# 2018 Cruze Brake Pads/Rotors



## smsudi (Feb 11, 2021)

Hi all,

I will start off by saying, I am not a car person what-so-ever. I do love this car, and it gets me where I need to go reliably. I had to pop in to a local Jiffy Lube to get an oil change yesterday, and as they do, they do a full inspection. Basically they came out saying everything was fine EXCEPT my front brake pads "need attention soon" and my rear brake pads "need service now."

About 7,000 miles ago when I had brought my car into a Chevy dealer, the brakes were fine. I am at about 28,500 miles right now. Does this seem too soon for my rear brake pads to need replacement? Basically, should I not be trusting Jiffy Lube and get a 2nd opinion? Also, I'd like to avoid having to replace the rotors too since money is very tight right now.

Thank you for your help. It was awesome to see there's a whole website dedicated to the car I have!

Also for reference, I do mostly highway driving. In the 7,000 miles I drove from June until now, I made a 1,000-mile cross-country trip 2x, plus I routinely drive 2ish hours to get to work (and another 2ish back) in different parts of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. The only city driving I do is basically just getting to the highway each time I go out.

-Scott


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## 6Speed2016LT (Jun 14, 2016)

I can tell you this much....At around 40,000 Kms, 30,000 miles or so, my rear rotors were SHOT, rusted beyond repair. It almost looked like they were bubbled so to speak, I know there is a name for this I just cant remember what it is....The pads were only making a very thin patch of contact with the rotor, and of course they were also completely distorted/destroyed. Back in the day I do not remember this happening to a newish car, I firmly believe now you need to perform caliper maintenance more frequently....lube the sliders with proper material (Syl Glyde) for example...

Jason


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## 6Speed2016LT (Jun 14, 2016)

This is what they looked like...surprisingly, the replacement Wagner rotors have not suffered the same issue..


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## goochman (Mar 20, 2015)

30k I think is too soon for factory rotors/pads to be bad. Normally the OEM stuff lasts a good while - 50k+ but there are always outliers and if you are a heavy braker then that could come into play.

I think Jiffy Lube was just looking for business.


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## 6Speed2016LT (Jun 14, 2016)

goochman said:


> 30k I think is too soon for factory rotors/pads to be bad. Normally the OEM stuff lasts a good while - 50k+ but there are always outliers and if you are a heavy braker then that could come into play.
> 
> I think Jiffy Lube was just looking for business.



Mine was all OEM, granted I did not do any "caliper maintenance" so to peak, but yeah, you can see the pic above...


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## smsudi (Feb 11, 2021)

goochman said:


> 30k I think is too soon for factory rotors/pads to be bad. Normally the OEM stuff lasts a good while - 50k+ but there are always outliers and if you are a heavy braker then that could come into play.
> 
> I think Jiffy Lube was just looking for business.


I also haven't noticed any issue with my brakes recently. I'm going to pay close attention the next few days as I have a few road trips to make.

Might be worth it for me to have another shop do an inspection, and see if I get a conflicting diagnosis. I'd rather spend $50 to get them looked at, then drop $300 for replacements obviously when I might not need them yet.


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## smsudi (Feb 11, 2021)

I wouldn't say I'm a heavy braker either. I'm usually driving on the highways during non-traffic times....so I'm cruising at 65-70 most of the time. Perks of working in sports, I don't have to work weekday mornings, haha


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## 6Speed2016LT (Jun 14, 2016)

smsudi said:


> I also haven't noticed any issue with my brakes recently. I'm going to pay close attention the next few days as I have a few road trips to make.
> 
> Might be worth it for me to have another shop do an inspection, and see if I get a conflicting diagnosis. I'd rather spend $50 to get them looked at, then drop $300 for replacements obviously when I might not need them yet.


Brakes are the EASIEST way for a shop to make a quick buck, so always get a second opinion....

Cheers,


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## smsudi (Feb 11, 2021)

6Speed2016LT said:


> Brakes are the EASIEST way for a shop to make a quick buck, so always get a second opinion....
> 
> Cheers,


Of course now if I go somewhere and say I want my brakes looked at, what's stopping them from also....fudging the truth?


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

That mile is a bit low however with aggressive braking it can happen and get worn down.


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## Maqcro1 (Apr 29, 2019)

smsudi said:


> Of course now if I go somewhere and say I want my brakes looked at, what's stopping them from also....fudging the truth?


jiffy lube doesn’t exactly have the most qualified employees. jiffy lube doesn’t even offer any type of brake service as it’s too much of a liability to the company. They shouldn’t have even been looking at your brakes to begin with. but with that being said, whoever did check your brakes was probably being honest about your brakes. I would get another opinion from someone or someplace that you can trust.


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## smsudi (Feb 11, 2021)

Maqcro1 said:


> jiffy lube doesn’t exactly have the most qualified employees. jiffy lube doesn’t even offer any type of brake service as it’s too much of a liability to the company. They shouldn’t have even been looking at your brakes to begin with. but with that being said, whoever did check your brakes was probably being honest about your brakes. I would get another opinion from someone or someplace that you can trust.


They do actually do brake service now, or at least the ones here in Chicago do. I didn't really realize that either until now. I drove 150 miles today, and didn't feel or hear any noticeable issue. Obviously that doesn't mean anything for sure, but I will be getting another opinion before I agree to any service. Jiffy Lube's price quote was very high anyways, so I wasn't thinking about having them do it.


