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Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - hunterex

I drive Honda Jazz 2010 model.

My brake discs for the rear tyres have experienced some corrosion and I intend to change the brake discs together with brake pads for the rear tyres.

My brake discs for the front tyres are still in good condition, except for the brake pads are 50% worn off as of January 2019 (reported by my garage in annual car service).

My car current mileage is 43000+ miles.

I understand that it is usual to change the brake discs together with brake pads (etc: my rear tyres).

Can I change the brake pads for the front tyres without changing the brake disc? Will it lead to any damage to my front tyre brake discs?

Thank you.

Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - bathtub tom

If your front pads are only 50% worn after nine years and 43K miles, then I'd leave them alone, assuming they haven't been replaced before. I'd advise checking the thickness of the front discs in case they have been replaced.

Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - Ian D
If you change discs you change pads as well, if the discs are ok and the pads need changing then changing pads only is ok
In both instances it will take 100 miles or so for the brakes to stop feeling spongy and to bed in and feel efficient
Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - madf

I changed front and rear pads on my 2012 jazz and did not change discs..No problems in year since I did it.. and handbrake works a lot better after cleaning and lubricating slides etc.

Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - John F

I understand that it is usual to change the brake discs together with brake pads (etc: my rear tyres).

No it's not. Discs usually last much longer than pads. Beware rapacious mechanics telling you otherwise.

Can I change the brake pads for the front tyres without changing the brake disc?

Yes.

Will it lead to any damage to my front tyre brake discs?

No.

Thank you.

You're welcome. If you have only 50% wear, you should have many thousands of miles left on them. A set of front pads on a Jazz should last a careful driver at least 40,000 miles - Jazz owners please confirm! Are the rear discs sufficiently corroded to fail the highly demanding MoT brake test? If not, why change?

Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - hunterex

You're welcome. If you have only 50% wear, you should have many thousands of miles left on them. A set of front pads on a Jazz should last a careful driver at least 40,000 miles - Jazz owners please confirm! Are the rear discs sufficiently corroded to fail the highly demanding MoT brake test? If not, why change?

Hi John F,

Thank you for the response.

I have attached 2 images of my rear brake discs.

ibb.co/dgNPQ5m

ibb.co/WvyVFxn

The corrosion has been there for more than 1 year.
My car passed the MOT last year and the next MOT will be on end of July.

Could you share your opinion on the state of corrosion from the images above?
Thank you.

Edited by hunterex on 12/07/2019 at 19:39

Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - bathtub tom

They're well corroded and I don't know if they'll pass the MOT. I suggest you take the car onto a little used part of road and use the handbrake firmly, numerous times.

Have you measured your font disc thickness? After 40K miles, I suspect the front pads have been replaced. DO NOT ASSUME THEY HAVEN'T.

I once suffered total brake failure, because I didn't know the discs had been skimmed.

Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - elekie&a/c doctor
They are well corroded , but not bad enough for an mot failure, unless they are cracked or breaking up. Very likely to be ok on the brake rollers . However, I’d like to see the other sides , they could be a lot worse.
Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - John F

They are superficially corroded but it appears there is very little actual metal wear with no lipping - typical of underused rear brakes on a light car. If you feel comfortable at handling a possible rear wheel skid I would use the handbrake more often when slowing down to wear off some corrosion. I've never driven a Jazz so I don't know how effective the handbrake is but it's usually extremely difficult to lock the rear wheels. However, I'll probably be reprimanded for this suggestion :-( They will almost certainly pass the MoT, unless there is something wrong with the calipers or the pads are worn down to the metal back plate.

Edited by John F on 12/07/2019 at 22:44

Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - gordonbennet

You won't get reprimanded by me JohnF, all of our cars have drum inside disc parking brake shoes, i know from stripping these out they can get corroded because in average use the parking brake shoes only ever see any moving contact with the drum during MOT brake tests, so yes during the winter especially i'll give the parking brake a little work out now and again.

Those rear discs look as if they will have enough grip for the brake rollers, but they will probably get an advisory for rusty discs, as suggested give them a work out, then i'd clean them up with a wire brush and glass paper and paint the non friction areas with black Hammerite which will make them look much better....though as elekie doc mentions check the other side of the discs carefully, they can sometimes have chunks missing out of the friction area when corrosion sets in badly, made worse by the serious lack of correct brake servicing these days sometimes leading to uneven braking on the discs, when the sliders stick or corrode, or when a piston is seizing in place, all through lack of correct lubing.

Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - madf

My Jazz rear disks looked like that when I changed the pads.

I lubricated all sliders and moving surfaces when I changed pads. (not with copperease but a silicone based HT grease). The mating surfaces on the disk are now rust free and handbrake much better (Brembo pads)..And the handbrake is better than when new.

Edited by madf on 13/07/2019 at 10:18

Honda Jazz - Can I change the brake pads only for front tyre? - edlithgow
They are well corroded , but not bad enough for an mot failure, unless they are cracked or breaking up. Very likely to be ok on the brake rollers . However, I’d like to see the other sides , they could be a lot worse.

I could have pretty much guaranteed those would have failed an MOT in Edinburgh in the 80's / 90s, because I ALWAYS failed an MOT for rusty brake disks in Edinburgh in the 80's / 90s, even though they passed the brake function test, and had been replaced for the previous MOT.

This was my main reason for thinking the MOT was a bit of an arbitrary rip-off charter. Don't miss it at all.

Here (in Taiwan) there's no visual inspection, just a brake force test, so cosmetic failures don't, AFAIK, happen.

Eventually I took to putting a shiny set of disks on for the MOT and then putting the rusty ones back on afterwards, wrapping the shiny ones in aluminium foil and grease-proofed paper for the next MOT..

A bit of brake application won't, IMO, save them.

If I had to get Scottish disks through an MOT again I'd try electrolyisis.

Edited by edlithgow on 13/07/2019 at 12:43