A mechanic is fed up and demands answers from AutoZone after experiencing difficulty installing its Gold Brake Pads.
TikTok user Rich (@fordbossme) is a mechanic who shares videos about his daily work life on the social media platform. On Oct. 31, he posted a video while in the middle of replacing the brake pads on a 2017 Toyota Camry—but there’s something wrong.
Rich shares that he’s already got the rotor and caliper brackets installed and the area cleaned. However, the brake pad won’t click into place. “The thing will sit here and try to fight you,” he says.
Is this a problem with AutoZone’s Gold brake pads?
Rich struggles for a few more seconds before getting the brake pad to click into place on the bottom. However, the top end is still stubbornly out of place.
He goes to another wheel that he hasn’t cleaned up quite yet. “And then come over here and get a set of these pads and watch what happens,” he says. “They slide right in. No problem.”
According to Rich, the problem is that the brake pad isn’t shaped correctly. So, he has to file the brake pads down so they will fit. “They’re supposed to slide in and out real easy,” he says.
“What I don’t understand is why don’t they send you a kit that mimics the OE design with the clip and then the clip in the center, and maybe a little wear indicator or something like that,” he says.
Even more confusing is that Rich says he’s only had this problem for a couple of weeks. This leads him to believe that something happened at the factory to change the product. “The quality is just not there anymore for me,” he says. “I really don’t even enjoy using them anymore.”
A mechanic took to a Stack Exchange forum in 2020 with a similar sounding problem. Like Rich, the mechanic first attributed the problem to rust buildup on the caliper bracket, which he cleaned. But the brake would still not fit. In the comments, a user recommended trying brake grease before pulling out the file.
@fordbossme More Autozone Gold Brake Pad BS
♬ original sound – Rich
Viewers demand answers
The video has amassed more than 38,000 views as of this writing. In the comments section, viewers offered their opinions on Rich’s conundrum.
“AutoZone is not the problem,” wrote one viewer. “O’Reilly has the same problems as well.”
“I’ve got to the point where I go to the dealer and buy all my brake pads. I have found that the dealer brake pads last longer,” wrote a second viewer.
“I’ve had the same problem on and off for the past 17 years with Autozone,” wrote another viewer. “It seems to happen when they change suppliers.”
In a direct message to the Daily Dot, Rich wrote, “I feel like if we are buying quality and the aftermarket is trying to compete with not only the OE manufacturers, but also the other aftermarket manufacturers, then we should get a quality part when ordered. These are the Gold Standard Pads. Why am I having to modify anything about them to get them to fit? Since Covid, auto parts across the board—OE and aftermarket—have gone downhill.”
The Daily Dot also reached out to AutoZone via email for comment.
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