I finally spoke up about the 'always replace both sides' brake job rule at our shop meeting in Tacoma

We had a customer with a 2017 Civic who only needed one caliper, and the other side was under 6 months old. I argued we should just do the one, saving them $300, but the lead tech said it was a liability issue. I showed them the service history and the wear measurements, and we ended up doing just the single side. Has anyone else pushed back on this rule when the evidence is clear?

3 comments

3 Comments

willow_garcia3mo ago

Remember when shops used to just replace the worn part without all this extra drama.

verap523mo ago

Good on you for using the actual data to make the call. It's not always black and white. @willow_garcia has a point about less drama in the past, but some of those old shops also ignored real safety issues like mixing pad types. The key is looking at each car. A six month old caliper on the other side with even wear? That's a solid case for a single replacement in my book.

hugo_nelson1mo ago

Man, that's a solid call right there. Had a buddy of mine up in Bellingham deal with the same thing on his old Subaru. Took it in for a sticking caliper, but the other side had been done maybe eight months earlier. Shop tried to sell him on the full set, but he showed them the receipt from the other shop, and they finally caved just like your place did. @verap52 is spot on about using the data, it's not just a blanket rule you have to follow. Feels good when the customer doesn't have to drop three hundred bucks for no reason.