03 LS Maintenance/Problems

[miles412]

When coming to a stop the breaks squeak RIGHT before you come to a complete stop. Same sound if you are sitting at a light and gently let off the brakes to move up a little. We took the car to the dealership yesterday and they said something about replacing the rotors and that the front brake pads were getting close to needing replacement.

Also, in the morning when the car is backing out of the garage you can hear a "click" that comes from the back/underneath the car. You can also hear the same click sound when you initially start to drive forward. I have heard this sound for several months (only on cold startups), but every time I tell the maintenance people at the dealership about it they fail to diagnose the problem.

Questions:
Has anyone had these problems with their LS?
How much should it cost to replace rotors and the brake pads?
How long should brake pads last?

We have around 45k miles on the car.

 

[97stscaddy]

That "click" is probably a cv joint. I wouldnt worry about that too much unless it gets worse.

Average brake job at a dealer is $400+ nowadays, parts and labor, for pads and rotors.
You can do it yourself usually for less than $200.
At 45k, yeah its probably about time for some new brakes. The rotors should be fine though, im not sure why they suggested that the rotors be replaced. Did you ask them?

 

[glanga]

i actually had mine in today to get new brakes and rotors on the front, they were worn down to metal and ive only had the car since 29,000 it has 34,000 now. and i know what your talking about, mine did that too so they replaced pads and rotors, i got it done for free though so i didnt give a :q:q:q:q

 

[doug03ls]

That "click" is probably a cv joint. I wouldnt worry about that too much unless it gets worse.

Average brake job at a dealer is $400+ nowadays, parts and labor, for pads and rotors.
You can do it yourself usually for less than $200.
At 45k, yeah its probably about time for some new brakes. The rotors should be fine though, im not sure why they suggested that the rotors be replaced. Did you ask them?

I thought cv joints were only for fwd cars. The LS is rwd.

Doug

 

[SoonerLS]

I thought cv joints were only for fwd cars. The LS is rwd.

The LS is RWD, but it has an independent rear suspension (IRS) which uses CV joints and half-shafts. See
http://www.trademotion.com/partloca...=2003&graphicID=FIP070&callout=22&catalogid=1
for the O-fficial Ford Parts Catalog diagram of the LS's rear suspension, complete with inner and outer constant velocity joints.