BRAKE CORROSION ALERT: Rust Causing Noise and Long Stops

Make/Model: All Customer Complaint: Noise and long stops while braking. Condition: Friction material has delaminated from the backing plate. Partial delamination at the edges or complete delamination from backing plate. The build-up of debris or surface corrosion at the join between friction material and plate can mask a delaminated edge, but any degradation of the […]

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Advanced Corrosion, Rust Drive Brake Pad Failures

Advanced corrosion and rust are playing significant roles in the failure of automobile brake pads, according to a two-part engineering field study by the Global Brake Safety Council (GBSC) (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) of more than 10,000 discarded brake pads. The council was formed in 2014 to advocate and raise awareness for high standards in brake […]

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Defective Motorcycle Brake Pads Cause Multiple Recalls Due To Corrosion

Earlier this month motorcycle manufacturers Ducati and Triumph voluntarily informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that combined they would be recalling 3,788 motorcycles worldwide manufactured between 2017 and 2020 for the same defect with the brake pads. According to the recall campaign documents from Triumph, Ducati and NHTSA, the defect is corrosion on […]

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Caliper Corrosion Alert

Starting in 1997, many automakers began to use aluminum instead of cast iron for their disc brake calipers. Aluminum is 65% lighter than iron, and aluminum forgings and alloys can have the same structural strength as iron components. The automakers liked the weight reduction because it helped boost gas mileage. However, they did not count […]

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GBSC TECHNICAL BULLETIN: Brake Pad Separation Due to Corrosion on Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

Hybrid vehicles have been on the roads for more than 20 years. According to vehicle registration information in the US, there are more than 6-million hybrids and more than a million electric vehicles on the roads. The majority of them have disc brakes and some form regenerative braking. These combined factors can lead to a […]

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TECH TIP: Don’t Remove Anti-Corrosion Surfaces On Pads and Caliper Brackets

For some technicians, it is a standard operating procedure to remove the caliper bracket and head to the shop’s bench grinder to clean up the surfaces with a wire wheel. Some technician will grind the ears of the brake pads so they will fit into the lands on the bracket. For most late-model vehicles, you […]

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