[EchoTango]

Hi All :

Been a while since I posted.... but here goes.

I was changing to my winter wheels a found the rear brake pads were totally done. I decided to change the rotors as well and ran into a real "wonderful" piece of KIA engineering. In order to take the rotor off, you have to remove the caliper bracket. One of the caliper bracket bolts runs right through the rear sway bar mount which DOES allows you the get a wrench in there but NOT to entirely remove the bolt. I tried to remove the rotor and the bracket together, but the casting around the wheel hub won't allow the caliper bracket to clear without completely removing the bolt, which is still locked inside the sway bar mount. Removing the sway bar bolt then causes that bolt's head to run up against the shock mount, again making it unable to be removed. Do I really need to remove the shocks to change a rotor ?

So this is like a going into the circle of hell just to change a rotor, typically a ten minute job !

Has anyone had to change a rear rotor and what did you do ?

 

[BitterLemons]

What year Cadenza?

 

[EchoTango]

2014, but I suspect the 2014-2018 will all be the same.

I also have the official KIA workshop manual which says to remove the rear shocks and the upper arm. Yes, you will need to take the lower shock saddle bolts but it's silent on the sway bar bolt. I had to abandon the disc change as I'd run out of time due to this unanticipated work so I've not actually completed the disc installation. I had to be satisfied with just changing out the pads.

That KIA engineer really needs to be taken to the woodshed for such ametuer design work.

 

[MikeMiller]

How many miles is on your Cadenza?

 

[EchoTango]

30,000 miles, largely city driven.

 

[onlyjeeps]

30,000 miles, largely city driven.

If your rear (or even front!) rotors are "gone" by 30,000 miles, you have some sort of serious problems with your brakes! I only just changed out my fronts at 68,000 and my rear's still have tens of thousands of miles left on them.

 

[BrooklynCKIA]

How many miles is on your Cadenza?

I have 26000 miles on my 2014 cadenza, kia dealers tell me my pads need replacing, my regular neighborhood mechanic says no not yet, i Live in Brooklyn,ny, most driving is stop and go and i figure by 30000 miles I'll be ready for new pads ...Just saying

 

[Waveboarder7]

I bought my 2015 Cadenza at 30,000 miles and I had to replace rear pads and rotors at 40,000. I’m not sure if the rotors needed replacing, but the pads did so I decided to do both so I’d have fresh rotors for my ownership. It was my first foray into brake jobs and doing my own maintenance, but I was able to get the caliper and mounting bracket off on one side in an embarrassingly long amount of time. What defeated me were the two small rotor screws on the front face of the rotor that held it in place. I stripped both of them, bought a drill, failed, gave up, put it back together, and paid Firestone the $400 to be done with it as my weekend was coming to an end. Anyways, here’s some tips:

When jacking up the car, always use both a jack stand and a jack at the same time on solid, flat ground. Sometimes these things fail, but it’s highly unlikely both will fail at the same time if you’re doing it right. DO NOT USE THE SCISSOR JACK THAT CAME WITH THE CAR. It’s not worth saving $60 if you walk/get carried away with life-lasting injuries.

Brakes get hot and will burn you, let them cool first for at least an hour before you start working on them.

If you’re just replacing the rear brake pads and your car has the electronic parking brake, you need some special tool or something in the software to push the caliper piston back in. I tried using the usual tools and it wouldn’t budge. It’s a good thing I never got that far when I first did the rear brake job because I still have no idea how to push that piston back. If anyone knows what to use, please let me know. The usual tools may work if you don’t have the EPB but I’m not certain.

New rotors come with a thin layer of oil on them to prevent rust. Wipe the whole rotor off with brake clean and a towel before you install.

This video explains the whole process for rear pads and rotors. The title says 2013 Optima but as far as I know it should work for at least 2014-2016 Cadenzas. At 4:00, I didn’t have to loosen that second control arm bolt on the inside. A hammer worked fine but your mileage may vary. At 11:15, you NEED to use the prybar. If you don’t have one, buy one. At 13:00, listen to the man and put in the bolt like he did so that there’s less work for you next time.

https://youtu.be/AL_rAXEkFZc If you’re only doing front brake pads or rotors, consider yourself lucky. 2 bolts for the calipers, two bolts for the bracket, 2 screws for the rotor (Don’t strip them). This video by Klelious Davis explains the process. At 5:40, he mentions having to file down the brake pad clip. Maybe it’s just the pads he bought, mine didn’t need it. I bought Akebano brake pads, and the mistake I made was not putting copper anti-seize on the metal backing plate where the pad touches the calipers. My brakes always squealed first thing in the morning, the calipers left marks on the pads, and the brake pedal has a slight vibration when pressed. I’ll be changing the pads soon and adding the anti-seize, I just haven’t had a chance to do it yet so hopefully that’ll fix the problem.

 

[BitterLemons]

Thanks. Very good info. I’m getting too old for this stuff, but when the time comes, I’ll take a look to see if I can still do it. Front brakes were always easy.
I hate having a shop doing it because they always want to change the rotors, even if the rotors look clean and groove free.
I’ve heard the rears are difficult.

 

[EchoTango]

I bought my 2015 Cadenza at 30,000 miles and I had to replace rear pads and rotors at 40,000. I’m not sure if the rotors needed replacing, but the pads did so I decided to do both so I’d have fresh rotors for my ownership. It was my first foray into brake jobs and doing my own maintenance, but I was able to get the caliper and mounting bracket off on one side in an embarrassingly long amount of time. What defeated me were the two small rotor screws on the front face of the rotor that held it in place. I stripped both of them, bought a drill, failed, gave up, put it back together, and paid Firestone the $400 to be done with it as my weekend was coming to an end. Anyways, here’s some tips:

I have to admit feeling some frustration with your attempt at DYI brake replacement. I too have been stymied by those two little phillips screws holding the rotors in place. However, I have a good amount of experience working on cars and stripped bolts are almost a given in any repair job. I further suspect that you tossing in the towel will make you less eager to try DYI repairs in the future, which is a shame given the mercenary rates at most auto shops for even the simplest of tasks.

I might suggest watching some YouTube videos and I highly recommend "South Main Auto" (not a sponsor) which is filmed at a small repair shop in up-state NY. The presenter (Eric O.) is quite funny and explains every aspect of the repairs in easy to understand down-to-earth terms. He has many videos on just about every repair you could imagine including how to remove stripped bolts.

I hope you don't give up and keep trying.

 

[Waveboarder7]

Haha, if you think reading it was frustrating, you should’ve been there. That rear brake job was almost 2 years ago and it was my first car repair ever. I’ve learned a lot since then and I do all the work on my Cadenza myself now.

 

[EchoTango]

So glad you kept at it and didn't get discouraged. Good for you !

I have a 2014 SWP base model. Brakes are the only issue (other than a "self inflicted" valve job) I've had to address so far. But in the last two years, I haven't driven much and only have 27K miles on it.


Hope you've had a similar experience.