Rear brake pads wear out every 30000 miles on 2002 3/4 tod hd , rotors are pitted bad

About Brake Pad Replacement Please note: Pricing shown is for either front brakes or rear brakes. Made of ceramic, organic or metallic material, brake pads squeeze against the brake disc rotors to slow the vehicle down. Every time you apply the brakes, the pads wear down a tiny bit. Eventually a wear indicator starts squeaking to tell you it's time to replace the brake pads. It's always better to replace the pads before they start squeaking, to avoid damaging the brake rotors. A mechanic can check brake pad thickness during a tire rotation or other service. The number of miles you can go before replacing the brake pads really depends on your driving style.
Total Estimate
Parts
$90 - $108
Labor
$137 - $161

wonder if the rotors are too slim. If this happens the brakes get too hot as the rotor radiates away the heat. If too hot the brakes could wear out faster.

wearing in,normal

The way in which a car has driven has a very direct impact on how long brake pads will last before they have to be replaced. For example, if you spend most of your time driving long distances on the highway, you're using your brakes much less often than in stop and go urban driving. I have seen cars that need brake jobs every 75,000 miles; I've seen similar cars, with different drivers and different driving routines, go 25,000 miles between brake jobs.

I would not be surprised at all if the front brake pads (and possibly rotors) of your Accord needed to be replaced at 60k miles of typical mixed driving. I am, however, somewhat surprised that your rear brakes need service at this point. The front brakes of a car typically provide much more of a car's stopping power than the rear brakes (it's a physics thing), and so they generally wear much more quickly than the rear brakes. All that said, I recently had to replace the rear brake pads and rotors of a 2002 Passat that had only 51,000 miles on the odometer. This car's pads were worn down to the metal, and one of the rotors was badly scored. Upon speaking with the owner of the car, though, things made slightly more sense. First, the car was equipped with a very active ABS braking system, which decreases front wheel braking and increases rear wheel braking depending on road conditions. As a result, the rear brakes of that car were used much more heavily than in the "average" car. Second, and more obviously, the owner admitted to forgetting to release her parking brake several times before driving off, sometimes going several miles before realizing her mistake. The emergency brake system on most cars engages the rear brakes, and driving off with those brakes still on will put a huge amount of wear on those pads in a very short distance.

One final, distant, thought is that it's possible that your rear calipers have gotten "sticky" and are not fully releasing after they have been engaged. Accumulated moisture on the brake pistons and piston channel walls can leave rust spots that hang up piston travel, leading to this condition. At the same time, it would be unusual for both brakes on the same axle to develop this problem at the same time--this typically happens one brake caliper at a time, and you notice the condition when you car begins pulling to one side when you brake or even after you release your brakes.

The front brakes are good at 30000 mile intervals ,because they do most of the stopping power. 50 to 60000 miles is about normal on the rear brakes. The most common ailment with rear brakes is the emergency brake not releasing. The cables for the emergency brake run under the jeep ,along the frame and rust keeps them from releasing

The brake pads are well within a good long life. Brake wear life depends on a number of factors, the most significant is the driver. Most people feel that they are easy on brakes and that is usually not true...

Rotors are damaged by: normal wear; waiting too long for pads and damage from metal to metal contact; and HEAT. Heat damages rotors and causes them to warp. Cars now days have less material on the rotors and therefore they have shorter life.

On some vehicles it is only slightly more to replace rotors, versus resurfacing them. A resurfaced rotor has less material, so warping happens faster.....Some shops just routinely replace rotors, rather than resurface for just this reason.

Other shops routinely replace calipers, which can be agrued either way, but a caliper that hangs slightly will cause rotor warp. My preference is to replace calipers when they need it, by leaking or binding....

The brake rotors should only be machined (buffed) if they are warped, rust pitted or grooved. The thinner they are the less effective the braking.

The rear brakes should last from 30000 to 60000 miles or 50000 to 100000 kms. So something is wearing out your brakes too fast. Are you doing the work or some shop. I also assume you have discs and not drums since you mention pads and calipers. I am not certain but usually you need a tool to turn the pistion in when putting in new pads. I would make sure the pads are releasing properly by raising rear of car, stepping on brakes a few times (with engine off and try see if wheels are free by spinning by hand, also try to use handbrake a few times and release it and see if wheels spin freely. Maybe rears always applied. Notice burning smell, are discs glazed from heat? Are you using really cheap pads. Also check the proportioning valve which will decrease pressure to rear brakes during hard braking. Do you notice rear wheels squeling during hard braking. Do you have antilock brake system? Also are you using good quality pads and rotors.

BMW rotors are not known for lasting very much more than 30-45k miles. When the brakes are inspected, they measure the pads using a special tool threw the outer brake pad. Min spec is 3mm. When the pads are replaced, they measure the thickness of the rotors. The rotor spec is stamped on the rotor. if they are under that spec, they recommend replacing them as well. Next time you bring it in for service, just ask them to measure the rotor thinkness, (its not a huge task, all they have to do is take the wheels off). But more often than not, the rotors wear just as fast as the pads.

emergency brake cable may not have been adjusted properly or emergency brake may have been partially engaged without brake light indicating such. Check brake release handle, if it makes no noise as to indicate realease, then it would have to be the e brake adjustment or frozen brake cylanders that when brakes are applied the pressure presses the shoes against the drums but does not release pressure, could be bad cylanders but not likely on both sides at the same time.