Looks like I'm the only one to be having troubles with my brakes wearing out prematurely ?

 

Brakes wear differently for all drivers. If your calipers were bad and/or shoes/discs sitting on the rotors you probably would have noticed simpy due to the smell and drag on the car. Sounds like a simple case of wear and that is not covered under the warranty. Thier service dept may not be the best but brake wear is really a tough one. Any independent shop can quickly assess brake issues should you desire 2nd or 3rd opinions

 

Personally, I would tend not to go to a dealer for any issue involving something like brakes that would likely not be covered under warranty. Having said that, if there's a bent caliper or misaligned brakes, etc. from the factory that's causing it, an independent shop will usually identify it correctly. I then take it up with the dealer after paying the independent shop to take a look at it. I've found in the past that if I have a professional opinion / verdict going into the dealer then it can eliminate a lot of the problems with them.

However, the exact opposite can happen as well where an independent shop isn't familiar with the car to the same extent as the dealer who will be able to fix it right the first time. For "wear and tear" items I tend to gravitate to the independent shops first as they'll either assess and fix it or tell me my brakes have a manufacturing / factory problem because of X. At least where I am, my shop will charge me $50 bucks to look at it and if there's no manufacturing issue then fold part of that $50 into the repair cost. Your experience is exactly why I'm willing to possibly pay extra to the independent versus playing the dealer runaround.

In terms of warranty and customer service, I find Hyundai about the same as any other car manufacturer. You may have to fight to get something repaired where you shouldn't have to go to that extent....and you'll likely get a lot of automated "How was our service?" emails before the problem is resolved ( or even addressed ).

 

I have almost as many KM's as the OP, last check, I had 60-70% pad left they reported.

Sounds a bit strange to me.

 

My 2010 Tucson GLS AWD, and replacement 2011 Sportage EX AWD, rear pads were worn out first at 35k miles also, with one side a bit more then the other, I chalk it up to normal wear, & tear.

I replaced the pads on the Tucson (then later it was totaled, nothing to do with the pads though), it had 50k miles on it.

Next when I got my Sportage replacement vehicle with 20k miles on it, at 35k I needed to replace all the pads also, again rear being more worn then the front.

I found the AutoZone Best Gold Ceramic actually cheaper, & better then the stock replacement pads, and I thought the stock pads were the best ever for stopping a car this size, & weight!

So, another thing I don't think the wear time, was out of line,,, I'm not that hard on brakes either.

 

The fact that the brake pads of one rear wheel were worn down to the metal yet the other rear wheel's pads were almost new is NOT normal wear and tear, and nothing to do with driving style.

Then similar but not so severe unequal wear on the fronts is also not normal wear and tear.

My gripe is any decent mechanic should have consider this as a problem and tried to work out what was happening to cause the unequal wear, and the service manger should have been honest and told me one side was worn out rather than " your rear pads need to be replaced ".

Yesterday I pulled all four calipers apart and cleaned a shirtload of grit from the pistons and caliper sliders, greased them up and my brakes are now working perfect.

That should have been done when my car was serviced.

From now on my Accent will be getting it's regular servicing done at a non-Hyundai workshop, and I'll check the damm brakes myself when I rotate the tyres.

 

I tend to agree with RoadTrash here.

If one side is a bit more worn than the other, that could be normal wear and tear and not warrantied.

If one side is down to metal and the other side is new, that's a stuck and binding piston - should be a warranty repair, unless there was a requirement to lubricate the slides for severe weather - and in that case, they should have notified you of that as well.

 

Does anybody know if other Hyundai models use the same single piston calipers as the Accent ? ?.

IMHO it is a cheapjack design, and in my case using the car on dirt roads allowed the build up of crud in the moving parts causing a couple of the calipers to be stuck "on" all the time.

