My 2011 HHR with 116,000 mi on it is having brake wear problems. I have noticed that my front brake pads are wearing 2x faster on the passenger's side than on the driver's side. I clean and lubricate the pins every brake change, so that is certainly not the cause. Does anyone know a way to check if it is actually the brake caliper that is giving me problems, or the brake hose?

Thanks.

 

They seem to be wearing fairly evenly inner & outer so I would be inspecting the hose.

Because: if the caliper was hanging the inner would be wearing much faster than the outer. If the hose has a kink in it the pressure would not be relieved and both sides stay in contact with the rotor.

I am suffering from a fever at the moment; I may have that backwards.

 

Rebuild calipers

There is an O-ring that when looking at a cross-section view is square. This o-ring is what makes the piston return after releasing the brake pedal. If you are not up to rebuilding them, you should be able to buy a pair of new for well under $100. I would drain all the brake fluid and put in fresh while I was at it.

A plugged brake line can cause the problem too. I use a vacuum pump for bleeding the brakes. When you go to bleed the brakes, you will know real fast if you have an obstruction.

 

I never just squeeze back the caliper pucks, I crack the bleeder & put a hose on the bleeder, & into a jar to catch old fluid. then gently squeeze back. This way you don't push back all that dirty brake fluid into the system.,
If you go this route, I personally like to vacuum out master cylinder first, then refill with Fresh brake fluid.

I use a vacuum pump also like Guppy mentioned.

 

[QUOTE=slonny;862089]My 2011 HHR with 116,000 mi on it is having brake wear problems. I have noticed that my front brake pads are wearing 2x faster on the passenger's side than on the driver's side. I clean and lubricate the pins every brake change, so that is certainly not the cause.Does anyone know a way to check if it is actually the brake caliper that is giving me problems, or the brake hose?

Hmm. I doubt you've done a bunch of brake changes in only 116,000 miles. It may be as simple as a sticking pin on that side.

 

[QUOTE=firemangeorge;862100]I am with George. Those things can deteriorate, too. A ripped boot on one of those pins, and you can be exposed to salt and water - at least around here.

The other thing is, does it pull under braking? A pull would make a hose a culprit on the side with more pad left. No pull, and excess wear on side means that side is not retracting properly.

 

I, too, crack the bleeder, I do it as the dirty fluid can clog the abs system up, and most of those are unserviceable. Screw that up and it's replacement only.

 

A little air on one side would result in more pad pressure one side, which would also cause uneven wear exactly like you describe. But WHATEVER the cause, one would expect expect pulling to one side, either when braking, or when not.

UNLESS the pads are mismatched and the right and left are not identical. Or something different about the rotors, maybe?

 

Mute point (but might help someone else) since the OP hasn't bothered to come back to his own thread.

 

Yes, it was the hose. It showed no signs of a problem though. The brakes were not locked at all. After replacing it I can certainly feel the difference in braking, plus there is no longer dragging noise. And the rattling noise is gone as well (https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/prob...e-59739/page2/). It seems that faulty brakes were causing this.