out of warranty, brakes need replaced

demundus · Feb 8, 2016

My brakes have been screeching lately as I come to a complete stop. I had first attributed this to low use (as many others experience on the forums), but today as I was rolling into my work parking lot I heard a steady metal on metal sound, reminiscent of.... worn brakes!

1.) Can I do this myself? How? What pads do I buy?

2.) If I can't do this myself, anyone have a cost guesstimate?

I can't find any threads where anyone did their own brakes because everyone is under warranty around here, so any info is helpful.

Skotty · Feb 8, 2016

I'd be surprised if any Tesla needed brake pads already. Someone with experience can pretty easily examine the brake pads to determine if they are worn to where they would need replacement.

1) You should be able to do this yourself as easily as any other car I would think. But that's not to say it's simple. You should have someone there who has experience changing brake pads and bleeding brakes. Might be a challenge finding and getting to the brake master cylinder, assuming there is one (did Tesla do something non-standard here? surely not, but you never know); usually the master cylinder is under the hood in the engine bay, but since there isn't an engine bay, they must have hid it behind a panel somewhere.

EDIT -- actually, you might not have to bleed the brakes (I've had to change out "cracked" front brake lines so many times, just thinking about brakes makes me think I'll have to bleed them), but you do have to be careful with the fluid level. As pads wear, service techs might put in more brake fluid; then when you put new pads on, you have to push the pad cylinders back in to fit the new pads and that can overflow the master cylinder, so you might have to siphon some out. But as long as you don't break the fluid lines anywhere and the fluid level never gets too low, you shouldn't have to bleed the brakes.

demundus · Feb 8, 2016

Skotty said:
I'd be surprised if any Tesla needed brake pads already. Someone with experience can pretty easily examine the brake pads to determine if they are worn to where they would need replacement.

1) You should be able to do this yourself as easily as any other car I would think. But that's not to say it's simple. You should have someone there who has experience changing brake pads and bleeding brakes. Might be a challenge finding and getting to the brake master cylinder, assuming there is one (did Tesla do something non-standard here? surely not, but you never know).

Very true, I'll be jacking the car up and looking myself, but for now I'm operating under the assumption I need them, as the screeching has been a presence for over a week and this new sound is pretty telling. My guess is its going to the SC, but trying to avoid $$ as best as possible.

jaguar36 · Feb 8, 2016

demundus said:
My brakes have been screeching lately as I come to a complete stop. I had first attributed this to low use (as many others experience on the forums), but today as I was rolling into my work parking lot I heard a steady metal on metal sound, reminiscent of.... worn brakes!

1.) Can I do this myself? How? What pads do I buy?

2.) If I can't do this myself, anyone have a cost guesstimate?

I can't find any threads where anyone did their own brakes because everyone is under warranty around here, so any info is helpful.

The brakes on a Tesla aren't anything special. Lots of regular (autozone)auto parts stores claim to carry pads that will fit. If you've ever changed the brakes on a car before it shouldn't be anything new to you. If not its a pretty simple job, but I'd watch some youtube videos first on how to do it.

FlasherZ · Feb 8, 2016

One word of advice... after doing it, be sure you pump the brakes to set the calipers and pads properly before rolling out of that garage while holding the door just open enough to pull the door frame off the garage. Not going to say how I know that.

Skotty · Feb 8, 2016

FlasherZ said:
One word of advice... after doing it, be sure you pump the brakes to set the calipers and pads properly before rolling out of that garage while holding the door just open enough to pull the door frame off the garage. Not going to say how I know that.

Good advice! Lots of people have had accidents immediately after brake service because either the brakes weren't pumped or bled properly. The former can lead to no braking at all on the first pump or two, and latter can lead to squishy feel and poor performance.

Kalud · Feb 8, 2016

Maybe train your brain to think about the electric park brake just in case (hold Park button)

SabrToothSqrl · Feb 8, 2016

last I checked on advance auto's website, the brake pads also fit the Camaro, a Jag, and a few other cars... I think even a Mazda.

so yea, they are just normal pads. easy job. hour at most. I would like to know how many miles are on your S. thanks

Lloyd · Feb 8, 2016

I'd be surprised if your pads are worn out. I drive aggressively and at 40 K miles I've used maybe 15%. Check to see if perhaps you got a pebble wedged on the side of the pad. I've seen that happen and it makes the noise you describe.

JayBoy · Feb 8, 2016

When I had 70,000 miles, I still had 6mm (out of 8mm, I think) left. I'll check again at 200,000!

MsElectric · Feb 8, 2016

What brake pads does Tesla use? Where can you purchase OEM pads at a good price to make sure you don't end up with substandard pads? Will Tesla sell pads to you?