I am thinking that the poor fuel economy figures being reported worldwide with Hyundais may be due to this brake caliper glitch. On my recent trip on the outbound journey I was almost out of juice ( diesel ) at 600 kms with an average of 6.8 L / 100 km but after cleaning and lubing the brake bits it dropped back to 4.6 L/ 100 kms on the return journey.

I would like to replace my stock brakes with 2 piston calipers, in the hope that reduces or eliminates the crud build-up issue. I still have to traverse dirt roads on my regular interstate trips.

Any suggestions on aftermarket brakes ?

 

Update -

Lubing the brakes didn't help for long dammit, so last weekend I tackled the brakes again, this time looking more carefully at the situation, and armed with information gleamed from other posts about brakes on this excellent Forum.

It was obvious that the pads were too tightly held in several of the springy shims.With a hand file I took metal off the pad tangs until they slid easily in and out of the shims, then lubed things up and reassembled.

My fuel economy has improved greatly, the car now rolls easily when the brakes are released on the slightest slope and after a drive I can feel that the temperature of the rotors are no longer uneven or excessive.

Am most annoyed the dealers I have been to didn't do this simple fix.

 

What did you file? My dealership said the calipers need to be rebuilt every year or else they will stick and the pads will wear out.

 

No normal set of calipers should be rebuilt every year.
I was thinking of a blockage possibly in your proportioning valve body (making you brake only with half the cars brakes). But if its the parts not fitting right, it may be a supplier issue.

A similar supplier problem happened with the Ford Fusion. Almost immediately upon release to the show rooms Ford issued a recall for leaking gas tanks. Turns out the supplier changed materials, and procedures, leading to faulty tanks.

This could be the same thing here with your brakes. If you had the original pads you could compare the two to see if they are dimensionally different.
You might want to make a write up on this, and post it. Especially if anyone else has the model you do, and have the same issue.

 

I don't normally take my car to the dealer, but I had a wheel bearing wear out and now my rotor on that side feels warped. The first thing I was asked was had I done the 24000km or yearly service which includes taking the calipers off and dissembling them(removing piston and greasing it) and cleaning everything. When I said no I got a talk about how someone had done this service every year and the pads lasted 100 000km and the person who didn't only had gone 30000km on the pads.

 

Wow, who is this person?
You dont grease brake components, with the exception of anti squeaking grease placed on the back of the pads (during install). Brake fluid acts as both a lubricating fluid, and a cleaner. In extreme cases, says mud bogging, you might wanna take them off for cleaning, but thats an extreme.

That guy (in my opinion) was feeding you a complete load of BS. The only check you should have at 24,000KM is a visual inspection for the thickness of the pads, and rotor condition. Not a complete rebuild.
Go find your self a reputable old gray haired mechanic, and ask them. Or ask another Hyundai dealership.

Most of the cars Ive owned over the years didnt need brake done until the 40-50K mile range (64,000KM-80,000KM). The only exception was a plymouth Voyager which chewed through brakes every 12,000 miles(19,000 KM).

 

Wow, who is this person?
That guy (in my opinion) was feeding you a complete load of BS.
.

^^^^^ I second and third that!! ^^^^^^^

Michale I suggest you wear rubber boots to that StealerShip to wade through all the BS.

 

Sad to say, but there are some dealers in this country whose eyes will roll like a 5-wheel slot machine and land on all cherries. Just at the mention of "brake inspection." JACKPOT!

 

Too true,
After three vehicles from dodge, and dealing with their poor products, and even worse service departments, followed only by their shear absence of warrantee support has placed a scar in my mind. I will not buy a dodge again.

I do hope Hyundai Corporate does something about these rouge problems. They spoil the image of the entire product line, and company.

Perhaps we could add a customer reporting section about the service we received at our local Hyundai dealers. It would at least offer a resource for owners to see reviews from members on this forum before they go for service or warrantee work.

 

More profitable to keep you in the dark and returning for servicing at regular intervals.

 

The brake pad retainer clips are black. They have some kind of paint or coating
on them. The road grime/salt makes it more difficult for the brake pads to slide.

