I bought my Expedition last November with 35K on it. At the time, dealer said front brakes were 75% and rear 100%. Didn't think anything of it. At about 50K, I had front rotors turned. Pads were at 50% so they were sanded and reinstalled. Rear brakes again were "like new". I had shop verify the were working and afterwards braking was smoother than before. No more "Chevy nose dive breaking" after that.

Yesterday, I had both my normal shop AND local dealer check the brakes. Both said I have 10K miles before front needs rotors and pads. Rear brakes were still "like new". At 73,000 miles, how can these rear pads and rotors be like new?? I read awhile back there was an issue with the hydraulic valves sticking and not opening for the rear brakes.

 

Not sure, if they were not working properly you would have a hard time stopping and the fronts would be gone in about 20K miles.

My dads Nissan Titan truck went 103K miles before ever needing brake pads, I know, I didn't believe it either.

 

That is strange cause with the Navigator the opposite seems to be true. The rear brakes were shot around 45k... then again at 78k. Replaced the front pads and they seemed to have at least a 1/3 pad left at 78k miles.

 

Ford dealer says its normal because front brakes do most of the braking. I understand that but to have minimal wear on the rear brakes at 73k isn't normal.

 

Again, if your not wearing out the fronts at an abnormal rate and the truck stops like it should, what do you want? For them to replace the brakes that are not needed?

 

Only two things I can think of doing as a little home test without taking too much apart is to A) take note on how much brake dust accumulates on the real wheels. Being you have a LTD model I assume chrome wheels as well and should be fairly visible. B) other thing to try is to scratch up the rotor with sand paper and take note on how long it takes for the surface pattern to come back.

 

My 2008 Expy just had the rear pads replaced after 23k miles. The dealer said I was within 3k of needing new pads, so I had it done at the recent service. The fronts are still in good shape according to the dealer.

My experience with previous cars has always had the fronts wearing out first (including on my previous Explorer). I realize this is a heavy car, but it seems odd that the rears went so fast. Thanks to the parking brake warning chime, I don't drive far with that on, so I can't blame that!

So either the dealer lied to me (!) or something is not right!

any thoughts?

thanks

 

Never had brake dust on fronts or rears.

 

Not possible.

 

Ok, let me rephrase that, never had excessive brake dust. Truck gets a bath once every two weeks or so. There has never been a noticeable buildup of brake dust.

 

Are you still using the factory pads? How many miles a week do you drive. If I go longer than a week, mine are terrible, it starts to get noticeable on my rims after a day or two.

I had to replace my rears at 40,000. I didn't get to them in time because I assumed it was the fronts starting to squeek and I didn't even look at the rears until it was already into the passenger side rotor.

 

Someone told me Les Schwab had decent prices for a brake job. Dis anyone try that? I am undecided if I should work on the brakes myself bot being experienced.

 

If you insure...take it somewhere. It's a relatively straight forward job. Done it on the Mustang numerous times, the Expedition when I had it and on the Navi. Just have to take your time and be patient. Can always download the Haynes or Chilton manuals and they should take you through a step by step process.