Driving a 2017 Kia Sportage I bought new. It’s currently at 72000km. It’s the first car I ever owned. The brakes seem fine, but at 70k, I’m surprised I haven’t had to replace them yet. What signs should I look out for to know when it’s time?
Mainly you will hear squeaking while braking, sometimes you can see brake pad thickness without removing wheels. And last but not least - this car should have brake pads wear sensors and when they are done you will get a light on dash
Check the brake pads. It isn’t too hard. Easier if you take the wheel off which you should have the tools to do somewhere in the car. Good practice if you ever get a flat and have to do it on the side of the road too
That’s like 40k miles, hardly a big deal if you’re not aggressively using your brakes a lot.
I’d say your experience is typical for twenty-teens-era korean car that’s driven easy. I’ve driven a few Hyundai’s >100kmi on original factory brake pads and discs. Still had >5mm on the fronts at 100km when I changed tires on my last one and rears were still “new” and operated perfectly.
In most cases, when the pads are worn the built-in “squealer” will wake the dead with its shriek … like fingernails on a chalkboard.
I’m a coaster, always have been. I get well over 100,000 km on a set of front brakes, and on my Toyota Matrix, ran the original rear drums to over 450,000 km.