bollingm

Have any of you fortunate 0 TL owners experienced/noticed excessive brake dust as you see on BMW, Mercedes, Jags, Audi, and VW etc?

JetJock

I clean my wheels, unlike most of the lazy owners of Mercedes and BMW's so I don't have that problem.

Tripp11

My 6MT doesn't have any more brake dust than my other vehicles I've owned (Saab 9-3 SE Vert, Mitsu Eclipse GS-T, Beratta GTZ). So, nothing excessive...of course I clean my car once a week or at a minimum every two weeks.

William_B

My 6MT produces a lot of brake dust. With the cold snap over, I'll be able to power wash them more often.

VTEC=happiness

Just cleaned the car after a 2 week lazy period (by the way, it rained the following day, of course) and found quite a bit of brake dust. Like others mentioned, however, it was no different than any other car I have owned

vtechbrain

The brake dust problem lasts only a couple of K. After 3K I have had no dust problems at all (it might have to do with winter though I'll let you know!).

Formula 350

Yes, a lot of brake dust up front.

I am not religious on cleaning the car and it will build up BIG TIME in about 800 miles. This is more than any other car I have owned.

I do get out and clean the wheels as it looks pretty bad if you do not.

skomarla

Had an Audi S4 before getting the TL.

I have just as much brake dust in the TL as the Audi S4.

jdimaria

No much brake dust here. I have 3400 miles on the car. I wash it about once every 2 weeks.

ulangca

some say that the brembos leaves more brake dust than regulars do...

bollingm

I think driving habits and condtions play a huge role, I just thought the german cars had softer pads.

KJSmitty

I do agree that the TL brake pads leave more break dust than my previous cars. Different cars use different brake pad materials/linings, some better some worse. Another factor is how well the wind flow through the rim keeps the dust from collecting. Many rims aren't designed to specifically force more air over the brakes. The ones that are tend to alleviate more break dust. Others just out of pure luck work better at it than others. I would say the TL rim/brake linings/dust falls in the "better" than some category.

The one thing I am happy about is that the 17 inch rims, with AT brakes, have enough room for me to thoroughly clean the outside and inner surface of the rim.... I hate a clean exterior rim yet have the inner surface visible and filthy...

JoganJani

On my 6MT I have a lot of brake dust problem. I clean my front wheels every weekend. It gets dirty like BMW, Audi and I hate it. I've been told that this is due to performance brake pads.

Cleaning wheels of a TL is very easu though.

Norse396

Brake dust affects the wheels of owners who don't clean their wheels. If you look at the condition of the car attached to the dirty wheels chances are it's dirty as well.

I could be wrong, but that's what I see.

Norse396

joganjani,

I went a week between cleanings and there wasn't any build up, do you drive fast?

JoganJani

I commute 30 miles one way and 25 miles of it is highway. I drive up to 85 miles in some patches but not beyond that.

Do I drive fast, not really. Do I drive safe, certainly.

GoBig

Brembo = Brake Dust...but well worth the stopping power.

Norse396

joganjani,

We go about the same distance, I'm going to check the wheels out more carefully tomorrow, usually bad build up is very noticable, I haven't seen much.

Hybrid

German government specifications (TUV) require graphite in the German brake pads. Just do a Google search on "german brake pads graphite" to see this. That's why brake dust is so bad in BMWs and other German cars. Most American and Asian cars don't have this "feature." I'm not sure about the Brembo brake system, but the non-Brembo TL is "typical" for Japanese cars for brake dust, which means not much brake dust. All brake linings produce some dust as they wear, and using the brakes more, or harder, will produce more dust. Wax your wheels just like the rest of the car (they are painted and clear-coated, after all) to make it easier to clean off.