85,000 miles on my 2003

[siclmn]

Still going strong and original everything except tires and oils.
The question is can I rely on the little tabs on the brake shoes that will warn me about brake life? They are supposed to make a sound that I can't ignore. Will that happen?

[Rick92040]

It should however the best thing to do is take off a wheel and look at them. The next time you have your tires rotated ask the guy how the brakes look. My back brakes wore a little quicker than my front.

[ajchien]

The tabs are usually on the inner brake pad only.

If there's uneven wear, your outer brake pad wouldn't make a sound until it hits metal.

Of course, you can visually see the outer pad.

On the other hand, sometimes people ignore the squeal, and the tab winds up breaking off.

Frankly, if you're worried about it, get yourself peace of mind by taking the wheels off and look.

[siclmn]

So today I looked at the pads and they were about 90% gone. $100 at the parts store for some carequest preimum pads and I am done. Very easy job. The disks were just like new and the pads all were wearing even. So now on to the battery. It is starting to sulfate at the terminals.
All those posts through out the years that I have been reading this forum from people who have all kinds of brake problems and the battery complaints of a weak battery, my Element has been a dream. This is the first time I have had to work on the car and I am an old mechanic.

[Hajidub]

Originally Posted by Rick92040

It should however the best thing to do is take off a wheel and look at them. The next time you have your tires rotated ask the guy how the brakes look. My back brakes wore a little quicker than my front.

Odd considering your back brakes only take 10% of the braking.

Siclmn; probably should have turned those rotors with that mileage. No biggy, will just wear the new pads unevenly and wear faster.