The numbers represent the amount of life left on the brake pads. Whereas if you’re at a 1 or 2, meaning you have 10 percent to 20 percent of pad life left, that means it’s time to replace the pads. So your dealer was right that, since your front left was a 2, it was time to replace the front pads.

Brake pads should typically be replaced when approximately 1/8″ to 3/16″ of friction material remains on the steel backing plate. Brake rotors should be replaced before their thickness has reached the prescribed “Worn Rotor Minimum Thickness” limit (expressed in millimeters) engraved on the edge of the brake disc.

This is the standard thickness size that you will see for most new brake pads. It should take about 50,000 miles (more or less) for the thickness to 3 to 4 millimeters. It all depends on how aggressively and frequently you use your brakes so while 50k miles is average for many, 20k miles may be more realistic for some.

If a garage tells them your car has 5mm of brake pad remaining, they should be able to tell you that you’ll get another 15,000 miles out of them, or whatever it might be.

7mm should last for years on the rear and the front would depend on your driving habits. This is dead on. Its completely dependent on driving habits and the pad material. The front pads on my car were at 3mm for almost a year.

Your brake pads’ minimum thickness should be at least 6.4 millimeters. Above all else, you do not want the thickness to get any less than 3.2 millimeters or it will be very dangerous to drive.

Title 49 CFR § 393.47(d)(2) states that the thickness of the brake lining and pads of non-steering axle brakes on an air braked commercial motor vehicle shall not be less than 6.4 mm (1/4 inch). If disc brakes are used, the minimum thickness is 3.2 mm (1/8 inch).

Typically, 4mm of brake pad is recommended, so if you think they’re thinner than that, it’s time to get them checked and possibly replaced. It’s possible that your brake linings aren’t wearing evenly from a Brake Pad sticking, a Brake Caliper dragging or even brake hose collapsed.

2mm can go from 2ft to 2000miles. Practically forever, stopping, however, may become an issue after a while. As long as you don’t use the brakes, 50,000 miles or more. Now if you have to use your brakes in everyday city driving,I would bet less than 10,000 miles.

Inner Pad Wear On a floating caliper brake system, it is normal for the inner to wear faster than the outer – but this difference should only be 2-3mm. More rapid inner pad wear can be caused by a seized caliper guide pin or slides.

What’s The Recommended Thickness Of Your Brake Pads? Ideally, your brake pads should be thicker than 6.4 mm (¼ inches) for proper functioning. If it’s thinner than this, consider getting a replacement soon. Most car mechanics also agree that the bare minimum brake pad thickness is 3.2 mm (⅛ inches).