Hi My rotors are down to 3 mm (about .12 in) - which means new rotors and pads.. I have 83,000 km (51570 miles) 2018 Touring; is this normal wear? Thanks John
Normal for who? Driving all highway miles is different from stop and go using mostly regen. If you are heavy on the brake pedal (ahem my wife) that also impacts obviously. I have same mileage and not close to replacement.
I'm not sure what you are measuring, but a rotor thickness of 0.12" is inconceivable. This is how a rotor is measured, and it would be impossible to get down to 0.12" and have anything left at all ! Some have reported excessive rust on the rotors causing noise and a desire to replace them, but I would be very surprised if a Clarity rotor would be "worn out" at 50K miles. I believe even the pads should last much longer than this unless you are VERY heavy-footed on the brake. The regeneration does wonders to extend the life of pads and rotors.
Rotors, or pads, are down to 3mm? Pad replacement doesn’t always require rotor replacement. Are you self-diagnosing or getting this misinformation from an expert?
Hi interesting and thanks for the feedback - Landshark - a respected mechanic and he 'showed' me - 2 were not too bad but one was visibily thinner I think he measured thickness of one of the plates - not the total - as said 3 mm would not a rotor make. also he noted that the brake fluid was a little low - probably due to the more movement required of the pads. ... not imminent but recommended change within next 10K km. Didn't think I was hard on brakes; drive to work and back - country roads and town ... and yes Mr Fixit - I also thought that regen would make brake wear much less.. but the tires were off and I could see the rotors. And yes they do badly rust just looking at them sideways . Mechanic not looking for business; but his price is reasonable $400 Cnd for 4 incl install (about $300USD)
My 2018 has 33k miles. Had oil changed today. The inspection form attached to the invoice shows front brakes at 10mm and rear brakes at 9mm.
Very interesting ... I remember numbers somewhat like that 2 years ago... and then David's 60,000 miles with only 10% used. It seems 'highly' variable and as I have had a number of vehicles with 20,000 miles a year in general and almost no brake service/issues it is weird that the Clarity with regeneration should have them nearly worn out.. wonder if it is different rotors/pads on different vehicles? To add for Landshark - it is the rotors that are worn down - and I wasn't clear... Riley (mechanic) showed me the rotors/measurements so I know - and also strange that driver rear wheel was the worst - and dirtiest by a long way too... ah well - nothing serious and definitely 1st world problem
That has me wondering if the parking brake may have not been fully releasing. Usually the rotor wins the rotor v pad war.
Mine was less than 30,000 miles when I replaced the front brake rotor and pads. Not worn out but corroded. Not sure how the corrosion happened.
Because of regenerative braking the biggest problem is usually not enough friction braking and rust forming on the rotors. I wonder if the use of road salt in Canada makes this problem worse. However the excessive wear of just one rear rotor suggests that the parking brake is not releasing. But you would think that would wear out the pads before wearing out the rotor. Perplexing problem. We have had electric cars in our family since 2012 and have yet to replace any brake pads. The regen braking makes the friction brakes last forever.
I have only 14K miles on my nearly 5-year old Clarity--the corrosion occured in year one and in my case it is certainly due to disuse. I had the rotors turned 3 years ago, but they rusted up again right away while the Clarity sat waiting for its next long trip (the only reason we have the car). The dealer's service department says turning the rotors a second time will reduce them to the minimum acceptable width so I declined. So on last weekend's rare long trip, I had the unpleasant experience of hearing the swish-swish-swish sound of the rusted brakes whenever I wasn't on the expressway. Fortunately, the irritating sound isn't audible at expressway speeds. I frequently wonder if there are aftermarket rotors for the Clarity that won't rust in the garage, but I haven't found any that advertise that feature. However, I'd wonder if "rustproof" rotors could stop the heavy Clarity as quickly as the OEM rotors.
I did a quick check on Rockauto and they do sell rotors that are coated to help prevent rust. But they are a bit more expensive, about $40 to $60. BTW, GM is working on aluminum rotor for their upcoming Caddy EV. 100% sure that won't have rust problem. And it is suppose to be able to go over 500 miles per charge.
The aluminum rotors will help compensate for the weight of the 500-mile battery. Still a ton and a half lighter than a Hummer EV.
Considering that the electric motor is heavily involved in slowing the vehicle, one might conclude that race car quality friction brakes wouldn’t be necessary on a mid-sized sedan that has regenerative braking capability. Honda may have made a metallurgical miscalculation when they designed the rotors. Have you had premature failure of rotors on other vehicles?
It's interesting that some of us are seeing this rotor rust issue and some are not. I haven't had any issues with rust here in Alabama. I'm suspicious that it is salt related to winter conditions that we don't see here in the south. My brakes have nearly 36,000 miles on them and I'll bet that they won't need anything until nearly 200k, which means unless something changes that they will probably last longer than I own the car.
