Brake Wear - What's "normal"?

[pwarn]

I was surprised to have to replace the pads and rotors on my gen 1 R1T in October 2024 at ~65k miles after 18 months of ownership. Even more surprised yesterday when I went to get my state inspection sticker and failed because of my brake pads being too worn (less than 1mm on an inside front pad, similar wear on the rears). Currently I have ~95k miles. I drive mostly on the highway in a rural area and hardly ever use the brake pedal. I mostly keep the Regen braking assist option off. (It's been on a few times after software updates/resets until I remember to turn it off again.)

I'm having to wait a month to get into the service center because my local mechanics says that only Rivian can do service do to parts availibility.

Questions for the hive mind:
Has anyone else experienced brake wear issues?
Has anyone located/tried 3rd party brake pads / rotors?

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[Dave Cundiff]

I have also experienced brake wear far greater than I expected.

Until about a month ago, I thought Rivian's deceleration software was like our Bolts -- regardless of whether the deceleration signal is coming from the right pedal or the left, regeneration is used first and maximally, with braking only when needed.

My current understanding is that letting up on the right pedal produces only a certain amount of deceleration, based on the "Regeneration" setting (which seems to reset itself randomly). If that's not enough and I use the brake pedal, I don't get more regeneration at all -- the vehicle engages the friction brakes right away.

We needed brake pad replacement, with the associated services (about $1000 total) at about 41K miles. I was very surprised. Not angry, as I might have been with a safety issue. Just surprised.

***

I don't see any safety advantage to the way Rivian uses brakes. If Chevy could adopt more energy-efficient, brake-sparing software long ago (maybe in the first Bolts in 2017), why didn't Rivian do this a long time ago?

Thanks to all for any insight!

 

[NY_Rob]

Rockauto my friend.... lots of pads & rotors available for Rivian.

 

[pwarn]

Have you any experience with using the parts? Nothing against Rock Auto, I've bought from them in the past, but there are a lot of really poor quality parts being sold these days.

 

[NY_Rob]

^ I bought some BMW replacement parts from Rock, specifically a front hub/bearing assembly which is a very crucial part that needs to be very high quality.. it's been in use on our i3 since 2021 and 40K miles of use and is still perfectly quiet. I also bought two new front rotors and front and rear pads for the same vehicle back in 2021 from Rock... no issues with any of those parts either.

For most parts, they have many quality level options, so for my front hub/bearing assembly and brake/rotors I chose "Daily Driver" which cost a few $$ more than "economy" quality parts, but it still came in well under what BMW was asking for the same parts so I was happy with the savings.

 

[mkg3]

Since you have a truck, is your truck loaded with stuff in the bed? If you haul heavy payloads or tow trailer, it is all likely that the kinetic brakes are used far greater than otherwise.

That said, I have read several threads here with brake pad wear. Most EVs that do not blend regen with regular brakes often go 100k miles or more without any brake work. So it does sound rathe odd that you need new brake pad/rotors in 30k new miles since the last change.

 

[Zoidz]

Rock Auto is a good company. I have been buying from them for years. Their buyers guide indicates the pads on the Rivian are common to many vehicles. They list Bendix, Bosch and Dynamic Friction, all quality brands.

 

[LivingInKaos]

Your wear is not normal. It's indicative of a caliper issue. I'm at 87k miles and I still have 80% remaining AND I use brake assist.

 

[Zoidz]

I see that you hail from Vermont. How often do you drive the Rivian? Have you noticed rust on the rotors on a regular basis? Do you see any rotor rust, pitting or discoloration, even if it is very fine? One possible reason for the pad wear infrequent/sporadic usage patterns which can allow rust to form on the rotor in wet and salty conditions - which then acts like sandpaper the next time you drive. There are other threads here where this has been discussed and was highly likely the caused of accelerated brake pad wear.

 

[VSG]

The latest modification to the maintenance schedule recommends cleaning the calipers every 12 mo/12,000 mi "if driving on salted roads". That suggests to me that they have identified at least one cause of sticky calipers leading to premature brake wear.

 

[pwarn]

Since you have a truck, is your truck loaded with stuff in the bed? If you haul heavy payloads or tow trailer, it is all likely that the kinetic brakes are used far greater than otherwise.

That said, I have read several threads here with brake pad wear. Most EVs that do not blend regen with regular brakes often go 100k miles or more without any brake work. So it does sound rathe odd that you need new brake pad/rotors in 30k new miles since the last change.

Normally nothing it the bed, and I don't tow.

 

[pwarn]

I see that you hail from Vermont. How often do you drive the Rivian? Have you noticed rust on the rotors on a regular basis? Do you see any rotor rust, pitting or discoloration, even if it is very fine? One possible reason for the pad wear infrequent/sporadic usage patterns which can allow rust to form on the rotor in wet and salty conditions - which then acts like sandpaper the next time you drive. There are other threads here where this has been discussed and was highly likely the caused of accelerated brake pad wear.

I drive it every day, and have averaged over 30k miles per year, so it does get used. I have a carwash pass, so it gets washed frequently. At least once a week.

 

[SwampNut]

My datapoint is pads checked at about 34k miles, and appeared new. Rotors at 65k and one set of pads sound like the typical shop bullshit "just in case."

Your wear is not normal. It's indicative of a caliper issue. I'm at 87k miles and I still have 80% remaining AND I use brake assist.

Yeah this, something is very off. Either you manually brake more than you think, or something is rubbing all the time.

 

[ebarke]

If it's just the inside that's wearing, then it sounds like a caliber sticking issue, either needs to be cleaned/greased, or it's defective. If you are using full regen all the time, then you should see very little wear on your pads. Our Tesla MX has just over 100k miles on it and pads are still good. If you keep your vehicle clean, that should also help.

These are really heavy vehicles, so I would suspect it would go thru pads quicker than other EV's but I would still expect to get at least 100k miles before having to replace the pads.

 

[Red Shirt Wookie]

I drive mostly on the highway in a rural area and hardly ever use the brake pedal. I mostly keep the Regen braking assist option off. (It's been on a few times after software updates/resets until I remember to turn it off again.)

Variables I see affecting your results are; you're in VT (very hilly), and your regen is off as stated above.

FWIW, my experience is with standard (default) regen on, in All Purpose, primarily in CT. I'm just now replacing my brakes @ 70k. Which is right in line with my brake replacements on my Prius and i3's in the past.

I do clean my calipers and check their operation whenever I rotate the tires.

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