What's wrong with my brakes?

[massbear]

2016 Ram 1500, 5.7l. 49,000 miles. Recently I get some mild feedback when braking, especially from higher speeds. A passenger even asked if my brakes were bad. I figured at 49k it was time for from t pads and rotors. I pulled off the wheels - and the rotors are fine, clean and smooth. The pads have a solid 9/16" of material left, nowhere near worn down. I checked the rears - the same. Plenty of life in the pads. Anybody have a thought about what’s going on here? It feels like the brakes are wearing out - but it doesn’t look like they are.

 

[White six four]

What does mild feedback mean? Like a pulsing or vibration when braking? Probably a warped rotor.

 

[TotallyHucked]

Have you done any really hard stops lately/jumped on the brakes all of a sudden? You may have warped the rotors

 

[crash68]

Have you done any really hard stops lately/jumped on the brakes all of a sudden? You may have warped the rotors

Hard braking doesn't warp rotors, even if they start glowing slightly. Maybe while they're hot you shock cool them, possibly.

@massbear most likely you have build up on your rotors from riding the brakes. A lot of people are guilty of this without realizing it. If your not progressively pushing the pedal down the entire time your coming to a stop, you guessed it "riding the brakes".
Braking too lightly causes the pad/rotor surfaces to polish each other which builds more heat. That heat will "bake" the dust/debris to the surface of the rotor when holding the vehicle at a stop. A way to minimize this is once the vehicle is stopped, let off the brakes and roll forward a few feet.

 

[massbear]

They don't vibrate or pulse, i.e., it doesn’t feel like a warped rotor. It feels like they're 'grinding', but just slightly, i.e., not like a pad is worn to metal or even the wear bars. All 4 pads look fine, the rotors are smooth and clean, i.e, no grooves worn in them, doesn’t appear to be anything trapped between the pads and the rotors.. No hard/sudden braking of late, or ever. I don't tow anything, never have. And no, I don't ride the brakes. Never have, never will. (And if I were in that habit, i tend to doubt I'd have made it to 49k miles without having to replace at least the pads.)

 

[tron67j]

As crash68 said, you can't warp brakes, they need to get over 2,000 degrees for anything like that could happen. Even NASCAR breaks don't reach those temperatures. Grinding could be the small metal tab that starts to make contact when brakes get to a certain point. Take it to a good mechanic.

 

[Forsakentalon]

Pull the rears off and have a look at your parking brakes... You're going to be in for a shock and a pita if you live in the rust belt.

 

[Mister Luck]

Check your wheel speed sensors for debris build up or brake dust shields for interference.

 

[markabby]

maybe it's not the brakes.....?

 

[WSeanMac]

similar, pulsing when stopping. had both front and rears done, parking break replaced. it went away slightly then came back. sometimes it's fine , sometimes it's really bad. no idea what is going on. I drive two other vehicles and don't have this problem and have never had it in any other vehicle (some suggested it's the way I drive but this is the only vehicle this has happened to me on, and only in the last few months)

 

[Mister Luck]

They don't vibrate or pulse, i.e., it doesn’t feel like a warped rotor. It feels like they're 'grinding', but just slightly, i.e., not like a pad is worn to metal or even the wear bars. All 4 pads look fine, the rotors are smooth and clean, i.e, no grooves worn in them, doesn’t appear to be anything trapped between the pads and the rotors.. No hard/sudden braking of late, or ever. I don't tow anything, never have. And no, I don't ride the brakes. Never have, never will. (And if I were in that habit, i tend to doubt I'd have made it to 49k miles without having to replace at least the pads.)

Had a similar problem from interference to driver side wheel speed sensor’s signal was compromised by a bent dust shield ..

you mentioned inspecting the brake components visually
Check the wheel speed sensor for signal interference , physical damage, disruption or connector contamination.

 

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

They don't vibrate or pulse, i.e., it doesn’t feel like a warped rotor. It feels like they're 'grinding', but just slightly, i.e., not like a pad is worn to metal or even the wear bars. All 4 pads look fine, the rotors are smooth and clean, i.e, no grooves worn in them, doesn’t appear to be anything trapped between the pads and the rotors.. No hard/sudden braking of late, or ever. I don't tow anything, never have. And no, I don't ride the brakes. Never have, never will. (And if I were in that habit, i tend to doubt I'd have made it to 49k miles without having to replace at least the pads.)

Have you examined the caliber slides? Are they clean and lubricated with high-quality brake lube?

If not, the brake pads will not move smoothly and can cause a vibration or chatter.