla would make this right for you. I have not had issues with them doing the right thing. Getting it done at the service center is another issue

 

[bob_p]

We have never replaced the brake pads in our 3 Tesla vehicles. We traded in our 2012 S P85 with close to 100K miles - with the original brake pads.

If the brake pads are wearing out after only 27K miles, that likely means the previous owner didn't take much advantage of regen - likely not only do most hard braking to slow the vehicle - but could also have done a lot of hard acceleration - both could put premature wear on the vehicle.

Tesla should replace the worn brake pads, if this is only a month after purchase. Should also see if Tesla can review the logs for that vehicle and determine if there were any major problems with the vehicle prior to re-sale.

 

[KentuckyX]

We have never replaced the brake pads in our 3 Tesla vehicles. We traded in our 2012 S P85 with close to 100K miles - with the original brake pads.

If the brake pads are wearing out after only 27K miles, that likely means the previous owner didn't take much advantage of regen - likely not only do most hard braking to slow the vehicle - but could also have done a lot of hard acceleration - both could put premature wear on the vehicle.

Tesla should replace the worn brake pads, if this is only a month after purchase. Should also see if Tesla can review the logs for that vehicle and determine if there were any major problems with the vehicle prior to re-sale.

I dropped my X off at the service center yesterday. They're going to go over the entire brake system. The advisor said he's only written up 2 brake jobs since he's been there. I suspect, since my X came to me from NY, it saw some harsh winter conditions and perhaps the brakes were never cleaned, causing them to stick. I'm hoping they'll do the right thing here and adjust my bill accordingly but if I have to pay, I'll do it to keep my car's brakes up to standard.