# Diesel Cruze Brake Life



## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Wow, that's pretty impressive, though I'm surprised the rear pads were worn more than the fronts, considering they don't contribute as much to the braking of the vehicle.

What kind of driving do you mainly stick to?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

MP81 said:


> Wow, that's pretty impressive, though I'm surprised the rear pads were worn more than the fronts, considering they don't contribute as much to the braking of the vehicle.
> 
> What kind of driving do you mainly stick to?


I have noticed this on a lot of vehicles of various makes in the past 10 years or so. Manufacturers have begun to bias much of the light braking effort towards the back of the car so that the nose of the car doesn't dip.

Diesel, does that rear caliper appear to be rusty or anything? Perhaps it just needs some slide lube.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

That would make sense - though that's a significant amount of wear. Solid rotor, and smaller piston, so it's definitely a possibility with those factors.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Mainly highway driving, but I do a lot in stop and go traffic so the brakes do get used regularly. I haven't noticed any abnormal rust or anything but I think i will look closer on a short-ish drive to see if the right rear brake is hotter than the left rear brake.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Do you use the emergency brake? 

It could be sticking.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Brake pad is only half the equation. I discovered a similar thing when I had to replace the front rotors on my Cruze due to heavy pulsation at around 50k miles. What I found was that the pads had cut just over 1/32" of groove into the rotor. 

Ceramic pads are great for life because they're harder and more durable than semi-metallic pads. The flipside to this is that the brake rotors wears instead. When you produce friction, something needs to wear.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Or the instance where the slides don't slide anymore and _both_ things wear...bout half a year after buying the Cav I had to replace the brakes because it was metal on metal (on one side).


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

MP81 said:


> Or the instance where the slides don't slide anymore and _both_ things wear...bout half a year after buying the Cav I had to replace the brakes because it was metal on metal (on one side).


WOW, that is some crazy brake wear!


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

MP81 said:


> Or the instance where the slides don't slide anymore and _both_ things wear...bout half a year after buying the Cav I had to replace the brakes because it was metal on metal (on one side).


Wow! Life before FNC rotors.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

The whole suspension condition looks rather ordinary, I guess it is because of salted roads.


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

I notice the diesel engine provides a considerable amount of drag when you let off the accelerator compared to most vehicles I've driven before (even other diesels). I find myself barely having to touch the brakes to slow down, even when going down hills. I find I even lose speed sometimes going down a slight decline when I let off the accelerator. I'm not surprised at the brake life at all. One less thing to replace often!


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Yep - it seems to be tuned to utilize a lot of engine braking, which is fantastic.


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## Ger8mm (Mar 13, 2014)

LiveTrash said:


> I notice the diesel engine provides a considerable amount of drag when you let off the accelerator compared to most vehicles I've driven before (even other diesels). I find myself barely having to touch the brakes to slow down, even when going down hills. I find I even lose speed sometimes going down a slight decline when I let off the accelerator. I'm not surprised at the brake life at all. One less thing to replace often!


I'm sure this had good intentions behind it but man I really hated this about the diesel, everyone I would drive around thought I was such a hard breaker.


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## Cruzator (Dec 31, 2014)

It doesn't hold back very good at highway speeds on a 7% downhill grade, even in 4th it gains speed. Not to bad if the A/C is on.


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## TX CTD (Oct 24, 2014)

Right side should wear more. When you make a left turn it is across traffic so it tends to have a longer arc and at a higher speed than a right turn where you woul almost come to a stop first before you turn.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

TX CTD said:


> Right side should wear more. When you make a left turn it is across traffic so it tends to have a longer arc and at a higher speed than a right turn where you woul almost come to a stop first before you turn.


interesting idea, but the brakes wouldn't be on at that point.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

It is interesting that in Australia it is usually the LHS brakes that wear out faster. A mechanic told me that it was because the edge of the road gets more unevenness, which makes the LHS over a period of time travel a greater distance.


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