How Long Do Brake Pads Last?

[Vyker]

Hello all,

How long, generally, do brake pads last?

I had mine fitted 17k miles ago, but I'm noticing now that I get judder and steering shakes under heavy braking, in some extreme case where there is uneven surfaces the steering would shoot to the left and require heavy correction.

Am I looking at a new set or have I got other issues?

Any help, as ever, would be great.

Thanks

[kam05]

How long do brake pads last? That depends on what kind of driving you do...if your doing lots of stop/start (city) driving, then the pads won't last as long, if your doing lots of motorway driving, then the pads should last longer.

Shaking of the steering could due to warped disks or you may have a sticky caliper?

Is the car an auto or manual, I have been told autos get through pads quicker than manuals

[Vyker]

Well, i do both heavy city driving and long motorway runs, so i guess i can fit into both categories.

Mine is a manual. I thought about the sticking caliper aswell, from all the posts we often come across about it on here, but I thought id slowly whittle out all the potential possibilities.

Just had a few chats with some people at work here, and they are saying they have gotten 30 odd thousand miles out of a set of brakes.

So maybe its not my brakes.

[maneesh]

it depends on the compound, if the pads are harder or softer, in terms of wearing.

other folks may well get 30k out of pads, but again, the compounds used in the pads may have different wear characteristics..

you're lucky, my front brake pads end up being replaced twice a year!