Question-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
Hello, our 2004 Freelander with 23k miles still under warranty, needs new brakes. Land Rover wanted to charge us $600 for new front brake pads and rotors, even though our vehicle is still under warranty. We have only had it serviced at the dealer and never missed a scheduled maintenance. Needless to say we were very upset, and decided to do them ourselves.
We were planning on having the rotors turned, since they do not look that bad at all. Is there any reason we should not get the rotors turned and just buy new ones?
We have been looking at Mintex, Raybestos, and Genuine Land Rover brake pads and rotors. Are any of these better than the others? What ones do you suggest, and if not any of these, then which brand do you suggest? Also do you know what company makes Land Rover's brake pads and rotors? Thank you for your time and any help is greatly appreciated.
Answer -
Hi Matt,
yes, it does seem strange to see new rotors for a car with only 23K miles. Are you sure you need new rotors? Its true that brakes would not come under warranty...unless they are obviously faulty. In this case, they have worn down prematurely. You may be able to argue this but your success would be in front of a judge and not the service manager.
You should consider having your brakes examined by another shop. Take your Freelander to a Midas or Mieneke (?) and have them inspect the brakes and rotors. Say nothing about what the dealer has suggested.
If the rotors are scarred, yes you should have them turned. IF NOT, don't. It may be that you only need new pads.
As for parts, I like Raybestos and AC-Delco parts. Both are made by the same company (Dana Corp)*. The parts are inexpensive and well made. All the brands you mentioned are made within the same OEM standards set down by LR.
As for who makes LR brake parts, I'm not sure. My guess would be either Dana or Bendix.
Visit the AC-Delco website and look up your vehicle. I did a quick search and found ACDelco Part # 14788B for your Freelander pads. Double check this to be sure.
Just make sure the pads are the same as the originals. THE newer cars may use ceramic pads while my older Disco uses semi-metallic pads. AC-Delco has both.
BY the way, Raybestos and AC-Delco share the same supplier...at least here in Canada.
Best of luck.
JohnMc
NB: make sure to thoroughly clean your calipers. I don't understand how your rotors could be that worn and need replacement. I hope its not the case. IF SO...could be your caliper is seizing OR you have some trouble with the Master C (falls under warranty I think).
* I think Dana Corp was purchased by another global auto parts corporation. There are only a handful of them.
Hi John, thank you for all your help. We decided to go with the genuine dealer brake pads because we were told by the dealer that if we did not use their brake pads then the ABS light and other brake lights would come on and off. So, we just bought them from them. We got them yesterday and when we came home we began to take of the rotors to go see if we could get them turned. When we took off what I think is part of the caliper we noticed one of the little rubber release boots was frozen solid and would not move. Also the inside brake pad was worn down to the metal, and the rotor was completely scraped up. The other side of the rotor was fine, and so is the brake pad on that side. We then stopped work knowing this is not suppossed to happen and that it should be covered by LR's wrranty. We went the LR dealership this morning with the bad part and its corressponding brake pads and showed them the problem. One of the brake pads was worn all the way down to the metal, and the other one still had some pad left on it. So it was obvious there was a problem and they did not wear evenly. We thought it was an obvious thing to see, but Land Rover told us that the broken part is suppossed to have one spring that is looser than the other, which would account for the uneven wear. We were very surprised to hear that they did not see the problem and would not warranty it. They then said they would like to see the brake pads from the other side of the car. So we came back home and and took off the caliper and brake pads off of the other side, and the caliper springs worked fine, and the brake pads were both evenly worn with still enough pad on them for another couple thousand miles. We then decided to call another dealership's service department to see what they had to say. We ended up calling the dealership in Brimingham Alabama. We talked to a service guy up there and he told us that the springs are not suppossed to be at different tensions, and that brake pads are suppossed to wear closely the same to each other, and that everything should be covered under the LR warranty. He said that he has seen this caliper problem a couple time before on other 2004 Freelanders at his dealership. He also told us that even though LR does not warranty brakes, that his dealership has replaced both brake pads and rotors due to the caliper being bad, all covered by LR's warranty. We then felt confident that when we brought the other brake pads to the dealership here, that they would have no problem seeing that the caliper was bad and the other brake pads on the driver's side of the vehicle wore how they were suppossed to. We spoke to the manager of the service department at LR North Scottsdale and showed him the driver's side brake pads. He then measured them with a little tool to see how much tread they have left on them. They were low and we knew that, but they wore evenly, unlike the otherside. He said that since they are low and it is time to change them anyway, that it is all normal wear and they are not warranteed. Needless to say we were very upset, and could not understand how this guy can stand in front of us and say that our brake pads look like normal wear, when one brake pad on the passenger side is worn to the metal and all of the others still have a substantial amount of tread left on them. We then told him we spoke with the service department at the Alabama dealership, and were advised that our brakes were not suppossed to wear like that, and due to a bad caliper release, they should be warranteed. The manager we were talking to then told us to have the vehicle towed to his dealership and he will have some LR shop specialist look at the car on friday. The only good thing out of this so far is that they gave us a LR freelander loaner car instead of having us rent something from Hertz. When we got home we called a tow truck company here in our town and made an appointment to have them pick up our car at 7:30 on friday morning, and to take it down to the dealership. That is where we stand as of now. I cannot believe we have gone through this much trouble so far over something that is obviously a defective LR part. If for some reason they do not change their mind and stick with that it is not covered under warranty, would I just call the headquarters and complain to them about this, or would I call someone else? Also do you have any advice for us about any of this? Thank you very much for your time and I really do appreciate all of your help.
Matt
AnswerHi Matt,
so you've found out why some LR owner's dread going to the dealership. Run away from the dealership that lied to you about the premature wear of your brakes. Unless you ride your brakes all the time, 23K miles is very strange.
By all means go to the dealership in Brimingham Alabama. Word of advice, next time you confront a service manager, never tell him where you got your information. Some of these guys should be back out front selling used vehicles to teenagers. Real scum. Keep your sources to yourself and just state the facts. Contact your states consumer protection service or state attorney if you feel you're being cheated. Mention this as your final option if the service manager is unwilling to cooperate.
LRNA will hear your complaint but, so far, they do very little more than the dealership.
Finding the right dealership is very important. This one in Brimingham, Alabama sounds good. Keep on your gaurd though. You don't want to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire!
What could happen here is that LR could replace the calipers under warranty. From where I'm sitting, you've got either caliper problems OR the master cylinder has problems. Could it be hydraulic pressure problems? Not sure.
Most likely, its caliper related. A piston is seizing up on one side and thus the uneven wear. Down to the metal on one side and very little wear on the other side, is a clear sign of caliper seized problems. Believe me, I know!
Well, thanks for the followup and I wish you luck with this. New calipers are very expensive and I hope your warranty covers them. IF not, consider buying a rebuild kit (new pistons and seals) for a fraction of the price of new calipers. By the sounds of it, you're a DIY'er who can rebuild your calipers.
Best of luck,
JohnMc
NB: I've heard of the North Scottsdale dealership, someone else once wrote about this dealership.
