Brake Wear Light

[mudpie]

When the brake wear light came on at 23,000 miles, with no brake grinding noise, the dealer inspected the brakes and said I needed pads and rotors. Do you really need both or are they just

to make money?
Also...prices on pads and rotors?
Should you go outside the dealership to get it done?

[Wayne 962]

Wow, 23,000 miles, sounds like a short life span for brakes. Do you live on a hill somewhere, or drive the car hard?

Sounds fishy that you would need rotors. Ask him if they are covered under your warranty, since they should theoretically last much longer.

Dealer prices will be much higher than elsewhere. Because dealers HAVE to sell and install only Genuine Porsche Parts, you can pay up to 3000% more. The same parts that we sell, for instance, are made by the same manufacturers that supply to Porsche (OEM). However, they don't have Porsche's huge markup. Hence, our business thrives on people who want to install the same product without paying the markup to Porsche.

Go with whatever you feel comfortable with. Make sure that if you use a shop other than the dealer, that they are familiar with the Boxster's brake system. These are still relatively new cars...

-Wayne

[mudpie]

Yes,I live in the hills and drive hard. The dealer easily accepted that I only wanted pads and not rotors.

Do you always hear grinding when you need rotors? I did not hear grinding.

[Blackster]

In my experience, some shops (dealers included) prefer to install new rotors to make some more money, and also to ensure a perfect brake job. With new rotors, the new pads bed in quicker, because they don't have to wear in conformity to a worn rotor.

I never replace rotors on my cars unless they are deeply grooved (can be caused by driving on sandy roads) or warped. Warpage is often caused by abusive driving--very hard brake application followed by keeping the brake applied after stopping.

[Wayne 962]

You can also have your rotors turned (a lost art in some places) to ensure that you get a level and smooth braking surface.

-Wayne