finally broke 500 miles on the new truck, and the wheels are black with brake dust. I mean thick with it. Is this temporary breaking in of the linings, something I'll have to live with forever, or a bad set of pads?

 

At 5500 miles, my brakes are 'dusting' only slightly now. Hang in there for awhile longer.

 

I agree with Grimmy-

Mine was AWFUL to begin with. It's still worse than my '99, but MUCH better than before.

 

Good to know...thanks guys!

 

Gets better, doesn't get great.

I've just written it off as Fords way of telling us who maintains and cleans their truck and who doesn't.

I've seen so many Expeditions running around that look like they have dark gray wheels on the front that mine look good even after a week.

Drive a BMW for a week. They come factory equipped with electro-static brake dust collectors on all four wheels.

 

Blitz- That must be on the newer Beemers. My wifes '99 525i gets big time dirty in just a weeks time. I agree with what others have said that the brake dust "problem" gets considerably better with time and mileage. I've got 11K on my Screw now and it's probably gets dirty half as quickly as it did in the first few thousand mailes. That being said, I never had the "heartburn" that many have had with this issue. As compared to my '01, the braking with this truck is considerably better and if the result is more brake dust, so be it. It's nothing that a little car soap and water won't take care of.

 

I've been checking out the front wheels of every new F-150 I see. All have the brake dust all over the outside if the wheel. Seems like a wide spread situation. My brakes also squeel just as I apply pressure to the pedal. When I go hard on the pedal it passes up the squeel phase. But, who is going to stomp on the pedal everytime you need to slow down.

I've got to take the truck down to the dealer to get the fuel door replaced (broken spring mechanism) and I'm going to do some snooping around on some of these other problems.

 

WWS - I think I was agreeing with what you are saying.

My M3's wheels (front and back) looked like crap 100 miles after a bath. Thus the electro-static brake dust collector joke.

But back on to Fords - keep your eye peeled for soccer moms in Expeditions. I have been and probably 75% of them around here look like they have dark gray front wheels. I mean DARK.

 

There is this 03 Expedition that I pass on the way home everyday and the wheels are always covered in dust. I swear they never take the damn thing to the car wash!
One day these people are going to look out the window and see me with a bottle of quick silver going after the wheels!

 

What's the best way to get the tires clean?

 

I use dish soap in a bucket of water, and a plastic bristle brush to clean the raised white letters on my tires. It the only way i can get the black brake dust off them.

 

The brake dust is really bad on my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee.

I just wash the wheels and tires with my normal car wash soap. To bring out the "White letters" on the tires use a SOS pad.

Dave

 

Like some others mine were black at first and now at 6,000 miles I only get a light dusting. The rotors don't look in the best shape though.

 

I have to clean mine off every other day. The brake dust is crazy! I cring every time I have to brake some what hard.

 

If they are the same brake pads as the 03 Expeditions, then I doubt it gets better. My wife's just turned 12,000 miles... every week the front rims are black! The carwash will not get it off, either. I've got to scrub them by hand.