3500 series front brake pad failure 12,800 kms?

Part of the prep for an extended trip this summer involved trying the jack out, removing a wheel and re-installing it. While the wheel was off I snapped this picture of the caliper and brake pad.

The pad looks unusual to me. Comments welcome and appreciated!

Skeena

Are you referring to what appears to be a "ramp" up in the friction material? If so, small tapers at both ends of a brake pad friction material are common. Do the other ends of the brake pads and other brake pads look similar? Do you have any other symptoms - poor braking power, excessive noise on application, shuddering?

Skeena said:

Part of the prep for an extended trip this summer involved trying the jack out, removing a wheel and re-installing it. While the wheel was off I snapped this picture of the caliper and brake pad.

The pad looks unusual to me. Comments welcome and appreciated!

Skeena

Click to expand...

Looks to be the dark shadow doesn't allow view of entire pad, as the rotor looks to have normal even wear. Now if the white light was direct onto the entire pad it would show more.

It take 20 photos before getting the "money shot." Often, using flash will enhance detail and eliminate shadows.

Thanks for the valid questions and comments. When I took the picture I wasn't expecting to see anything abnormal - it was more of brake pad thickness picture for future reference.

I think the best idea at this point is to remove the wheel again and take a proper look with lots of pictures.

Ideally, I should remove the caliper and get a definitive answer but I don't know my way around these brakes yet - more photos to come!

Skeena

After a closer inspection (did not remove caliper), a road test and more pictures - it seems to be ok.

In the first picture I posted, it looked like the pad was cracked. Thanks again for all the suggestions!

Skeena