How Often Should You Replace Your Brake Pads?

Your Maserati is beautiful and elegant. To keep both you, and this fine piece of engineering safe, your brakes must always operate correctly. The brake pads are a vital part of this system, as they produce increased friction which enables your car to stop faster. These pads will wear out, and as your Maserati dealer, we’d like you to know how often you should replace your pads.

What Do the Pads Do?

Your wheels are attached to wheel rotors, and these rotors have calipers that are installed above them. The pads fit into the rotors, and they provide additional stopping power due to their friction material covering. They also prevent damage to the rotors by stopping direct metal-to-metal contact. The pads start to wear out and will eventually need to be replaced.

How Often Should the Pads Be Replaced?

We examine your braking system once a year or every 12,000 miles. When we examine the braking system, we check the pads, rotors, calipers, and hoses for signs of damage or wear. The lifespan of your pads varies between 25,000 miles and 60,000 miles. The variance is due to driving style, driving conditions, and environmental conditions.

Signs You Need New Pads

These are a few signs that you need to have your pads replaced ASAP.

Screeching Brakes

As we’ve seen, friction from the material on the pads helps to slow down and stop your car. Each time you use your brakes, some of this material wears off. As a reminder to change your pads, the manufacturers install a metal piece in each pad. When this metal piece becomes visible, it will scratch against the surface of the rotor. The awful screeching sound means that it’s time to change the pads.

Grinding Brakes

If your pads aren’t replaced when they start to screech, the material will continue to wear off. Once the material has worn off, the metal rotors will directly contact the rotors when you use the brakes. The metal rotor will scour groves into the surface of the rotors, and make a harsh grinding noise. The longer this occurs, the more likely your rotors will be seriously damaged.

Brake Fade

Another sign of worn pads is taking longer to stop when you hit the brake. This is known as brake fade, and it happens if your pads are kept in close contact with your rotors for extended periods. This is a potential problem if you frequently have to drive downhill.

When you drive downhill, it’s natural to keep your foot resting on the brake pedal. This move pushes the pads against the rotors and holds them in that position. The rotors and the pads will heat up, and this reduces the friction potential between them. The result of this is worn pads and an increased distance to stop.

If you experience any of these problems, call our service department right away at Performance Maserati. Our expert technicians can replace your pads very quickly.