Driver-Side Brakes Wear Faster Than Passenger-Side – Why?

Driver-side brakes may wear faster because of uneven load in the car, frozen or tough calipers, unevenly sized brake rotors, or issues with the hydraulic system. The range of problems is pretty wide and you will have to spend some time before you locate the actual problem and can solve it.

Brake pads problems highlights

• Level of urgency:super-urgent
• DIY diagnostics:possible but complicated
• DIY repairs:impossible
• Price for repair:$250 - $450
• Common symptoms:sounds when braking, unintentional braking, warped rotor
• Commonreasons:bad pads, improper installation, old pads
• If ignored:rotor wear, bad brakes, damage to the system

Identifying the uneven wear of brake pads

Very often, people start panicking when they see that on the right wheels of their cars, they have less brake dust than on the left wheels. There are other explanations for this like wind directions, puddles, and coincidences that wash away the dust. Never take it for granted and decide that now you have problems with brakes. But this can make you inspect the car, anyway.

The uneven wear of brake pads on different sides of the vehicle is noticed in several cases:

• the pads are worn on the driver's side of the car much faster while they are OK on the passenger side;
• driver-side brake pads are broken very often;
• when replacing the pads, the passenger side pads look like new while the driver side ones are almost dead;
• the driver-side brake disc has a groove in the place of contact with the pad while the passenger-side disc is even and smooth.

If you experience these symptoms in your vehicle, then you need to worry. It's obvious that the driver-side brakes work more efficiently and are worn out much faster. This is not as it should be, the brakes need to wear more or less evenly all around the vehicle. Otherwise, you are not safe on the road.

The problem is more serious than it may seem because if you hit the brakes hard in a dangerous situation, your vehicle may go to an uncontrolled skid and no safety system will help with that. Unfortunately, solving this problem is not always easy.

What are the reasons for uneven brake pad wear?

So, before you start inspecting the vehicle or even before you take it in for the inspection, you may want to know the reasons why the driver-side pads are worn out much faster than the passenger-side ones. There are several possible reasons that are not that easy to locate and solve.

Here they are:

1. Calipers are frozen

One or several brake calipers may get stuck. This will lead to the situation when brake pads just don't touch the disc when needed. It leads to inefficient braking. Of course, the brake pads in this caliper will always look like new but there is no reason to be happy about that.

If the caliper is stuck, you can't move it with your hands. This is how it can be checked without going to the dealership. Lubricating the stuck caliper will not help. In most cases, you will need a new one. Of course, the tough caliper can be saved - sometimes just proper lubrication will help much.

Anyway, a frozen caliper is a very serious safety issue, and ignoring it may lead to car accidents and other unpleasant situations on the road.

2. Hydraulic problems in the system

Brake pads are pressed to the rotor by the caliper. The caliper gets the pressure from the hydraulic system. When you press the brake pedal, the hydraulic fluid in the brake cylinder develops a certain pressure that is then sent to the brake lines and to the calipers. But if something is wrong with the system, the pressure may not actually go to the caliper.

For example, a blocked or broken brake line or a clogged brake hose near the wheel may lead to such issues. Three wheels will have braking power and one wheel will still be rotating without any problems however hard you press the brake pedal.

3. One part of the braking system is broken

Usually, the right rear wheel is connected with the left front wheel when it comes to brakes. So, there are two separate systems and both your front wheels belong to different systems. If your right front wheel fails to brake and the calipers aren't worn at all, check the left rear wheel. If the same happens with it, one part of the braking system is just not working.

This may happen because of problems with the brake cylinders or maybe the brake assist system. In modern vehicles, the issues with electronics and things like ABS or ESP may also lead to this.

4. Driver-side pads are always in contact with the disk

Maybe the pads that are worn very fast are actually problematic. If the pad stays in contact with the rotor even when the brake pedal is not pressed, it will wear quickly. Also, the rotor will suffer, especially at high speed. It will overheat and will eventually stop doing its job.

This happens when there are problems with the caliper or with the hydraulic system. A professional inspection is needed to locate the actual issue.

5. Brake discs are of different thickness

Another common problem is when the brake discs are not worn evenly. In this case, one pair of pads will touch the disc earlier than the other one. Hence the improper wear. This may happen if you install the used parts when servicing brakes in your car. Or it may also be the result of replacing just one brake disc - you should always replace two of them.

Different thicknesses of brake discs will not be resolved on their own. You may need to drive thousands of miles before the pads will wear the thicker disc and make it the same thickness as the other one. The only proper solution is to replace the discs and install two new brake rotors of the same size.

Can you drive with this condition of brakes?

When you notice this anomaly, you may be scared that the car may lose braking power in the end. And you are not wrong with this. If one or two wheels in your car don't brake properly, it's important for you to stop driving the vehicle. When anything is wrong with the brakes, you shouldn't keep driving till you resolve the problem.

Anyway, if the car has brakes now and they work perfectly, you shouldn't call a tow truck and have the car delivered to the dealership for several hundred dollars. It's OK to drive slowly. You may also turn on the emergency blinkers to make sure you don't get into trouble on the way.

But I strongly recommend driving your car exactly to the repair shop because you have to think about the safety of you and the people around you. If you ignore the problem with brakes, chances are that you will get into a car accident. The money economy is never worth it.

What are the DIY inspection methods?

When it comes to brakes, I never recommend car owners think of DIY repairs. But you can check what exactly is wrong with your car before you take it in for a professional inspection. In a bad repair shop, you may be told that the entire brake system needs replacement when there is actually a problem with one brake hose.

So, here's what you may try doing:

• find a good video tutorial on how you can check the calipers and try to make them move with your hands to make sure they are OK;
• check if the brake fluid level is not low - physically check it in the reservoir under the hood;
• take the wheels off and look at the calipers - try to find any signs of leaking fluid or any damages that you can detect visually;
• ask someone to press the brakes and look at the calipers on both sides of the car - this may give you some hints;
• measure the thickness of brake rotors on both sides - it should be even;
• look at the pads and see if they are unevenly worn - maybe there is no problem at all;
• use the OBD2 scanner to make sure there are no problems with brakes, ABS, ESP, and other functions.

This will help you make sure that the brakes are OK. After such an inspection, you may carefully drive to the repair shop without worrying about the safety of the vehicle. You've already checked the most obvious possible problems and everything seemed to be fine.

If you can't locate the problem, just let professional mechanics have a look at the car.