They should have used stainless steel retainer clips.

After I removed the tires for tire rotation, I used my dremel tool to clean the brake pads and retainer clips. Then, I put brake grease on the brake pad backing plate.

Whenever I need new brake pads, I will buy pads that come with stainless steel retaining clips.

 

I don't think it was the shim material which is the problem, rather it is the dimensions of the brake pad tangs. Also the steel plates seem to have been stamped out and the surfaces where the shims make contact were quite rough.

Taking off about 0.25 mm from the width and depth of the tangs and smoothing them down has allowed them to have easy movement in the shims. The idea of the shims is to just hold the pads lightly in position. Mine were tight before my handiwork with the file.

I have played around extensively with Brembo brakes on my motorcycles and they use pins to hold the pads from falling out of the calipers and springy shims to stops the pads rattling around. The Brembo shims limit the pad movement in the same plane as the rotors, the Hyundai shims act at 90 degrees to the rotor plane.

My brakes are lovely now.

 

Update -

Got back from a 2,500 km trip last week and got 4.2 L/100 km overall. 95% highway driving. Took a peep at my pads today and there is no evidence of uneven or excessive pad wear.

 

On my Genesis Coupe when I went to aftermarket pads I had to file off the end tabs so the pads slide freely in and out of the bracket. All those parts need to move freely without any binding.

Sounds like you found the problem.

 

I've been in your shoes and let me tell you that there is a problem here.

I had the same issue, where the pads on both sides of the same rear brake were uneven; they were so uneven that one side was down to the metal while the other side was still above the minimum spec.

I park on an incline, so I always use the hand brakes when I park. (Actually by force of habit, I've used it whenever I park the car regardless of inclination)

Anyways, a proper wear of break pads should be even on the pads on both sides of the rotor, no cracks, and flat when compared to the metal backing of the pads.

When stepping on the brakes, the rear brakes has only 25% of the total brake power, most of it is on the front brakes. Front brakes should not be outlasting rear brakes. Unless you drive with the parking brake on, at which point you have other problems to deal with.

When I had a quote from the dealership to get both rear rotors and pads replaced, they quoted me $400. Long story short, I bought my own stuff and had them replaced at an independent garage and it cost me a total of about $275, with about $140 of that in labor.

I've replaced my rears at about 45k, and now at ~57k and my front brakes are still the original purchased and I passed state inspection with them.

When the rears were being replaced, the mechanic had to actually knock the pads out of the caliper using a hammer, and I'll post pics soon of my pads to show the differences.

The mechanic looked at them at said that they appear to have never been greased! And I have been doing the regular scheduled maintenance at the dealership.

Now I'm looking at the 60k mile service and I am thinking if it's worth it to fork the amount of money they're asking, or pay someone else the same amount of money (or even less) to do a better job at it.

 

I've been in your shoes and let me tell you that there is a problem here.

I had the same issue, where the pads on both sides of the same rear brake were uneven; they were so uneven that one side was down to the metal while the other side was still above the minimum spec.


When the rears were being replaced, the mechanic had to actually knock the pads out of the caliper using a hammer, and I'll post pics soon of my pads to show the differences.

The mechanic looked at them at said that they appear to have never been greased! And I have been doing the regular scheduled maintenance at the dealership.

Now I'm looking at the 60k mile service and I am thinking if it's worth it to fork the amount of money they're asking, or pay someone else the same amount of money (or even less) to do a better job at it.

There certainly is a problem, the tangs on the OEM pads are too wide, it's that simple, and replacing the worn pads with new Hyundai pads from the box will not fix the problem and neither will a thorough lubing of the moving parts.

Unfortunately the chaps wearing white coats in the Hyundai dealer service department are not going to get their hands dirty and file down the tangs for you.

Like you I had been having regular servicing done at the dealers, and because I have a diesel Accent that was every 7,500 kms, yet it was obvious they hadn't touched the brakes.

