V8 Brakes - groove = replace rotors?

[3ball]

I've had a few cars with disc brakes over the years, and the standard feeling was if there is a significant groove in the rotor from pad wearing, that you should replace the rotors (instead of turning them or leaving them). The dealership said that mine looked fine, and just replaced the pads. My concern is...

Does the PCM tell me when the rotors get too thin, or is that something I should watch myself? I know there is a recommended schedule for brake service (I brake too hard too often anyway to follow it), but i'd rather be careful that stupid.

[Cayenne17]

I've had a few cars with disc brakes over the years, and the standard feeling was if there is a significant groove in the rotor from pad wearing, that you should replace the rotors (instead of turning them or leaving them). The dealership said that mine looked fine, and just replaced the pads. My concern is...

Does the PCM tell me when the rotors get too thin, or is that something I should watch myself? I know there is a recommended schedule for brake service (I brake too hard too often anyway to follow it), but i'd rather be careful that stupid.

Brakes for the cayennes are 20K

front rotors and pads on mine 700 USD 19K

[Dennis C]

I've had a few cars with disc brakes over the years, and the standard feeling was if there is a significant groove in the rotor from pad wearing, that you should replace the rotors (instead of turning them or leaving them). The dealership said that mine looked fine, and just replaced the pads. My concern is...

Does the PCM tell me when the rotors get too thin, or is that something I should watch myself? I know there is a recommended schedule for brake service (I brake too hard too often anyway to follow it), but i'd rather be careful that stupid.

Brakes for the cayennes are 20K

front rotors and pads on mine 700 USD 19K

I'm still on my original brakes at 37K miles. I do drive quite a bit on the highway, so I don't brake as often as I would in city driving. My Cayenne was in yesterday for the 40K oil change and the dealer said the brakes look fine, and that I shouldn't worry about changing them until the indicator light comes on. BTW, there are not significant grooves in my rotors.

[Dennis C]

As a follow up, I replaced all four brake pads over the Memorial Day weekend. I also replaced the sensors for all four pads. My sensors indicated the need for a change at just over 40,000 miles. Upon inspection, the front pads were both worn down to the sensors, although they both had 2 - 3 mm of material left. The rear pads had not yet hit the sensors. My rotors were still well within spec and they still looked very good, so I decided to wait until next time to replace those.

Overall, the brake pad change was a pretty simple DIY procedure. The thing that took the longest was finding a good jack point, getting the jack stands in place, etc. Cars with PASM need to have the auto-level program disabled, according to the owner's manual. I followed that procedure before I raised the car.

Once the car was in place, the hardest part was getting the caliper pins out so that I could change the pads. It wasn't too bad, just a little tricky. I used brake-kleen to clean up the parts, then things came out easier.

[3ball]

As a follow up, I replaced all four brake pads over the Memorial Day weekend. I also replaced the sensors for all four pads. My sensors indicated the need for a change at just over 40,000 miles. Upon inspection, the front pads were both worn down to the sensors, although they both had 2 - 3 mm of material left. The rear pads had not yet hit the sensors. My rotors were still well within spec and they still looked very good, so I decided to wait until next time to replace those.

Overall, the brake pad change was a pretty simple DIY procedure. The thing that took the longest was finding a good jack point, getting the jack stands in place, etc. Cars with PASM need to have the auto-level program disabled, according to the owner's manual. I followed that procedure before I raised the car.

Once the car was in place, the hardest part was getting the caliper pins out so that I could change the pads. It wasn't too bad, just a little tricky. I used brake-kleen to clean up the parts, then things came out easier.

Interesting. How much would you say you saved with the DIY? I'm not bad, but I move slowly (especially when I'm scared about breaking things that cost WAY too much to fix).

[Dennis C]

My total for all the parts was about $500. I am guessing that the dealer's service department would have charged me around $1,000 for this. I have heard that the typical dealer charge for all four brakes, including replacment rotors, is about $1,900. My understanding is that the dealer typically recommends that you change the rotors with each brake change too. My rotors looked good, so I'm glad that I missed that hit this time.

I've changed lots of brakes before, and I can say this - I am impressed with the brakes on the Cayenne S. They are 6-piston Brembo brakes in the front, and they are huge.