# Mitsubishi Outlander Brakes



## Jaaawohl (Oct 26, 2005)

My 2003 Outlander has 34000 miles and we are working on the 3rd set of front brakes.Dealer says its the drivers fault but this car is just a daily driver and the only car we have that has required any brake work before 50000miles so we do not see how it can be driver fault.This has been a problem since new with the brakes wearing down about every 10000 miles.Any help or similar problems would be appreciated.
Thanks


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## JamesO (Mar 30, 2005)

If the calipers are not hanging up, then I would say the problem is the driving conditions and/or the driver.

Brake pads are a wear item and are ment to wear out. How quickly they wear out usually has something to do with the way the vehicle is used. If someone is located in a rural area with not much traffic, then the brake pads typically last longer. If the car is driven in stop and go traffic, the brake probably wear out quicker. 

A few questions that need to be answered which might yield some clues.
1. Do the brake pads wear evenly? Or does just the inner or outer pad wear out?
2. How many drivers does this car have? Are any teenage kids driving?
3. Does a driver use 2 feet to drive, 1 for the gas, 1 for the brake?
4. It your location overly hot? hilly? stop and go city traffic?
5. Do you tow with the vehicle or carry a lot of weight on a regular basis?
6. Does the car have an automatic or manual transmission?
7. Do you believe the repair facility is honest that works on the car?

Remember that SUV type vehicles may be prone to brake pad wear due to the heavy rolling mass and sometimes undersized brake systems that might have been carried over from the passenger car side of the house.

JamesO


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## Jaaawohl (Oct 26, 2005)

Thanks for your reply,as per the dealer the pads are worn evenly and that is why they think its the driver but the car has only one driver and me occasionally and is driven in a mix of traffic not one conditon more than the other just a daily driver,nothing being towed and no extra heavy items just family,groceries and such things.The driver drove 2 cars before that for 50000 miles before any brake work was needed so I'm counting that theory out.'
We have had a grinding noise/squeeling noise since day one which we were told was normal and the rotors were warped last time we took the car in for a check.
All the things you have mentioned had been brought up by the dealer so it leeds me to believe maybe this car just has bad brakes but if so I would have found many other people complaining about that on the internet and I did not.
This is the second dealer we have been to rearding this problem but it is hard to tell if they are honest with us.
Could it be that somehow there is a valve that adjusts how much the front compared to the rear brakes work and that that is broken and making the front work more than tgey have to?Just a thought but I do not know what else it could be.
Thanks for your reply.
Jaaawohl


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## Mullet Man (Oct 9, 2005)

Two things could be going on here, or both.

If the rear brakes are "drum" brakes, then make sure they are good and most important, make sure they are adjusted up properly so the front brakes don't do all the work.

The other thing could be the pad/rotor combination. Some (cheaper) pads will get less life with high-quality rotors.

If it were my vehicle, I would replace the front pads and rotors at the same time with a decent aftermarket brand and not factory.


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## Jaaawohl (Oct 26, 2005)

Mullett,that sounds like a good idea and I think we will go that way.The rear brakes as per the dealer have always been adjusted properly by them and are working fine so this may be a combination of a braking system taken from a car put into a bigger vehicle and just cheap brake parts that just can;t handle the extra weight of the car compard to what they had been originally designed for.
The only thing I still don't get is why I can't find many more complaints about this on the internet if this is the case.There must be lots of people having the same problem.
Thanks for the info and I sure hope that this will help to prolonge the life of the front barkes.


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