Service Brake Pad Monitor?

[Cabin Fever]

I have a 2020 Trail Boss with 34,500 miles. I recently got a message that said, "Service Brake Pad Monitor". I did a quick search, and it sounds like these have been known to go bad. I periodically scroll through the screens and the last time was about a month ago and it said my brake pads were ~70% for all. When I called the local dealership, the first thing he said was, "Yeah, it probably needs brake pads." I told him I doubted it with 34K miles and my last check, but set up an appt to have the brake pad monitor checked out. The dealership called me to inform me that it needed pads and rotors in the back and pads on the front!? I was shocked and honestly in disbelief!! There was never any pad squealing or rubbing, like the pads were worn down. The 34k miles I have on the truck are mainly highway. Does this sound legit? Do the brakes and rotors go with 34K miles?? The ONLY reason I took it to the dealership was thinking if there was an issue with the monitor that it would be covered under warranty. $1200 later and I think I got screwed!?!?

 

[Jmzvet]

34K miles seems soon to eat thru pads AND rotors on the back. Unless there were underlying conditions like cracked or warped rotors or something.

 

[bossboy302]

Heavily loaded often? Trailer towing? Hilly roads?
Be sure and ask the dealer for the old parts...

 

[Cabin Fever]

Have never towed anything with it and the bed hasn't seen anything more than a load of mulch 1-2x each year. Pretty flat in my area, so minimal hills. Of the 34K, most are highway miles. Honestly, considering as little as I know about brakes, if the dealership service dept showed me worn brakes from another vehicle, I wouldn't have known the difference.

 

[timebak]

Typically, you'll go through two to three sets of front pads for every one set of rear ones. And I've put 250,000 miles on a couple of trucks and over 150,000 miles on two others and all still had the original rear rotors, and two still had original front rotors. Normally, the front brakes provide 70% of the stopping power and the rears 30%.

If you TRULY needed pads AND rotors on the rear, and the fronts are still good, then something is BAD wrong with your brake system. And for $1200, they had BETTER have done more than just replaced the pads and rotors. I've never had to replace rear pads at less than 85,000 miles and only once below 90,000 miles and that was on my '96 Silverado Z71 that does LOTs of heavy towing.

 

[clstark7]

I have a 2020 Trail Boss with 34,500 miles. I recently got a message that said, "Service Brake Pad Monitor". I did a quick search, and it sounds like these have been known to go bad. I periodically scroll through the screens and the last time was about a month ago and it said my brake pads were ~70% for all. When I called the local dealership, the first thing he said was, "Yeah, it probably needs brake pads." I told him I doubted it with 34K miles and my last check, but set up an appt to have the brake pad monitor checked out. The dealership called me to inform me that it needed pads and rotors in the back and pads on the front!? I was shocked and honestly in disbelief!! There was never any pad squealing or rubbing, like the pads were worn down. The 34k miles I have on the truck are mainly highway. Does this sound legit? Do the brakes and rotors go with 34K miles?? The ONLY reason I took it to the dealership was thinking if there was an issue with the monitor that it would be covered under warranty. $1200 later and I think I got screwed!?!?

There was a recall on this not long ago, one where notifications didn't go out but they would do the software update if you brought your vehicle in for an unrelated reason. Mine was doing the same thing but now I am back at 80% life left and over 30,000 miles on the truck. Seems more accurate now.

 

[Cabin Fever]

Thanks for the reply timebak! Lots of good info and pretty much confirms my suspicions that the service dept screwed me. Yeah, $1200 for just brakes and rotors... Live and learn, I'm done with them!

 

[Cabin Fever]

There was a recall on this not long ago, one where notifications didn't go out but they would do the software update if you brought your vehicle in for an unrelated reason. Mine was doing the same thing but now I am back at 80% life left and over 30,000 miles on the truck. Seems more accurate now.

Interesting! Before I dropped the truck off, I looked it up and someone mentioned they thought there was a recall on this. I told the service dept this when I dropped it off and he said there wasn't.? I think I'll contact Chevrolet and see what I'm told. Regardless, I'm done with this Chevrolet dealership and service dept! Thanks!

 

[Cabin Fever]

I just called Chevrolet Customer Service and filed a complaint. We'll see if it goes anywhere...

 

[timebak]

Interesting! Before I dropped the truck off, I looked it up and someone mentioned they thought there was a recall on this. I told the service dept this when I dropped it off and he said there wasn't.? I think I'll contact Chevrolet and see what I'm told. Regardless, I'm done with this Chevrolet dealership and service dept! Thanks!

It may not have been an actual recall, but rather a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB). The difference between the two is that a recall is usually safety related and requires that the manufacturer send out notices by mail or other media and make a concerted effort to find and fix as many affected vehicles as possible. Whereas, a TSB is for manufacturing or design defects that don't directly affect safety but are bad enough that the manufacturer will fix them (often only at the vehicle owner's request) at no cost, or shared cost, to the owner. But they aren't required to try to contact the owners of the affected vehicles. Often a sort of "If you don't ask, we don't tell" policy.

 

[timebak]

Also sounds like the dealership may have been playing a word game with you: since you asked about a "recall", they could truthfully say there wasn't one. Even if they already knew there was a TSB, they aren't required to tell you or do anything about it unless you specifically and persistently ask for it. Unscrupulous service departments have a whole list of dirty tricks they pull on uninformed/unsuspecting customers.

 

[WaTraleBoss]

I have a 2020 Trail Boss with 34,500 miles. I recently got a message that said, "Service Brake Pad Monitor". I did a quick search, and it sounds like these have been known to go bad. I periodically scroll through the screens and the last time was about a month ago and it said my brake pads were ~70% for all. When I called the local dealership, the first thing he said was, "Yeah, it probably needs brake pads." I told him I doubted it with 34K miles and my last check, but set up an appt to have the brake pad monitor checked out. The dealership called me to inform me that it needed pads and rotors in the back and pads on the front!? I was shocked and honestly in disbelief!! There was never any pad squealing or rubbing, like the pads were worn down. The 34k miles I have on the truck are mainly highway. Does this sound legit? Do the brakes and rotors go with 34K miles?? The ONLY reason I took it to the dealership was thinking if there was an issue with the monitor that it would be covered under warranty. $1200 later and I think I got screwed!

I am at 40K and also had that message come up, no way your pads and rotors needed to be replaced. I still had to pay for the sensor to make the message go away, mostly a BS part if you ask me.

 

[2KWIK2C]

You can turn this off as well. First thing I did. On my 2020 after 15K it said I needed brake pads. Called foul after looking and measuring pads and rotors. Turned the shit off.

 

[timebak]

You can turn this off as well. First thing I did. On my 2020 after 15K it said I needed brake pads. Called foul after looking and measuring pads and rotors. Turned the shit off.

How do you do that? I have a 2021 TB with the 6.2L. There are a bunch of things in the computer I want to turn off or change.

 

[Jmzvet]

I could be wrong but I doubt there’s a sensor that measures the brake pad thickness and reports it as a percentage of life left.
I’d guess it’s an inaccurate algorithm based on numerous inputs that may or may not relate to available pad life.
So just check your pads like we’ve done for the last 100 yrs