About how long do brake pads last on these cars?
 

If it matters, I have a 1999 with 4 wheel disc brakes, ABS, and 16" wheels. Just passed the 50K mile mark. I know that there are a lot of variables here!

I had an 04 Sedan GLS. That I obtained from a widow. It had a good majority of highway (casino) miles. I did discs and A/C delco pads at 77K.

I did all the maintenance items, including new tires all the way around. That car was ready to go and then my buddy's daughter needed a car and I sold it to her for what I bought it for. It was my 5th vehicle at the time so I need to gain some room.

Pat

Hold on, 3 wheels have discs and the 4th has drums? :awesome:

Brakes never last long for me. I seem to recall everyone mentioning how the n-body brakes are very short-term. Based on my experience I'd say 50k is great for this platform.

Typo. Been fixed.

That's what I thought I remembered seeing here somewhere, but I could not find the reference. So it sound like I should at least inspect them. I am not having any issues or hearing anything, just want to be a bit pro-active. These brakes work great!!! That and over the winter I did brake jobs on 2 other cars, and still have plenty of leftover brake pin grease and everything.

Next question is do the front's wear out much quicker then the backs, like on a lot of cars? I already mentioned 4 wheel discs, so that might make a difference here.

These cars come with semi-metallic or ceramic pads from the factory?

As far as I can tell (from using the internet) the OE rear brake pads are organic and the front OE pads are ceramic. Does that sound right?

Are the front brake pads the same for all Aleros?
I would think that maybe the V6 and/or 16" wheel versions might have bigger pads.

OK, I have figured out definitively that the fronts are ceramic and rears are organic. Finally got around to pulling wheels and determined that the backs are OK and the fronts need to be replaced, with the caliper piston side being mostly worn out and the other side mostly OK, so the slide pins are stuck too.

Now the question is I see more then one front pad. A "standard" and "optional". In pictures they look the same, but nothing online says if one is for the 15" wheels, vs 16" wheels, etc. And a lot of what i see is just plain wrong and I know parts listings are often wrong.

I.E. :
According to Wanger's website, I am seeing:
Wagner ZD727 - listed as Standard replacement pad Pep Boys SKU 1419032
Wagner ZD752A - listed as Optional Replacement pad Pep Boys SKU 1419175

There has got to be some difference between these two pads, that I have not figured out yet.

OK, now that I have figured that out, which is that it really doesn't matter much if you get a ZD727 or a ZD752A type which is FF rated), are the OE pads GG or FF rated?

I got 30,000 out of the brakes on my Volvo, which is a lot for me

Living in the city, I’ve gotten between 18,000 and 24,000 out of brakes

If i recall i got around 40k with the Alero.

depends how you drive it

In my case, it depends on if the caliper guide pins stick.

you could upgrade to the camero setup, bigger roter duel piston caliper, larger pads

Yes; mileage varies greatly with how you drive.
I currently have 117,000+ miles on the original front brakes on my Civic Si (I know; not the same car but the weight is comparable).
However, it is conceivable that with larger brakes, and everything else being equal, life expectancy would go up since they don't have to work as hard.