Brakes: What is up with brakes on my 01-03 Eurovan?

The brakes on '01-'03 Eurovans (16" wheels) are different than previous years (with 15" wheels). They are much bigger and provide much better stopping power, but the design of the pads is stupid. The wear sensor is embedded too far into the friction material of the pads. So when your pad warning light on the dash comes on, you really have about 20% more pad left. Plus, the factory pad compound is very soft and wears rapidly. On top of that, the Volkswagen dealer gets ridiculous prices for the pads. GoWesty stocks factory-quality pads (purchased from the manufacturer instead of Volkswagen, but exactly the same thing) that we sell at a much more reasonable price. However, being the exact same pad as the one you can get at the dealer, they are also the same in terms of wear characteristics and wear sensor proximity. It will be some time before GoWesty will be able to offer a better designed pad that lasts longer and has the wear sensor more logically placed, but we are working on it! For now, we can at least help with the price...

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