How do you know if you brakes have worn out
 

Well i opened the hit recently and noticed that the brake oil bottle has level somewhere in between the minimum and maximum level. The second thing i realized while driving was that when i applied the brake too hard the abs was activate and made a lot of noise but the car just went on going a bit.

So do i need new brake pads. Is there anyway i can be sure of this problem.

The best way to check is to remove your wheels and look in the caliper inspection hole at the top center. But since your already having noises you might be metal to metal. A quick way to check is to look at your rotors through the spokes to see the rotor cond. If there smooth you MIGHT be ok. If it looks like they been filed(Rough) your f#@ked!

Take a look at your pad and there should be a gap in the material. when that gap is gone, its time for new brakes

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/c.../Brake_Pad.jpg

Stock pads have squeelers..they will make a god awful noise......

Fronts will wear out first unless the calipers are sticky in the rear....should get about 60K from the fronts with normal driving

try to get your rotors turned also if you go to replace them,it will make for better stopping,

Yup squelling is a good indicator.

when you cant stop anymore, you need new brakes.

my pads in the rear had under 20% life left when my front pads had over 50%, and those were the stock pads from the brand new car... esplain that.

Were they worn more on one side of the caliper than the other?

Sounds like the caliper may be sticky...or the emergency braake was causing them to drag

No, pretty evenly worn out it seems. New rear set was only 40$, but more curious than anything else. Had i left em on they woulda just about hit 30k miles of DD/autox, so that aint bad IMO. I changed em out cause... while i had the wheels off, why not.

When you can't stop anymore it's too late for new brakes.

:)

If abs was activating then it means your tires are worn

bumping this thread since I dont need to start another one...

I'm at a little less than 35k miles and there's a terrible squeal from my front passenger side wheel area... I thought it was brakes, but based on this post, I'm way ahead of schedule to be needing new brakes. I do some spirited driving sometimes, but I wouldnt say I drive the car hard enough to warrant needing brakes in half the regular time...

That is a guide only ;) I have worn a set out in a day.....

Best bet is to check the pad thickness....

well it was like 1 am when I posted that... didnt really feel like running out with a flashlight at that point. Didnt think I drove aggressively enough to wear them out that quickly. Oh well, I'm taking it in on friday to have them replaced so it's good to get it out of the way.

Same, my dealer stated that my rears were low for well 10,000 miles. Gonna replace them soon.

You also need to check the calipers and the emergency brake adjustment...

There is no way that the rears will wear out first unless they are dragging all the time

yeah if you hear a squeal it's a good time to check them if they are worn down when you get the caliper off it's time to change tha't swha the sqealer is there for to say.....hey check me.....

On my rims i notice a little bit of black dust after each driving session. Is it normal or is it an indicator of brake wear???

It is an indication of pad wear, but it is normal, not to worry. Some pads make more dust than others. Performance/street pads make more dust than street pads. Track pads make more dust than performance/street pads. After a day at the track there is considerable dust on my wheels.