First off, apologies if this has been solved in another thread before, but quick searches did not pull this particular wear pattern yet.

I have a 2003 Honda Accord EX coupe that I've been driving for almost 5 years now and as far as I know, my rear brakes have never been serviced during my ownership. I figured 5 years was way overdue for a rear brake job, so yesterday I went in to inspect the pads and rotor and found this:





All rear pads look like this (inside and outside, driver and passenger) with about the same amount of wear for each of them.

Inspecting the rest of the rear brake system further; the caliper pins moved freely and felt decently lubricated. The top and bottom spacers were covered in brake dust, but after I brushed it off, they came out silver again (no rust). Reapplied grease to the spacers and the pad lips and they slide fine.

The rear pads appear to have a lot of life left (aside from the outer wear) which makes me think maybe my mechanic replaced the pads during a "x mile service," but I honestly cannot remember having a rear brake job done. There was a good amount of (now dirty) grease over the components that I inspected so I don't want to blame incorrect installation of pads yet.


So basicaly, what could be the cause of this wear? And are new pads needed?

 

I'm going to take a guess, and say the pads were not installed correctly. There are small metal tabs, on the inside pad backing plates. The piston head has a recessed + that should be lined up square with the caliper so that the tab on the brake pad goes into the slot on the caliper piston. If not, the brake pad will not sit flat against the piston. The pistons have to be turned clockwise, to retract them to make room for new pads, but they must be lined up correctly, for the tabs on the rear inside pads.

 

Those look to be tapers on both ends. I've seen pads w/ a taper, but usually not as prominent as these.

Misalignment w/ the caliper pistion and pad nibs causes one end to wear prematurely, at least it did on my 94 EX.

good luck

 

I agree with you on your post TexasHonda..Ive seen them like that many times when the customers brought them back to the parts stores..

WheelBrokerAng

 

Those pads look to be made that way. On my 2003 if I used Anti-Seize(which they used at the Honda dealership I once worked at) on the pads for lube they would seize up and I ended up using Permatex Ultra Disc Brake Caliper for Lube they sell at Advance auto. I mention that as your pads look like they may have seized. I would replace your pads.