The $10 Harbor Freight Tool That Can Save You From a $1,000 Scam
It Happened to Me…Recently
Earlier I’ve shared with readers that in the interest of keeping peace within my family, I am not allowed to work on my spouse’s 2018 Kia. My spouse’s logic, however, determines that I am allowed to take her precious SUV to the dealership for its recommended service according to a neat little service record book they gave her upon buying the car new. Lucky me.
Now don’t get me wrong about this. I in no way begrudge doing things like this for my spouse. Especially when it comes to which of us, I would rather have to deal with clipboard-carrying dealership technicians.
While I have had nothing but good things to say about the dealership service department I have visited with her car the past 5 years, my last visit revealed that things have changed. I noticed that there was a new crew of technicians manning the counters and I did not think much about it. I was there for a recommended 60,000-mile transmission fluid and filter change and had no worries about their competence since I had always had good service there and it’s not exactly rocket surgery.
However, when the job was completed and the clipboard-carrying technician approached me, I was told that the fluid and filter change went fine but that I needed to pay an additional $1,000 for brake pad AND rotor replacement. When I quizzed the tech on why I needed my brake pads and rotors replaced he told me that my front pads were down to 5mm and the rear pads at 2mm.
The 2mm pads I could see as a possibility and would normally agree to have them replaced on the spot. However, they got greedy.
When I pressed him for more information about the rotors wanting to know if the pads had scored the rotor surfaces or if the rotors were worn beyond specs, he gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look and began stammering about how that he was not the one who actually inspected the rotors but assured me that the tech who did probably found some low spots on the rotors. And…and that I was fortunate that they had the exact rotors I needed on hand and could have them all replaced in half an hour.
By this time, I could not hear anything else he was saying due to my inner BS alarms sounding off. I thanked him all the same and told him I would have to check with my spouse because it was her car and beyond my paygrade to agree to any repairs.
Upon arriving home, I told my wife her service department wants another $1,000 from her. Oddly enough I was then asked to inspect the brakes and rotors myself. Lucky me.
A quick inspection showed that the front pads were actually 5 mm, but the rear ones were 4mm---not the 2mm the service tech told me. Furthermore, a simple visual inspection of the rotors followed by an additional check with my trusty brand-X calipers revealed that they were as true as they were new, just a little worn---but still within specs. Time to find another garage.
The Point to All of This
The point to all of this is that soft sell scams happen to all of us, but a little paranoia and an inexpensive Harbor Freight brake pad gauge can actually save you a significant amount of money and help you determine whether a garage is being honest with you. If they had told me that just the pads needed replacing, I probably would have gone long with it because it was believable and not something unexpected after 60,000 miles. However, when their responses to the condition of my rotors got them to hand-waving, I knew something was amiss and that this was an experience worth sharing.
That said, here is a past video from the Toyota Maintenance YouTube channel where the host comes across the same type of scam and explains how to do your own inspection. Also included below is a second YouTube video that shows a little more clearly how to check your brake pads with the same $10 Harbor Freight gauge tool that I and the host use.
Caveat emptor and all that.
Brake Repair Scam
Brake Pad Inspection Using the Colored Gauges
And finally…
Just a note: when it comes to brake pad depth it is generally recommended to go ahead and have the pads replaced at 3mm or less. Wear can be uneven on the pads leading to edge or side scraping; and, it's best to do it when they are that low in case you forget about having them serviced later.
For additional related articles, here are a few for your consideration:
• How Some Car Repair Garages Hide Their Brake Repair Scam and What You Can Do About It
• Common Brake Repair Scam in Major Name Tire Centers
• How Service Centers Damage Your Brakes with a Simple Tire Change
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Timothy Boyer is a Torque News automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites for daily new and used vehicle news.
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