Brakes at 27k miles? Really?

[RedXowner]

Brake calipers can cease to function correctly over time. If dirt or grime or rust builds up on one of the two sides/calipers, the piston on the side with the buildup won't come out the same distance as it's twin on the other side. If only one pad was worn excessively and the other pad was not, this is likely the culprit. Any use of the brakes from the time of the caliper sticking will cause the uneven wear to start, and it only gets worse each time the brakes are depressed. This has nothing to do with regeneration. This exact thing happened on my ICE car earlier this year. One side needed replacing, and the other side was still fine. On the ICE car, I wound up replacing the entire front brakes/calipers. This is why cleaning the brake calipers and keeping them lubed is such a good idea. But if the calipers continue to function normally as most probably do, then it should take a very long time (100K miles or more) to wear out a set of brakes pads, but of course this depends on a host of things.

I don't think this is a reason to say buying a used car is a bad idea. IMO, I got exactly what was advertised when I bought my used car (3.5 years old at time of purchase). The car was/is in great shape mechanically and aesthetically. IMO, most cars on the Tesla used website are, but clearly there are a few that are not. It's a calculated risk. IMO, the risk is low enough.

 

[Joelgjr]

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.

I had to have my pads replaced at 3,600 miles...I bought a demo car (sold as new), but it had 3,550 miles on it when I got it. God only knows the damage people were doing to it during test drives if it had no brakes left after 3,600 miles...they at least did it under good will