Do Ceramic Brake Pads Last Longer Than Semi Metallic Brake Pads?
Reader Questions Just wondering if you could recommend what type of brake pads to put on my car. I’ve read about ceramic and regular and was just wondering if the ceramic are better or not ?
Thanks,
Ron
Hello Ron
You need to stick with what the car came with or start changing out a few parts in order to switch types of brake pads. So if your car came with Semi Metallic, you should stick with them…if it came with an Organic type of pad you should stick with it.
Semi metallic, will last longer but sometimes will squeek or make noise. Organic are softer and usually wont make noise like metallic.
Ceramic pads are designed to last as long as metallic but are as quiet as organic…they cost more, so you have to decide if the extra cost is worth it.
If you are hard on brakes, pull heavy loads or just want a beefier pad…get the ceramic. If you “just drive” like a normal person, you probably won’t get the benefit from the extra expense of ceramic brake pads.
Blessings,
Austin C. Davis
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had ceramic pads put on my honda pilot with 28,000 miles on it. just recently been hearing grinding when coming to a stop. the ceramic pads were put on 18 months ago. is this normal as I find it hard to believe that they already need to be replaced and do not drive the vehicle hard or pull anything. Also should I demand that place that installed them replace them at no cost.
That sound is a common complaint on many Japanese and small vehicles. As long as there is enough brake pad material left you might just want to learn to live with it….or have them replaced with Honda brake pads (which is what I would have used at my shop to lessen the chance of noise) or you might want to have the front brake rotors (the part the brake pads grab onto) refinished so they are good and smooth. The noise could be from a slightly out of round brake rotor or a brake rotor that needs to be “trued” or refinished to make it smooth again. Some pads are just noisy especially on the last few feet of the final stop. I would definitely go back and let the shop reinspect them to make sure they are still full of life and will not damage the rotor. Getting them replaced for free…..not sure that will happen after 18 months.