How much would Tesla charge for replacing the brake pads?

FlasherZ · Feb 8, 2016

JayBoy said:
When I had 70,000 miles, I still had 6mm (out of 8mm, I think) left. I'll check again at 200,000!

This is the same experience with another owner here in the St. Louis area. They had only 1 mm of brake pad loss (down from 9 to 8mm) after 65k miles. Perhaps low regen and aggressive stopping styles?

Zextraterrestrial · Feb 8, 2016

I think the pads should be really really easy to replace.
like 5 minutes per wheel, maybe a bit more to get the wheel off and back on than to replace the pad

demundus · Feb 8, 2016

SabrToothSqrl said:
last I checked on advance auto's website, the brake pads also fit the Camaro, a Jag, and a few other cars... I think even a Mazda.

so yea, they are just normal pads. easy job. hour at most. I would like to know how many miles are on your S. thanks

73K and counting. Got a 80~ mile round trip daily commute

FlasherZ said:
One word of advice... after doing it, be sure you pump the brakes to set the calipers and pads properly before rolling out of that garage while holding the door just open enough to pull the door frame off the garage. Not going to say how I know that.

Hah, I'll roll into a cement wall in my alley, RIP Tesla

Lloyd said:
I'd be surprised if your pads are worn out. I drive aggressively and at 40 K miles I've used maybe 15%. Check to see if perhaps you got a pebble wedged on the side of the pad. I've seen that happen and it makes the noise you describe.

I would like to think the previous owner was gentle and knew what he was doing while driving but I can't be sure. Thus, my pads could be garbage, just need to get under and check to be sure. 73k with moderate to gentle driving on the highway would lead me down your path as well (i hope). I'll report back.

JayBoy said:
When I had 70,000 miles, I still had 6mm (out of 8mm, I think) left. I'll check again at 200,000!

I'm right around your mileage, we'll see what mine are.

rogbmw · Feb 9, 2016

You may have picked up a rock that lodged between the pad and rotor. Tesla front brakes do not have the shield on the inside as many cars do, so be sure to check that out.

SabrToothSqrl · Feb 9, 2016

I'm at 30,000 and I wonder if the inspection sheet shows pad depth... I'll see if it's in my mailbox.

ifung90 · Feb 10, 2016

no one has really answered OP's question ..

Tesla Front calipers: Same as Mitsubishi Evo 8. Find any brake pads that fit the Evo 8 and you'll be fine.

Tesla Rear calipers: 05-08 Cadillac CTS-V rear calipers. Find any brake pads that fit this model and you'll be fine.

Recommendation that I know has replacements:

1) Racingbrake.com CT500 brake pads
2) Hawks have their HPS compound for both front and rear.
3) Carbotech also have replacement pads for these two caliper types.

Now depends on if you want an aggressive or everyday compound. Racingbrake is surprisingly bang for buck.

If you're sick of the ****** brakes (without regen, they're garbage) then you can opt for an upgrade from Racingbrake to their bigger brake disc or brembo has full big brake kits available at $8000 for four.

demundus · Feb 10, 2016

ifung90 said:
no one has really answered OP's question ..

Tesla Front calipers: Same as Mitsubishi Evo 8. Find any brake pads that fit the Evo 8 and you'll be fine.

Tesla Rear calipers: 05-08 Cadillac CTS-V rear calipers. Find any brake pads that fit this model and you'll be fine.

Recommendation that I know has replacements:

1) Racingbrake.com CT500 brake pads
2) Hawks have their HPS compound for both front and rear.
3) Carbotech also have replacement pads for these two caliper types.

Now depends on if you want an aggressive or everyday compound. Racingbrake is surprisingly bang for buck.

If you're sick of the ****** brakes (without regen, they're garbage) then you can opt for an upgrade from Racingbrake to their bigger brake disc or brembo has full big brake kits available at $8000 for four.

Thank you!

I haven't been able to take the wheels off... been sick. I will report back when I do.

Cyclone · Feb 10, 2016

ifung90 said:
available at $8000 for four.

Good lord what kind of braking power do you need to pay $8k for replacements on a 2012-2014 RWD S? I have to admit that I was very happy with my $75 per axle disc brake change (+ $50 for flushing and bleeding the fluid) on my ICE!

jerry33 · Feb 10, 2016

Cyclone said:
Good lord what kind of braking power do you need to pay $8k for replacements on a 2012-2014 RWD S? I have to admit that I was very happy with my $75 per axle disc brake change (+ $50 for flushing and bleeding the fluid) on my ICE!

I think the $8k was for ceramic brakes.

out of warranty, brakes need replaced

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