Do the brake pads/shoes last forever?

They don't last forever but there are many reports of them lasting way past 100,000 miles before replacement (obviously depending on use patterns).

 

Mine had 127K on it when I last checked the brake pads. Had about 40% pad left. I'm a mostly highway driver though.

 

I just had my 65K service done and the rear pads were killed, almost to the metal, my car makes weekly trips between Bristol TN and Raleigh NC so it is a interstate cruiser. The service tech said it was common for highway runners to do that, said the perportioning? valve used the back brakes more on light application like you do at higher speeds, I don't know about that but I saw the pads and scuffed rotors, cost mo $202.00.

 

Some of us have achieved just over 100k miles on the original brakes of non-hybrids. But large numbers of Prius drivers have reported that and far more. It depends strongly on usage and driver style.

 

Was than on a Gen 2 or Gen 3? We have a mix of vehicles in this thread.

 

My 2004 Prius is at 237k miles on the original brakes, but they don't last forever even though it seems like they do.

JeffD

 

Front brakes with always wear out faster than the rears, because they do the majority of a vehicle's stopping power. But as what was previously stated, brake wear depends strongly on usage and driver style.

 

It depends on the vehicle. There are many decisions and compromises made in the design of any vehicle system. On some cars the rears are sized so they wear out first.

 

Just replaced the rear brakes on my wife's 2007 Camry Hybrid at 117,000 miles. Front brakes still OK.

 

Gen 2 - 2008 model

 

I took my 06 Envoy in for brake work @ 126k since I was getting "the squeak."
I can and do work on brakes occasionally but I have a tire guy that I trust to be honest and capable.
My bill was $10.
The squeak turned out to be FOD in my front caliper.
He says I still have about 50-percent of the pads, the rotors are still true, and the fluid is still OK.
He just did a little cleaning.

Take Away: If you're a moron...or you drive like one...then it's unlikely that you're going to get >100k miles out of your brakes. Even in city driving, you can get a lot more wear out of your brakes if you drive green.
Hypermiling doesn't apply just to Priuses...and it's benefits aren't just lower fuel bills.

YMMV.....