I had new brake pads installed by an independent mechanic and everything seemed to be fine with the brakes. But this morning I had some maintenance done at my Acura dealer and the mechanic said that the front pads were installed "upside down", though I think he might mean "backwards".

Is this possible? I assume it's not metal on metal or I would hear it. Possibly they were installed on the wrong side of the car or the wrong side of the calipers? Would it have caused damage to the rotors?

I'd like to understand the problem better before raising hell with the mechanic.

 

if we're talking a base TL, they probably meant with the chamfered edge on the wrong side.

the only thing it would've caused is excessive noise, i think.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it's a base model TL.

Could the mechanic just reverse them now to fix the problem or do I need new pads? I had them installed about four months ago. Is it worth fixing? Looking at the rotors (at least the outer surface), I don't see any unusual wear.

Also, would having them backwards put the wear indicator in the wrong place?

 

The wear indicators should be installed on the inside as with single piston calipers the inside pad will normally wear quicker.

 

theres no way to install it upside down, there are grooves for the edges, it wouldnt fit upside down. but what can happen is the front and back pad mixed up, as turbonut said, the squeal indicator goes on the inside. however, no issues will arise since the pads are the same material. But for long term use, the squeal indicator should be on the inside pad so it squeals before its too late

 

exactly what he said.

 

If the inner and outer pads were swapped, should I be able to see the wear indicator? I haven't been able to when I looked. Also, by swapping the inner and outer pads, it does seem like the chamfer would be facing the wrong direction.

I feel I should ask the guy to fix the issue, even if it's not a huge problem. Heck, he's an ASE Master Certified mechanic, so you'd think he wouldn't make such a simple mistake.

 

It's a waste of money to flip the pads. Just keep an eye on the wear. If they're not making noise you're find.

If they swap the inner and outers it's 30 minutes time tops and they're going to charge you a lot because it's a dealership. However, you should never swap used pads like that because a wear pattern has already been established. You need to go with new pads if you get this done.

The only thing you might be missing is the wear indicator that makes the brakes squeal when they're worn and I say maybe because many aftermarket pads don have them anyway. Plus, if the pads do have them, they're still there but they're on the side that wears the slowest.

 

it depends. oem pads are chamfered both sides so it doesnt matter. however i've seen some aftermarket pads with chamfers only on 1 side....which in that case will be reversed(unless you swap them with the other wheel's pads)

 

I agree and you're right but assuming the chamfer is on one side only and it's on the wrong side now it's not a problem since the purpose of the chamfer is noise reduction and he said there is no noise. In my experience the chamfer usually helps with noise under very light low speed braking. I definitely don't recommend putting the chamfer on the wrong side but he's looking at a full "brake job", at lease expense wise since the pads *should* be replaced and not just swapped around.

 

inside out - wear indicator on the outside -_-

upside down - wear indicator should be on the inside, top for front, inside bottom for rear.. but some stupid mechanics who are used to rear-mounted calieprs always point it to the bottom because the little clip should go on the "leading" side of pad.

google "brake wear indicator position" for more read


either way, get a new set of pads. it's like $50 delivered from rockauto (Centric or bendix)

 

Hey MarkF786, your best bet is to just let them go as is for now.
Unless the mechanic will put new ones on for free, it's not worth the hassle, IMO.
You'll be good for awhile, in the meantime.....learn how to "DIY", saving money and assuring things are done right !