Front brake rotors wore out prior to brake pads at 34,000 miles on vehicle. I was told that this was normal by the dealer and will occur again. I explained to them that the rotors should be hardened and the pad should wear first, but they told me that this was normal.

- Reseda, CA, USA

: the contact stated while the vehicle was being serviced at the dealer, it determined the rotors were worn and needed to be replaced. There was no prior warning indicator of a brake problem.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

Ford Escape XLT 2003 rake pads worn to less than 4 mph and rotors worn to.910 at 15,153 miles. I consider this excessive wear.

- Lake Forest, CA, USA

I have a 2003 Ford Escape. On April 17, 2003 I took my vehicle into the Ford dealership in vacaville with a complaint about the brakes making a grinding noise (25,503 miles). They told me that they could not duplicate the noise and checked the front brakes. They claimed to have measured the brake pads at above 5mm of pad remaining. The noise continued. I took the vehicle back to the dealership on June 27, 2003 (28,720 miles). This time they heard the noise as well as a bearing noise. They measured the brakes at 3mm and told me that the rotors may be warped. I left the vehicle for the bearing repair and received a phone message (on my answering machine) that they re-measured that brake pads and found them to be 2mm not 3mm. They didn't mention anything about the rotors. I asked about the excessive wear of the brake pads and they said that it was normal wear. They told me that they could do nothing about the pads or the rotors. I called my brother-in-law that works for Ford and told him about my experience. He made some phone calls and found out from one of Ford's engineers that they have problems with brake wear (both pads and rotors) on the Escape and the Ford Focus. Today (30,270 miles) I took my Escape to midas and had a brake inspection. The midas employee said that the rotors are worn down below specs and need to be replaced. He also said that the rotors should not wear that quickly. As to the pads he said that it was normal wear because they are ceramic pads. I went to the Ford dealership in vacaville with this information. They told me that there was nothing that Ford could do for me about the brake rotors. The individual told me that Ford uses soft aluminum rotors on both the Escape and the Focus and they wear out very quickly. My concern for Ford is that if they use substandard equipment and do not seem to be concerned, are they not opening themselves up to a law suit if their "soft rotors" fail and cause an accident.

- Vacaville, CA, USA