miab16•2d ago

Just realized those 'lifetime' ceramic pads were a total lie

I put $80 ceramic pads on my 2013 Civic last March because the auto parts guy swore they'd last 60k miles without noise. By August at 10k miles they started squealing like a pig every morning. Pulled them off and found uneven wear and glazing on the inner pad. Has anyone else had those premium pads fail way earlier than promised?

2 comments

2 Comments

garcia.casey2d ago

Read somewhere that a lot of those "lifetime" claims are based on perfect lab tests where everything is aligned and bedded in just right. In real driving the pads might not get hot enough to fully cure the ceramic material, especially if you're mostly doing short trips. The glazing and uneven wear you saw kind of fits that. Plus if the rotors weren't resurfaced or replaced when you put the new pads on, that can mess up the contact patch too.

rosebennett2d ago

I mean, maybe it's just me but $80 ceramic pads for a Civic are basically the cheapest option out there, so expecting 60k miles without a single issue is kind of a gamble from the start. The squealing could also be from not replacing the hardware or properly bedding them in, which is a super common mistake that kills pad life fast. Idk, I've run mid-tier ceramics on my own cars for years and gotten close to that mileage, so it might be more about the install than the part.