Lot's of life left

[Bill Ellis]

Just did my 35K oil change and inspected brakes. Lots of life left in the original pads. Who says the OEM pads are no good? 2004 Trac. Haven't even had a warranty issue if you don't count the trans additive. Warranty runs out in about 700 miles and don't have any issues with the best vehicle I've ever owned. We read about other people's problems here but my money says most don't have any problems with their Tracs.

 

[Michael Hale]

I think some might take you up on your last statement.

 

[EddieS'04]

I said that in a previous thread...more dont have problems than those that do...if I ever have one, I will deal with it as with any vehicle...

 

[Michael Cacioppo]

Bill_e, the complaint about the pads were that they were too small. In '04 the physical pad surface was increased by about 30%. The pads will interchange with earlier models, and many people have done so. The aftermarket pads are also bigger than the pre-'04 OEM pads.

 

[Ryan Y]

yeah, I have right at 35,000 on my 04. I have had some minor issues, but nothing to do with the brakes. I have a probably 40% left on my OEM pads, so I'd say they are pretty damn good. They don't seem to make a lot of mess on my rims either. I just recently gained a squeel, sounds like it is from the rear, and only when I am reversing after it has sat overnight. Other than that can't complain. Oh yeah, I think my rotors may be warped, but I won't really know for sure til after I get new tires next week or so and get rid of the cupped crapyears. If the rotors are warped, it is probably because of this mississippi heat and my driving, not at the fault of ford.

 

[James FreemanJr]

I just had my brakes checked (do so every 20Kmiles) and pads changed and the guy who did them said they looked like they could of lasted me another 20K miles and I have never changed the stock brakes and I have 86K miles on them ofcourse I don't do alot of rough stopping or alot of stop and go either. My fathers 96 Mazda BF2000 has over 200K and he has only ever changed the brakes once.

 

[TomT]

The pads on my 02 were shot at 29k, not to mention crappy to begin with. Maybe they improved them by 04.

Old pads on bottom:

[Broken External Image]:

 

[gary s]

on my 04 adren, at 40k the brakes were changed with about 30% of life left. on my 02 they only lasted about 20k in similar driving. as mentioned the brake size was increased , so longer brake life should be expected.

on the other hand, my 04 tranny gave out at 28k , my cruise control switch is shot, and my steering wheel is peeling like an orange. my 02 had no problems, except minor steering wheel peel at lease turn in after 50k miles.

my thoughts are that there are going to be some with problems and the majority will have minimal problems or be problem free.

i still love my trac

 

[Jackie Beene]

I am getting close to the 65,000 mile mark on my 03 and still have my original brakes and tires. I do have some cupping on the front tires, and none on the rear. Still have a lot of tread left. When everyone was talking about how short the brake and tire life was I started looking for what to replce with. Was going to get the Revo's after the first of the year but with the new Sporttrac coming out I may just trade up instead. Sure do like my Sporttrac but could use a V8 to trailer the boat with.

 

[TomT]

Of course brakes and tire mileage differ depending on what kind of driving you do. 90% of mine is in town with a lot of stop and go traffic. I do know that the new brake pads really make the truck stop better. That alone was worth the $60 for new pads. They are pretty easy to change. I am not a mechanic by any means but changed out my pads without any problems. Don't think I will mess with the rear drum brakes though. I've done those type before but man, what a pain in the ass.

 

[Gavin Allan]

My '03 Adrenalin has 35,000 miles and the OEM brake pads front and rear look like new with almost 3/8" of meat on them. (If ony they didn't squeel so much...)



Interesting, when I first got my Trac the parking brake was worthless, but now it holds very well.



No warped rotors here. Wheel lugs are always torqued to specs in the proper sequence.

 

[Michael Cacioppo]

Many people have complained about the problems the Trac has had. We have to be careful at how we analyze the reported data. First, people on this site are more conscious of the ir vehicles. If they didn't care, they would not be on this board. Secondly there are over 10000 members that are supplying the data. I seriously doubt that Cusumers Report get that much feedback on a particular model. Thirdly, if something fails early on a vehicle, you are sure to hear it. If your tranny is working fine, most likely you wouldn't start a thread saying "Gee my tranny works fine". Granted the tranny is a bad example since it is a weak spot across the Ford line which uses the 5R55E tranny. Even so, if you took a survey of the members, you probably be surprised of how many trouble free trannies are out there. If you want to see bad feedback and major complaints join the Dodge Dakota site. Gas mileage, lack of power, trannies, etc. where constant complaints. I know first hand since I had one, which by the way caught fire at less than 25K miles (picture on request....after the fire was out, not during). Keep in mind that there are over 10K members, and is the main reason that "so many" problems are reported. IMHO

 

[Christy Case]

I just changed the front brakes for squealing, 40% left at 20K 2003. 2 weeks later, my back started squealing. what's up with the squealing because I'm sure there's plenty of pad left! Ford said and I quote" we don't cover squealing, but we'll change your brake pads for $89.95 if it really annoy's you that much"!!!!!!!! needless to say I did the front myself. :angry: