Who doesn’t love the lifetime warranties?
You buy anything and enjoy it for the rest of your life because it becomes the duty of your manufacturer to replace it anytime down the lane.
While most of such lifetime warranties are a gimmick or a marketing strategy only, some are authentic as well.
A brake pad needs regular replacement after every 50K miles or so, and most of us don’t even drive more than 14K miles a year.
In other words, you are not going to get these replacements too often.
What Does a Lifetime Brake Pad Warranty Mean?
Firstly, it never means that you do not need a brake pad ever in your life.
Secondly, it is only going to replace your pads free of cost if you also bring your worn-out set.
PS – Things are not so simple as most often, the underlying cause for a faulty brake is not the brake pad itself but its surroundings.
Brake Pads and Lifetime warranty:
When we approach the dealer or spare shop, we will be informed about two kinds of warranties.
First are the standard warranty brake pads, and second is the lifetime warranty braking pads.
Let’s figure out what they mean,
- On buying such stuff, one gets welcomed by an invoice that states that a 4000 miles or 90-day period warranty is there for the brakes.
- And the limited lifetime warranty is only true for the spare parts only.
- Here limited lifetime warranty means that one can get compensation on the said part if you own the part.
- Also, it protects mostly from manufacturing defects or workmanship issues.
PS – On the other hand, the lifetime warranty protects against all defects for infinite time. For instance, HP networking offers this.
Signs of a bad brake pad that needs replacement:
A bad brake pad is a serious safety issue and therefore must be taken seriously.
Following symptoms will help you figure out the issue.
- A sharp squeaking sound comes from the brake in every season– This is a clear first sign and must be taken seriously.
- But just don’t rush immediately because in slippery conditions also this sound is normal.
- Indicators are switching on – Just like you start coughing when catching a cold, similarly in some models, a sensor triggers this chain reaction.
- A professional can tell and give recommendations accordingly, after which you can replace them.
Some secondary indicators for a problematic brake pad:
- Vibration in your brake pedal – This is another sign which indicates it’s time to change the pedal.
- Remember that this is not a norm and must be taken seriously to avoid any more damage to your car.
- A Deep cranking metal sound that grinds off – This is a clever indication that your vehicle needs a replacement.
- It is interesting to know that some manufacturers put a small metal cluster on the bottom of the brake pad, so it clanks when it needs a replacement.
- Looking at them directly – This is a 101% effective and one final way to analyze the issue by looking onto them.
- If you notice them less than ¼th their original size, replacement is inevitable.
PS – You can locate the brake pads on the rotor of the tire and between the wheel spokes.
PPS – For prolonging the life of your brake pad, it is very important for the tire rotation every six months and keeps a close watch on them.
Some other questions,
Related Questions and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Q1.) What is the shelf life of brake pads?
Answer: 25K miles to 70K miles.
The safe side is around 35K to 55K miles.
Again, some people have managed to get brake pads working way across the 70K threshold, which is insane!
Q2.) How much can you expect to pay for a new set of brakes?
Answer: $155 per axle, which is the average costing for a brake pad replacement.
On the other hand, it can range between $120 to $280.
And there are also a few other hardware pieces that also need regular service.
Some other service-worthy things are callipers and rotors.
But as we know, the major costing will be for brake pads replacement only.
Q3.) Does AutoZone provide any lifetime warranty on your brake pads?
Answer: Buy pads only once and swap anytime for free under the AutoZone warranty.
The important thing to keep here is to have the vehicle with you as well.
With changes in their policy, one can replace old pads and get new ones and only pay for the rotor.
Q4.) Can one return the faulty or used brake pads to AutoZone?
Answer: For returning a product to the store, just return it in its original condition and with a receipt.
Make sure this happens within 90 days of purchase to initiate the refund.
PS – AutoZone has the full authority to deny any refunds if the product has already been installed somewhere else.
Q5.) Can the brakes last 100,100 miles?
Answer: Yes!
Because you must have already replaced your brake pads a few times and can again do it without any issue.
For disk brake users, put a rotor as they can be worn out.
Lastly, install a wheel alignment, and your car will stop drifting much to one side.
Q6.) How long does the brake warranty go?
Answer: Either a three-month or 3K miles.
Some independent garages are offering a 6-months as well.
It is going to vary from place to place, so you must ask properly.
Q7.) What is the meaning of the Midas lifetime warranty on brakes?
Answer: Midas has been a remarkable brand for over fifty years.
It has protected and cared for many communities across USA and Canada.
They provide the world-famous lifetime warranty on their brakes and shocks, and one remains covered for a lifetime or for the time you own the product.
Q8.) What do you mean by forever brakes?
Answer: It includes a 12-month warranty for their ceramic brake pads and other parts.
And they are going to give a replacement worth nil if one ever needs it.
Q9.) What about the lifetime brakes, Are they worth it?
Answer: Firstly, buying a lifetime brake will never guarantee that a need will never arise for buying a new replacement pad.
Secondly, you need to take your worn outset with you to claim the warranty.
Thirdly, if the claim doesn’t happen, then the lifetime warranty products are costlier than the standard ones.
Q10.) Does AutoZone have any proof of records of their purchases?
Answer: Yes!
AutoZone keeps the receipts of all purchases done for the past 90 days, and if you bought a product with a warranty, then you can keep it in the national database.
Q11.) Can one look at the AutoZone warranty online?
Answer: Whenever one buys on their website or at their store, they auto-enters the information to their national database.
For instance, if you ever need to return a faulty product, do it at their store.
Q12.) What is the AutoZone lifetime warranty?
Answer: As per their official description, the warranty excludes any damage from misuses, or improper installations, and other related things.
And the warranty covers the ninety-day parameter as well.
Also, if anything wears out naturally, like brake pads or wipers, then no claim is there.
Q13.) Do brake pads also come under warranty?
Answer: No!
Mostly they cover the defects in their make or workmanship and its difficult to decide the reasons properly.
Mostly the floor mats and wiper blades do not receive any coverage.
Q14.) Are these lifetime warranties practical?
Answer: Most of these warranties come under the dealer and not the manufacturer directly.
This means your manufacturer has the full right to decide its life.
And this will benefit the dealer more than you!
Q15.) What happens if the company closes from whom you bought the lifetime warranty?
Answer: This is real and sad, but your warranty becomes dead because there is no legal representative left to serve upon them.
So, unless the company merges into another company, there is no warranty.
Q16.) Can one sue a company if it fails to honor a warranty?
Answer: Yes!
You can claim for a contract breach.
This is when your warranty company refuses to honor any terms of warranty with you.
Final Verdict:
Some experts claim that a lifetime warranty is more a gimmick than having a real benefit.
A lifetime warranty does not imply that you will never require service.
And the average lifespan of most brake pads is around 25K miles a minimum to prove the part.
A faulty brake is a serious issue because it can be a safety issue, so one should pay attention to their vehicle and report any mishappening quickly.
Some of the common symptoms of a faulty brake pad are grinding metal sound, visual 1/4th inspection of the brake pad, other sounds like vibratory and deep grinding ones.
AutoZone is a great brand that sells many lifetimes brake pads that are made to last a long time.
For instance, the lifetime warranty of AutoZone comes with lifelong protection against brake pads and related items.
But again, you need to own the part to claim it, and they can neglect your claim due to one of the many reasons.
So, one needs to think about whether they need a lifetime brake pad.
Thanks For Reading!