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How long do brake pads last?

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When we sold our Prius at 135,000 miles the original brakes were still good. My Avalanche with 104,000 miles still look good. A little anticipation can go a long way in saving brakes.

And my Roadster with 37,000 miles still has good pad left on the originals
 
I'd check the pads every 100,000 miles after it's out of warranty if you don't have the Tesla Service center do it. So long as you aren't racing or don't live at the top of a mountain you probably won't ever replace the pads short of a mechanical failure.

Pretty much the brake pads should outlast the majority of the parts on the car. Maybe somewhere in the 300,000 to 800,000 mile range depending on driving habits?
 
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You will not warp the rotors. You will get uneven pad deposits from bad braking habits and corrosion. If you haven't bothered to clear the brakes properly often enough, getting the rotors turned is a cheap option.

Tell me more... mustn't have seen the clearing brake in the user manual. As a result I've never done it. (On any car I've owned).

What I have done is this..

When I noticed my brakes felt "pulsatingly grabby" upon applying moderate brake pedal pressure... not what I'd call steering wheel inducing oscillations I associate more strongly with rotor warp... that "steering shake" feel is not dominant here..

Well, what I have gone out and done is some hard long stopping cycles from high speed... enough to heat the rotors real well. Hoping to burn off any deposits or rusty patches on the discs. The discs don't look blotchy, they're uniformly shiny bright metal. From what I can see through the wheel spokes.

I haven't popped off the wheels yet and measured disc warp or visually inspected front and back sides of discs. I'll do that when I change over to summer tires. And I'll use brake cleaner and spray everything clean when I do that too.

Maybe that will help.
 
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first thing I did when i got my tesla #2 was to apply anti rust grease/spray on the brakesystem (as well as other exposed areas near wheels/under frunk) I know i shouldent but it has worked well and it brakes just as good as ever.

i suspect this will prevent rust and result in longer life of the brakecallipers.
 
Tell me more... mustn't have seen the clearing brake in the user manual. As a result I've never done it. (On any car I've owned).

What I have done is this..

When I noticed my brakes felt "pulsatingly grabby"... not what I'd call steering wheel inducing oscillations I associate more strongly with rotor warp... that "steering shake" feel is not dominant.
Well, what I have gone out and done is some hard long stopping cycles from high speed... enough to heat the rotors real well. Hoping to burn off any deposits or rusty patches on the discs. The discs don't look blotchy, they're uniformly shiny bright metal.

I haven't popped off the wheels yet and measured disc warp or visually inspected front and back sides of discs. I'll do that when I change over to summer tires. And I'll use brake cleaner and spray everything clean when I do that too.

Maybe that will help.
It's very very hard to physically "warp" the rotor. You can however eventually create hotspots that mess up the metallurgy on the rotor, which is harder (but not impossible) to recover from. The process is not in any manual. But I've had very good luck with it. It's more relevant for the Model S than most other cars. If the rotors are dirty, lets say surface rust after sitting in the rain, you should do some long and light braking to clear off the corrosion, without heating the rotors excessively until the rust is gone. Then you should have long and medium braking (short of ABS engagement) to evenly apply pad deposits and heat to the rotor, you should NOT come to a full stop during this process, the rotors should be allowed to cool evenly after braking. You are effectively rebedding the pads. You should never brake hard if the rotors are pulsing, because you're creating unven pad deposits and hotspots.

If the above does not stop the vibration, you can resort to more intense methods. First get the rotor turned (surface machined). The tech will probably swear to you that it won't fix the problem, he's kinda right. Bake the rotors at 500F and back to room temperature twice. Install back on car. Rebed the pads carefully eventually reaching very high rotor temps, and letting them naturally cool while moving.
 
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