why dont the brakes on the front of the grand caravans/voyagers dont last long.i have a 1998 and i have to replace the pads 2 or 3times a yr.what kind do you use and also rotors.the pads i have is a life time replacement(usage)from autozone and they are the cheap ones.thanks

 

Well, it's either the brake pads (cheap ones) or it's the van (my '99 GC has 74,000 and I've only had to do the brakes once so far and I have tons of brake pad left still) or it's the driver or combination of everything thus stated. First, I don't recommend buying cheap brake pads. The really hard ones also run the chance of making lots of noise so pick your poison. Secondly, what kind of load(s) do you carry? I know this is rather ****, but.... I try to empty the van out as much as possible because it means less wear and tear on everything. The lighter the van is, the better the gas mileage, the longer my tires last, the longer my brakes last and so on. Hopefully, you don't drive with your left foot on the brake ever.... rookie, paranoid mistake. Terrible habit that is really hard on the car and makes the driver looks stupid as they drive down the highway @ 70mph with the brake lights on.....

But seriously folks, if you do mostly in-da-city, stop-n-go style driving, your brakes are going to not last as long anyway. I suggest kevlar brake pads. No promises on them lasting longer but they grab better. After all, the most important thing about brakes is their stopping power, isn't it?

Good luck.

 

Why are they replacing them?
- wear (they should wear for normal brake life time - mine do)
- falling apart (have had that happen, lots of thickness, but pieces broke off)
- binding on the rotar (wrong pads will do this, I have had to grind steel off of mine)

 

i have talked to other people that has a grand whatever and said their brakes dont last less than a year.also the parts guy at the dealership said they dont last long.in 99 the vans got disc on the rear and that has helped a lot from what i have heard.i do a lot of intown driving and on weekends we go to see the wifes family like 45 mins away and it is my wife and 3 kids and 1 on the way and myself

 

First set of front disk pads on my 2002 were replaced at 81,000 kms (50,000 miles). Still lots of thickness, but only a piece of a pad was left on one side (they cracked and started falling apart). The replacements I purchased were standardquality for wear, they only lasted 60,000 kms (37,000 miles), partly due to sticking calibers.
I would suggest that the following conditions need to be considered:
- Pads are low quality so that you need to return to the Installer regularily so they can find other things wrong to generate business. I have been there done that. I detest that business generating strategy and do my own brake jobs - no warranties with an agenda behind them.
- Heavy foot on the petal or riding the petal which will definitely shorten the pad life.
- Sticking calibers.
The pads can only wear when there is pressure on the rotar, they won't wear when they are floating free.
Hope this helps.