Having to change the brake pads and rotors after 20k km

Question

I took my 2014 Hyundai Tucson to the Service Shop today, and I got really surprised when they told me I would have to replace my front and rear brake pads and rotors.

Some context: The Tucson was bought new on 2014 and it is about 22000 km. I always do the maintenance on the schedule at the Hyundai dealership. In 2015, I traveled, and left the car with a friend for 4 months, she drove around the block once a week, to make sure the battery would not fail. Before taking to the shop today, the car was without any use for about 40 days, as I was traveling again. After coming back, I heard a continuing noise on the front wheel, every time I would accelerate the car and that's the reason I took it to the shop. My wife and I are really light drivers and I am sure we don't push the brakes that much. We live in Toronto, Canada, where temperatures could get to -20C during the winter.

Question: Is it normal that I have to change my brakes at 22000 km? I can only think about 2 reasons I need to change it:

1. Because of the not use of the car for long period of times, made the pads/rotors stale.
2. The dealership is ripping me off. (I really don't want this to be true)

Answer 1

You're on the right track by thinking they are "stale." I recently replaced my rear brake pads and rotors with a higher-quality brand. What I observed with the worn out OEM rotors was that they collected rust an an alarming rate. Since your vehicle was sitting for long periods, the higher accumulation of abrasive rust on the rotor wears them down faster, and the cycle is repeated regularly.

Now, as for that noise when you are driving, disc brake pads are always in contact with the surface of the rotor. Although the brakes aren't applied, the rust is being scraped against the rotor's surface by the pads.

As an aside, I have been monitoring my new rotors and they have not been rusting like the OEM rotors did.

Answer 2

They should be able to turn down the rotors to remove any rust or corrosion.

If the pads are rusty they could be locking up and should be replaced.

If you want you should be able to find the rotor thickness limit and measure them yourself. Harbor Freight sells an inexpensive digital caliper used to measure brake calipers. HF caliper Have you taken a look yourself. Have any photos?