2005 Ford 500 Rear Brake Pads Wearing Down Very Quickly.

TRASHYSQUID

MEMBER
2005 FORD FIVE HUNDRED
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
37,790 MILES

I bought this car new in 2005, and since that time I've replaced two (2) sets of rear brake pads. The first time I noticed this was at 18, xxx or so miles during an oil change. The dealer took the car in for two days, couldn't figure out the problem, and ended up replacing the rotors and pads "per the request of Ford" according to them. At about 36,500 miles, the same thing happened again. Went to the dealer and was told that this kind of rapid rear brake pad wear "was normal", even after pointing out that if this indeed was normal, why was it that the front brakes (which bear much heavier loads than the rear) were still fine? No answer to that, just the "normal" response with the added caveat that this particular car has an added feature on the rear brake that "makes the brakes wear faster". Don't remember if they said the ABS system or the parking brake. I ended up eating the cost for that repair and having NTB do the work. And then last week, my wife says that the rear brakes every now and then are shimmying at 40mph or less while coming to a stop, as if the ABS is fixin' to kick in (during non-aggressive braking). All I know is that I've had many new cars and I have never had this kind of problem with rear brakes before, especially two sets of pads in under 36,000 miles or so. Help!

3 Replies

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

There is a Tech Bulliten on your car, and the new pads should have been covered under the Warranty, because there is a new part number that must be used! Here's the TSB to dealers by Ford.
REAR BRAKE DRAG, NOISE, DUST, AND/OR PREMATURE PAD WEAR TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN Reference Number(s): 07-5-9, � Date of Issue: � March 19, 2007 Superceded Bulletin(s): 06-22-17, � Date of Issue: � November 13, 2006 Related Ref Number(s): 05-4-7, 06-22-17, 07-5-9 ARTICLE BEGINNING ISSUE Some 2005-2007 Freestyle FWD, Five Hundred, and Montego vehicles built before 11/29/2006 may exhibit rear brake drag after being parked for an extended period of time, brake noise, excessive brake dust and/or premature pad wear on one or both wheels. ACTION Follow the tsb Service Procedure steps to correct the condition. SERVICE PROCEDURE Replace rear brake pads with revised parts following a revised service procedure in the online Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 206-04. TIP: If the piston is unintentionally rotated in the wrong direction and the internal threads lose FORD: 2005-2007 Five Hundred, Freestyle MERCURY: 2005-2007 Montego NOTE: This article supersedes TSB 06-22-17 to update the Service Parts and include a production fix date for some vehicles. The production fix date excludes Freestyle AWD vehicles. WARNING: WHEN INSTALLING REVISED REAR BRAKE PADS ON FREESTYLE AWD VEHICLES, IT IS ALSO NECESSARY TO INSTALL REVISED FRONT PADS TO MAINTAIN PROPER BRAKE PERFORMANCE DUE TO THE VEHICLE'S WEIGHT. NOTE: THE LH CALIPER PISTON TURNS CLOCKWISE TO MOVE THE PISTON BACK INTO THE CALIPER AND THE RH CALIPER PISTON TURNS COUNTERCLOCKWISE TO MOVE THE PISTON BACK INTO THE CALIPER. USING THE SPECIAL TOOL, COMPRESS THE BRAKE CALIPER PISTON INTO ITS CYLINDER. WHILE ROTATING THE PISTON IN THE APPROPRIATE DIRECTION, A FORCE TOWARD THE PISTON MUST ALSO BE APPLIED WITH THE TOOL, OTHERWISE THE TOOL WILL SLIP OFF THE PISTON FACE AND PISTON WILL NOT SCREW INTO THE CYLINDER. Page 1 of 2 REAR BRAKE DRAG, NOISE, DUST, AND/OR PREMATURE PAD WEAR -2005 Fo...contact, the piston can be screwed back into the cylinder. If the Piston boot seal loses contact around the piston, replace the caliper because contamination may have entered. It may take a couple full turns before the threads engage. Be sure that the piston is aligned with the cylinder and a force toward the piston is applied while rotating. PARTS INFORMATION
NOTE: IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO MACHINE THE REAR ROTORS USING THE ROTUNDA ON-CAR BRAKE LATHE UNLESS ROTOR RUNOUT AND/OR RUST ARE EXCESSIVE. MACHINE THE REAR BRAKE DISCS IF THE DIAGNOSIS HAS REVEALED REAR THUMPING OR GRINDING NOISE WHILE BRAKING. HEAVILY SCORED BRAKE DISCS, SIMILAR TO THAT CAUSED BY PADS WORN DOWN TO THE BACKING PLATE, SHOULD ALSO BE MACHINED. IN ORDER TO MACHINE, DISCS MUST BE ABOVE THE MINIMUM THICKNESS TO MACHINE SPECIFICATION. REFER TO WSM SECTION 206-00 FOR DISC MACHINING INFORMATION.

WARRANTY INFORMATION WARRANTY STATUS: Eligible Under Provisions Of New Vehicle Limited Warranty Coverage.
IMPORTANT: Warranty coverage limits/policies are not altered by a TSB. Warranty coverage limits are determined by the identified causal part. Or maybe no warranty....sorry! But at least you know what to do in the future.