Replacement brake pads

Plan to replace OEM front brake pads on the Camry soon. AutoZone top pads are ceramic, cost $50. Reviews say that the pins and clips that come with the pads are too small; they had to re-use the factory pins and clips.

NAPA has ceramic pads for $54, but no reviews. Guess they are worth the extra $4?

I replaced the original pads on the Tundra with NAPA ceramic pads; they now have twice the mileage of the original OEM pads and still have 90% wear left.

At the shop I worked at we always used a medium priced rotor with thwe top line pads , that combo seemed to outlast any other combination. Go for the extra 4$.

..another thought is that for $4 you will save yourself a lot of work , messing and tinkering to get those clips and pins to work. I used to do trailer brakes for a fleet and it was cheaper to buy the entire brake assembly than to rebuild one. It also saved hours of labour because 4 bolts and two wire splices had a brand new brake assembly on the trailer. You'll be glad you spent the four bucks !

How many miles are on your brakes now ? Have you checked with Toyota ? The pads for my Honda were about $ 50.00 from Honda and the originals made it 67,000 miles. Wife's Nissan CUBE has 90,000 on the original brakes ! It's got to be due.

Auto zone has life time warranty Napa don't if you keep your cars for a long time

The pads I just put on my F150 from NAPA have lifetime warranty.You better check again.

I've always had better quality from napa than autozone.

I always find it interesting how many miles people get out of their brakes. On my 06 Dodge 3/4 ton, I had 165000 when I changed the brakes. I would guess over 100,000 of those miles were pulling a trailer, and about half of those miles the trailer brakes weren't working.
When I was mechanicing, I saw a number of vehicles that needed brakes at less then 50,000 miles.
All in how and where we drive.

Replaced the pads on our Escape last weekend. Had put the Autozone ceramic pads on years ago. Around 100,000 miles. Just take the old ones back and they give you new ones after verifying the original purchase with a receipt or computer.

I have used the Auto Zone economy; I believe the name is Albany and never had a problem and always finished wearing out the car.
These were on vehicles that I had bought new and the pads were put on the old rotors that were still smooth. I am easy on brakes and live in the country where I may travel several miles between stops. The cheap pads also have the warranty if needed.

NAPA pads for my 2003 F-250. Changed out front and rear OEM's after 100k miles.

I have always said using your brakes is wasting money! But I am lucky most of our driving is out in the country with very little traffic, I can coast 1/4 mile to the stop sign without pi$$ing anyone off! I have only changed about 2 sets of brakes in my lifetime, and I'm 63!

Just replaced the brakes and front rotors on our Rendavous. Had new tires put on and they said the brakes needed replaced and shouldn't be driven more than a month. Got new front rotors and pads from Auto Zone. I don't know who they got there brake info from. I could have driven 5 more years on what was left. I already had the parts and to keep the wife happy I changed them. I did get the front ones replaced free. The back ones I had got from some where else. Changed them in 2011 and Auto Zone had the record. I had put the economy ones on before and to much brake dust so I replaced them with OEM grade. A few parts and a hour of work and wife is happy.

I have tried different quality brake pads including ceramic. I can get maybe 30,000 miles on a set of pads. To many mountains/hills in my area.

I found ceramic pads did not last as good as the regulars and also ate up the rotors. And I was with my driving averigeing 2-3 stops per mile I was replacing pads at least every 3 weeks. 2 sets of ceramic and that was it. No more.

I use the OEM recommended type of material that was originally was used...

Ceramic has come along ways I see it used more as a OEM pad...
I got to test them out in the mid 80's my supplier gave a me a set for all my vehicles I bit the hook, THEY WERE JUNK...

I have been using OEM spec Ceramic more in the last few years. I don't think OEM would use them if the EPA was not pushing for a band on other normally used type of pad materials.

My number one choice would be Bendix BUT my supplier sold there sole to the lowest bidder and Wagner is there top of the line pad... I do about 50 brake jobs a year it was rare to have any type of complaint using Bendix I tried Wagner I can not handle the comeback issues :evil:

I now normally use Advance Wearever Gold they have served me well. If its a chevy truck I use NAPA top tear pads (Chebby brakes suck) ... NAPA lifetime warranty is worthless on anything... Truth Be know there is no lifetime warranty on ware its a defect and material warranty IT DOES NOT COVER WARE...
If you find a Napa store that will warranty brakes because they wore out patronize them they are looking after you... I have had quite a few shop owners praise Raybestos brakes ( I think They make Top tear NAPA brakes) I did not deal with a supplier that offered them but always wanted to...

If my Supplier would stock more than just a few Akebono pads its all I would use... They are the Cadillac of brake pads I could throw away my file no need to custom fit like I have to on all the other brands... You pay for them but they are worth it...

Not only do I file and fit the pads to the mount I use BG brake Stop Squeal on pads and shoes (all of them) life is good...

There is more to it than hang'N a set of pads..
http://www.motor.com/article.asp?article_ID=2330

I always go for the midrange pads. If the rotors are chewed up I just replace them. Can't find anyone to turn old ones anymore. As for miles it really is about the driver. When I started dating my ex her car failed inspection so I replaced pads and rotors. A year later it failed again. I was thinking dang these pads are junk, then one day she picked me up someplace. It was the first time I rode and she drove. It was OMG slow down before you get to the light/stop sign. Big fight "don't tell me how to drive" while we were married I did her brakes every year. I just did the second set on my truck at 300K. We live in the country and like others have said, you can drive 20 miles to town and hit the brakes two or three times.

I use primarily ceramic pads. I buy pads that have replacement hardware and I usually have to "fit" the pads in the brackets. You don't want the pads binding or too loose where they ride. I also don't skimp on aftermarket pads.

I have had folks come up while I had a caliper bracket mounted in a vice rubbing/shin'N/fit'N/lube'N they state I did my own but I did not do'dat :shock:

When you do your own hang'N I guess you can live with the issues its different when you do it for the money if you want to keep your customers happy...

There are still a few problem vehicles out there as you know that rubbing/shin'N/fit'N/lube'N is of not much help... Its only new one time unless you do all you can do to put it back to good as new its not going to function are last as long as new...

I cut my teeth doing brake jobs years ago. Worked as a brake mechanic right after we were arcing shoes. Brakes brakes brakes for over ten years. I tell my students most mechanics can get a decent pedal but the REAL sign of a good brake mechanic is low combacks (in other words noise). Noise used to be their worst enemy with the semi mettalics and we figured ways to stop noise ( lubing caliper brackets, "adjusting anti-rattle clips", brake quiet, bending over the ears on GM products. Most GM problems were caused by, in my opinion, poor design of the slides especially on early rear disc. Now we have ceramic and less noise. Problem is a lot of "tech's" think they can skimp now because their job is quieter. Shameful. I'll get off my soapbox.

It's amazing the difference that driving style makes. It makes sense of course, but it still surprises me sometimes just how much of a difference.

My wife and I sometimes swap vehicles for a while. That's when I really noticed it.

I'm very light on the brakes - I slow down to a stop very gradually. She'll come up to a stop sign and then get on the brakes hard to stop at the last second.

I'm constantly doing brakes for whatever vehicle she's driving.

My trailers aren't small either. 26ft stock trailer, and a 30 foot flatbed. We aren't in the mountains, and yes I can coast for a 1/4 mile also.