Front brake discs....

[Watson21]

I had my front brake discs replaced in March last year (2006) and my car has gone in for its service this morning....Benfield just rang me to say your discs need replacing...they are worn.

SURELY NOT after a year and a bit! Should discs need replacing this early?? I dont do heavy breaking!!

[IainMW]

Who replaced the discs last time and how many miles have you done since then?
To answer your question brake discs should not wear out in a year unless you covered a big mileage

Are they trying to pull a fast one?

[Watson21]

I am not actually sure how many miles i have done since then. I will check on the invoice history though when i go to pick the car up.

How long should a set of discs last on the front?

I spoke to someone at Renault Customer Services and he said because it is a wear and tear item, they cant do anything about it. I told him there is no way a Genuine Renault part should last such a short amount of time, especially when they are allowing them to charge £75 an hour labour and then £100's of pounds on top of that for the actual discs.

[BurntCarcus]

Im going to have to get my replaced too but thats after 45k and its a scenic. I would imagine renault parts would have lasted longer than a year! Have you changed the pads since you got the disks on, as im sure one set of pads could not wear out a disk?

[Gav]

I dont do heavy breaking!!

If you never do any, then the disks wont keep clean, and may start to corrode, thus requiring replacement. To me the mileage of a car (on its own) cannot inform anyone how it's been used - high mileage on motorways could mean very little braking, but a city driver who only knows full acceleration and full braking will excerpt significantly more wear on the engine & brakes.

Personally I'd expect front brake disks to last at least 40k, ideally 60k, with a pad change or two.

An ex-colleague once had a similar line that the disks needed changing. He asked how much was on them, and then looked up online for that part what it would be new - and basically they'd claimed he had disks that could be new!

[Watson21]

I dont do heavy breaking!!

If you never do any, then the disks wont keep clean, and may start to corrode, thus requiring replacement. To me the mileage of a car (on its own) cannot inform anyone how it's been used - high mileage on motorways could mean very little braking, but a city driver who only knows full acceleration and full braking will excerpt significantly more wear on the engine & brakes.

Personally I'd expect front brake disks to last at least 40k, ideally 60k, with a pad change or two.

An ex-colleague once had a similar line that the disks needed changing. He asked how much was on them, and then looked up online for that part what it would be new - and basically they'd claimed he had disks that could be new!

Yeah, thanks for this. I am going to take what they have said with a pinch of salt anyway.
There is no way the discs should wear down in the same period of time as the pads. March 2006 i had front pads and discs fitted by Benfield and i havent needed to replace the pads until now, the same time as the discs apparently.

Just out of interest, does anyone know what will happen if one of your discs has a bit of "give"?? Does it have any serious effects on the car?

[AlexB]

If it is corroded or otherwise damaged, then you'll have to replace it within a very short period of time anyway. On the other hand, you don't need the main dealer to replace your brakes. Get a pair of EBC disks at £80 and install them in your back yard within half an hour.

Another point is that you may want to investigate the causes of the fault. It can be due to the previous job poorly done or a fault in a calliper. If, for example, the fluid was not changed within 2 years, it could have caused internal corrosion...

Just out of interest, does anyone know what will happen if one of your discs has a bit of "give"?? Does it have any serious effects on the car?

[Ray]

i doubt they checked. I was told this when i got my car serviced yet a few weeks before when it was in for warranty work i was told i have 50% pads left and no mention of brake disc faults on their free check! money scamming.