General Brakes 'Bedding In' ??????

[anh167]

Hi, I work for a courier company in Colnebrook and had an accident in there Ducato Box van towards the end of February. The fault initially laid at my feet as I went into the rear of a car on the M6. When I submitted my report to my employers, I pointed out that the brakes did not seem right. They naturally thought I was just making excuses and levied costs upon me. The next day I found out via one of the other drivers that the vehicle had been services the afternoon before the day of my accident, and that the rear brakes had been renewed.
Today I received a letter from my employers confirming giving me a verbal warning for the accident-------ok, thats understandable, I crashed their van, but then they also added that even though the brakes had been renewed, THAMES FIAT, ( Bath Road, Slough ), who carried out the work, claim that modern brake materials mean that there is no need for a 'Bedding In' period, ans that as such, my concerns were groundless.

Is this really the case now that however old the brakes are ( discs and/or drums ), that replacement pads and/or shoes work to full efficiency straight away?
Your views would be welcomed as I am getting the feeling of being 'stitched up like a kipper' so to speak.

 

[auto_blanco]

Well what ive always read, experienced/felt with a car or van (used to have a Peugeot Expert lol) brake lining materials are not at full effeciency straight away.

Maybe 100 miles before they are although various different methods of bedding them in have been discussed, ive always just babied them for 50 miles, then braked increasingly hard from 30, 40 and 50mph seems to do the trick.

Long story short, brakes will not be at 100% straight away, especially in the wet.

 

[anh167]

Thanks for the speedy reply Auto Blanco. Fuuly picture of situation on day of accident.
Had to start day early to drive up to Manchester for urgent delivery. Not even told of service having been carried out let alone brakes being changed, at this point. From Colnebrook, all motorway, M25, M40, M42 and M6 ( well, on that day only some of the M6 ), and as the traffic at that time was fairly light and flowing until Birmingham, the brakes were barely touched. Being a box van, its own shape acts like a brake on its own.....and I tend to use the transmission quite a bit for slowing.
This meant that upon reaching Birminghams' stretch of the M6 ( M5 blocked at time ), the brakes were pretty much in the condition as at the start of the journey. In my opinion.....not that it seems to count, the brakes would not have bedded in at that point. AM I WRONG...

 

[auto_blanco]

I dont believe so no, I think you are right in saying the brakes would not have been 100% at the time, especially as when you had used them lightly, there would not be enough heat to slightly compress the material and make them work properly, im assuming its drums on the back?

If so, and if its anything like cars ive had, like Sierras, Fiestas and the like, when I have changed shoes on things like that, the brakes have been frankly appauling till theyve been used a bit.

 

[anh167]

Yep, drums at the back. And the lip / ridge that normally forms on the edge of the drums braking surface due to wear, was no ground down/off either. The vehicle in question has done about 80,000 miles and generally is in good condition, but I have taken a very large finacial penalty ( all within the terms of my contract of course :bang: ), but I am angry that I was not told the van had got new brakes, if I had been then I would had adjusted my driving to suit, and can't believe that Thames Fiat are telling customers that you do NOT need to bed in or take it easy with new brakes.

 

[stapeler]

For what it's worth: I replaced pad on my Hyundai this week. In the box of pads came a warning label (to be hung from rear vier mirror) indicating that there's a breaking in period of 200 miles. I'm sure if you open any box of pads you'll find a label like this.