Just realized I was checking rear brakes with the wheel still on for 6 months

I was doing a brake job on a 2016 Civic in my garage last Saturday and the pads looked fine from the outside, so I buttoned it up and sent the car out. Customer came back 3 days later with grinding in the rear and when I pulled the wheel the inner pad was down to metal. I had been eyeballing pad thickness through the wheel spokes for months without pulling the caliper, and it finally bit me on a $480 job I had to redo for free. A guy at the parts counter asked me how I check inner pads and I didn't have a good answer. How are you all checking rear inner pads without pulling everything apart?

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kim_nelson17d ago

Man, I felt this one in my soul. I once spent a whole afternoon convincing myself the rear pads on my own truck were fine because the outer pad looked thick as a brick, then pulled the wheel a week later and the inner was basically a cracker. The caliper slide pins were seized so only one pad was doing any work. Now I stick a flashlight and a mirror back there or just bend a piece of wire into a hook to feel for thickness. It's a pain but way cheaper than eating a redo. If the pins are frozen you'll never see it from the outside anyway, that's the trap.

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