How Much Does It Cost to Replace Brake Pads Yourself?

Alongside oil changes, one of the most common routine maintenance tasks for any car—including electric vehicles—is replacing the brake pads. Brake pads wear down through friction and need to be replaced after a certain number of miles. Having your brake pads replaced at a repair shop can easily cost around 150 euros. While that isn’t a massive amount of money, you’ll be glad to know that doing the job yourself offers pretty substantial savings.

What Do I Need to Replace My Brake Pads?

Replacing your brake pads is a relatively straightforward process. That said, in this article we are only going to focus on the pads. Brake rotors also wear out, but they don’t need to be replaced nearly as often as the pads themselves.

A Set of Brake Pads for Your Specific Model

Every car uses model-specific brake pads. There are specialized auto parts websites that allow you to find the exact fitment for your car. However, Amazon has stepped up its game recently and lets you do the exact same thing, with much lower—or even free—shipping costs.

Follow the link below and enter your vehicle’s details (make, model, trim, and year). You’ll find a full list of replacement brake pads ranging between 20 and 60 euros per axle.

Search for brake pads by model

Brake Lubricant / Anti-Seize Grease

Brake grease is applied to the new pads and acts as a protective barrier between the metal-to-metal contact points of the pad backing plate and the caliper, preventing corrosion and premature wear. It also dampens unwanted vibrations by keeping the sliding motion of the pads properly lubricated. As a result, those annoying brake squeals are significantly reduced.

Lubricant also ensures that braking pressure is applied evenly across the entire pad, optimizing friction against the rotor. These products are very inexpensive, so you won’t need to worry about the price tag.

Tools for Replacing Brake Pads

If you don’t own the necessary tools yet, consider them an investment for future maintenance jobs. You can buy a basic automotive tool kit for under 50 euros. A good quality hydraulic floor jack costs roughly another 50 euros, though heavy-duty models can run up to 200 euros. Even if your car comes with a small emergency scissor jack for the spare tire, we strongly advise against using it to work on your car, as they tend to be very unstable.

This 2-ton hydraulic floor jack is a solid option and is TÜV certified:

Safety Gear

You can never be too careful. We recommend wearing a pair of mechanic’s work gloves and safety glasses.

Step-by-Step Guide to Replacing Brake Pads

Replacing your brake pads on your own is a straightforward task if you follow the right steps. Below, we break down the entire process into 10 easy-to-follow steps. Make sure you have the necessary tools on hand and perform each step carefully. In less than an hour, you’ll have new pads installed and your brakes working like new:

1. Jack Up the Car and Loosen the Lug Nuts

Use the floor jack to lift the vehicle and slightly break loose the lug nuts on the wheel where you’ll be replacing the pads. Do not remove them completely yet.

2. Remove the Wheel

Once the tire is off the ground, remove the lug nuts completely and take off the wheel to gain access to the brake assembly.

3. Locate the Brake Pads

The pads are housed inside a metal brake caliper mounted to the caliper bracket. You will see two pads, one on each side of the brake rotor.

4. Remove the Retaining Clips and Slide Out the Old Pads

Brake pads are held in place with retaining clips or pins. Use a flathead screwdriver to carefully pry off these clips and slide the old brake pads out of the bracket.

5. Clean the Area

Use a wire brush to clean the caliper bracket and remove any brake dust, rust, or debris. A clean assembly will help the new pads seat and slide properly.

6. Install the New Brake Pads

Slide the new brake pads into place inside the caliper bracket. Make sure to properly align the slots or holes for the retaining clips. Take your time. This step isn’t complicated, though it can feel a bit tricky if you don’t have proper lighting.

7. Lubricate the Contact Points

Apply a small dab of brake grease to the contact points where the pad backing plate touches the caliper and abutment clips. This helps prevent brake squeal. While you could technically skip this step, we strongly recommend against skipping it.

8. Reinstall the Wheel

Mount the wheel back onto the hub and thread the lug nuts on by hand until snug. Lower the jack so the weight of the vehicle rests on the tire and keeps the wheel from spinning.

9. Torque the Lug Nuts in a Star Pattern

Once you have lowered the jack and the vehicle’s weight is resting on the wheel, it’s time to tighten the lug nuts. To do this properly:

1. Place the lug wrench socket squarely and fully over the nut to avoid rounding off the corners.
2. Tighten the lug nuts diagonally, turning each one about a quarter turn at a time. Always follow a star or cris-cross pattern—tighten one nut, then move to the one directly opposite, then an adjacent one, and finally the one opposite that.
3. Repeat the sequence, giving each lug nut an additional quarter turn until they are all snug.
4. Verify the final tightness of each nut using a torque wrench. The exact torque spec for your vehicle can usually be found in the owner’s manual. Never exceed the manufacturer’s recommended torque limit.
5. This procedure ensures even clamping force across the wheel hub and prevents the lug nuts from backing off or warping the rotor. Doing this correctly is critical for your safety.

10. Repeat on the Other Side

Follow the exact same steps on the opposite wheel of the same axle so both sets of pads are replaced together. Finally, if your car also has disc brakes on the rear axle and they need replacing, repeat the entire process on the rear axle.

Keep in mind that many compact cars (city cars and subcompacts) use drum brakes on the rear axle, meaning the procedure used for the front wheels will not apply when servicing the rear brakes.

Can You Really Save Money by Replacing Brake Pads at Home?

The first time you do this job, it will probably cost you nearly as much as going to a repair shop. And that makes sense, since you’ll almost certainly need to buy the tools and supplies from scratch.

However, once time passes and you wear through your pads again, the second job—and every one after that—will yield significant savings. We’re talking about spending roughly 25 to 30 euros per axle, saving up to 80% compared to paying a professional mechanic.

Learning how to change your own brake pads is well worth it because it isn’t difficult. That said, if you have a friend or family member who knows their way around a wrench, we recommend asking them to lend a hand the first time you tackle it. Having a spotter makes the learning curve much smoother and more enjoyable.

What Should You Do After Replacing Brake Pads?

Hold on, we aren’t quite done yet. Whether you swap the pads yourself or take your car to a shop, you need to follow a few precautions and best practices during the first several miles of driving.

• If you didn’t replace the rotors along with the pads, you need to properly bed in the new pads through controlled driving. Avoid hard braking or high speeds for the first 300 km (about 200 miles). During this break-in period, your brakes won’t have 100% of their stopping power, so keep that in mind. Drive conservatively and don’t take unnecessary risks.
• The fresh friction material on the new pads needs to mate to the surface of the existing rotor through gradual use. This bedding-in process maximizes braking performance.
• You may hear some light squeaking initially when braking, but it will fade away as the pads seat over