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## Maqcro1 (Apr 29, 2019)

smsudi said:


> They do actually do brake service now, or at least the ones here in Chicago do. I didn't really realize that either until now. I drove 150 miles today, and didn't feel or hear any noticeable issue. Obviously that doesn't mean anything for sure, but I will be getting another opinion before I agree to any service. Jiffy Lube's price quote was very high anyways, so I wasn't thinking about having them do it.


Interesting. Must be new service. I haven’t been to one in years. I worked at one while I was in college and maybe it was my location but based on what I experienced, I can’t recommend anyone to go there for service.

also knowing jiffy lube, their service adviser is incentivized to push sales at all costs. Even if the customer doesn’t need the service done just push it on them. Especially engine flush, coolant flush, and transmission


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## BigRed1979 (Feb 12, 2021)

smsudi said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I will start off by saying, I am not a car person what-so-ever. I do love this car, and it gets me where I need to go reliably. I had to pop in to a local Jiffy Lube to get an oil change yesterday, and as they do, they do a full inspection. Basically they came out saying everything was fine EXCEPT my front brake pads "need attention soon" and my rear brake pads "need service now."
> 
> ...


I always get a second opinion before i pay to have it fixed, especially if i can drive it to their shop, i tell them i have to go home and make a phone call for the money, the shop is usually too busy to question otherwise


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## Striper1 (May 7, 2020)

I wouldn't trust the opinion of Jiffy Lube. Not known for the best quality service, including changing oil. I've got a 2015 LTZ with 95,000 miles and the rear rotors are in good original condition, not needing replacement yet. Though I am doing front brakes this weekend. Powerstop pads and d/s zinc coated rotors. Look excellent. I'll do it myself.


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## smsudi (Feb 11, 2021)

UPDATE: Went to the Chevy Dealer in town today. Brakes are totally fine. 8mm up front. 7mm in back. They suspect that the Jiffy Lube mechanics saw rust (due to all the snow we've got and my car sits for most of the week, I really only go anywhere 2-3 days/week).

Thanks for the help everyone. I may have made a stupid decision otherwise.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

smsudi said:


> UPDATE: Went to the Chevy Dealer in town today. Brakes are totally fine. 8mm up front. 7mm in back. They suspect that the Jiffy Lube mechanics saw rust (due to all the snow we've got and my car sits for most of the week, I really only go anywhere 2-3 days/week).
> 
> Thanks for the help everyone. I may have made a stupid decision otherwise.


You should learn how to change at least the front rotors and pads yourself. It is easily an hour job, at least after the first time. Buy some lifetime pads and high carbon rotors, a small container of grease from say Autozone, a jack and jack stands and a 4" c-clamp from harbor freight. That investment will be paid off after the second brake job you do.

How-To: Change the Front Brake Pads on a Gen II - video from the net


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## smsudi (Feb 11, 2021)

Blasirl said:


> You should learn how to change at least the front rotors and pads yourself. It is easily an hour job, at least after the first time. Buy some lifetime pads and high carbon rotors, a small container of grease from say Autozone, a jack and jack stands and a 4" c-clamp from harbor freight. That investment will be paid off after the second brake job you do.
> 
> How-To: Change the Front Brake Pads on a Gen II - video from the net


thanks haha but I’m good. I’m a sports broadcaster, I’ll talk sports with you and help you fix your audio and video equipment though.


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## marmalou (Dec 30, 2020)

smsudi said:


> thanks haha but I’m good. I’m a sports broadcaster, I’ll talk sports with you and help you fix your audio and video equipment though.


what sport(s) do you call?


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## smsudi (Feb 11, 2021)

marmalou said:


> what sport(s) do you call?


I call many different college sports. In normal times it's soccer and volleyball in the fall (unfortunately I've been out of the college football broadcast loop for a few years.) Winter it's basketball, used to do hockey too. Spring it's lacrosse, baseball, softball. Throw in some wrestling, tennis, gymnastics as well... I kinda do it all.


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## BDCCruze (Jul 12, 2017)

smsudi said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I will start off by saying, I am not a car person what-so-ever. I do love this car, and it gets me where I need to go reliably. I had to pop in to a local Jiffy Lube to get an oil change yesterday, and as they do, they do a full inspection. Basically they came out saying everything was fine EXCEPT my front brake pads "need attention soon" and my rear brake pads "need service now."
> 
> ...


I have 150k miles on the the factory brake pads. You are probably fine.

The line "everything is fine, except for" is their way of sounding trustful to get you for something, rather than the oil change which they make almost nothing on.

If you do in fact need brakes, they should be able to show you the measurement. There are tools that even a novice can read, which are green/yellow/red that have a thickness that corresponds to good/warning/bad. The pad thickness will match up to one of those colors.

There is a conflict of interest in these shops because they don't make money if they don't sell things, so asking them if you should buy something ... well think about it. It's really hard to find a truly honest car mechanic, but I can say without a doubt, Jiffy Lube is not that place. The guys at the counter are paid a low wage and make bonuses on everything they sell. You would be better off with either a dealer or a Google 4.5 star or higher rated independent shop where the owners name is out there for you to see. I normally wouldn't recommend a dealer, but at least with Chevrolet, dealers bend over backwards to get a 10 star review from service or else Chevrolet starts cracking down on them.


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## jcountry (May 30, 2017)

6Speed2016LT said:


> This is what they looked like...surprisingly, the replacement Wagner rotors have not suffered the same issue..
> 
> View attachment 290705


Road salt will do that. Higher quality rotors with zinc will help


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