I won't be going back to a Hyundai dealer again. The guys in greasy overalls who worked on my previous high mileage vehicles will be doing any work I can't do myself, at a fraction of the price of the dealers.

How was your fuel economy by the way ? It costs money/fuel when the brakes are dragging.

 

Honestly, I don't know about the fuel economy. Ever since I had the brakes replaced, my wife started using it as her primary and I got myself a used Subaru to get my hands dirty on and be my daily beater.

When she's behind the wheel, fuel economy is automatically thrown out of the equation. But soon, we'll taking a trip down to CT from MA, and I'll measure the fuel economy then.

When I replaced my brakes, I didn't go with OEM pads and rotors. I got the duralast brands and they're quiet and the mechs didn't complain about fitting.

There is a law office working on a class action lawsuit against hyundai for rear brakes that are prone to early wear and tear on 06s+

Hyundai – Rear Brake Pad and Rotor Replacement - Chimicles & Tikellis LLP

Practice: Consumer Protection
Phase: Investigation
Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating a potential class action lawsuit against Hyundai Motors for a possible design defect contained in the rear braking systems of Hyundai vehicles, model years 2006 to the present. These vehicles may contain a defective design predisposing the rear brake components, such as brake rotors and brake pads, to premature brake wear thereby requiring early replacement and/or repair. Some individuals have also reported the need for an increased amount of preventative maintenance services and costs in excess of the Hyundai factory maintenance schedule. If you own a 2006 or later Hyundai vehicle and have experienced premature wear, replacement, and/or repair of the rear brake components, please contact the attorneys listed below:

However they are based in PA and I don't know how will that work out for people in other states. (I don't really know how this who class action lawsuits works..)

I remember contacting them through the web form, and I haven't heard from them.

 

Thank you very much for that information, it will prove to be extremely helpful and I look forward to future contacts with the local Oz Hyundai worms who pretended they had never heard of this problem before, ho ho

 

Any pictures of what you filed down?

 

+1, I am considering changing rotors and brake pads soon. I do notice that my rear right rotor does not have a smooth surface and I just want to find out as much info before changing them. Thanks in advance!

 

Take off about 0.25 mm off each surface marked by the green arrows, and smooth down the surfaces with blue arrows.

http://www.tinyurl.com/pb7hj/BrakePadTangs.jpg

The aim is so the pads can float easily away from the rotor when the brakes are released. Grease those surfaces too. I used Bendix Ceramic High Performance Synthetic Lubricant which comes in small sachets - one sachet will be enough for several lubes of all 4 brakes.

 

Aha, just worked out how to insert a pic...........

 

Have just done a 800 km highway trip and another 250 kms on secondary/country roads - 4.3L/100kms average. Due for a tyre rotation and will be inspecting the pads, maybe will post some pics.

 

Did my math do this wrong... It came to 54 mpg. May I ask, when you are on the highway what's your cruising speed?

 

Did my math do this wrong... It came to 54 mpg. May I ask, when you are on the highway what's your cruising speed?

The maximum speed allowed on the highway is 110 km/hr, there's speed cameras and Highway Patrol cars behind every second tree so I sit on 110 which is about 2,200 rpm in 6th gear in my manual trans diesel.

TELL your STUPID DEALER TO FIX or replace THE PROPORTIONING VALVE (or the entire brake master cylinder unit) in the braking system, and then measure the effing pressure in the two circuits if they're equal.

Three dealers, one regional svc. mgr... Phew! Everybody is a clueless, certifiable idiot nowadays...

The first dealers who I brought the car to again after finding out it was only the right rear pads were worn out had my car for a day and a half and checked "everything " including pressures all around. They once again missed the sticking pad problem though.

I'm out of town again until next week. When back home I'll be due for a tyre rotation ( 47,500 km ) and guess what, I will be eyeing my brakes verrrrry keerfully indeed.