Front Brake Pads Worn Out Prematurely?

My question involves brakes. I have a Hyundai Sonata that had the brake pedal go to the floor recently while my wife was driving it.

Sounds like a broken brake line, had it towed to a dealer, and I was told that it was not a brake line, but the pads on the right front were down to 3% (but no metal to metal yet) and it needed a 4 wheel brake job (no
rotors needed) at a cost of $400 plus.

I have some experience with brakes, and I have never heard of worn brake pads on one wheel causing loss of brakes. Does that sound like it could be correct?

Thanks,
Dave – Westminster, MA

Howdy Dave,

I would be a little concerned that the pads are worn SIGNIFICANTLY more on the right front than the left front that would indicate a problem probably in the front brake calipers. The wear on the pads should be pretty evenly worn on the left as the right side.

Can the brake pedal fall to the floor due to worn out brake pads…..yes and no. The more the brake pad is worn down, the more brake fluid it will require to fill up the brake caliper and push the brake pads against the brake rotors. So worn out brake pads can cause a brake pedal to feel softer/lower than normal.

I would perform the brake job and pay special attention to the front brake calipers and make sure the calipers are working correctly and not sticking or anything that would cause one side to wear more than the other.

When the calipers stick you can feel the outside of each wheel after driving a few miles and one wheel will be much hotter than the others because the caliper is sticking and not releasing pressure.

Please share this with your friends,

Austin Davis