Centric Brakes are trash!

Long time lurker here, and thought I'd make an account to warn you guys about the experience I just had on some Centric brake shoes hopefully to save someone from making the same mistake.

I did quite a bit of research and have read mostly positive reviews on Centric brake shoes/pads. So I bought a set of rear brake shoes for my 2012 Tacoma. Trusting that they were good quality brake shoes, I just went ahead and replaced both sides of my rear drums (btw it was a PITA taking them off). Only after I was nearly done and about to place on the drums did I notice how far off the right shoe was in comparison to the OEM one I took off.

If you look at the pictures you'll notice the shoe pad was formed too far down the shoe and extending much too far at the bottom of the shoe. I was LIVID! I had to tear everything back down and threw 'em out. I didn't want to risk anything. If Centric can't seem to form a pad correctly on a brake shoe, who knows what other things they miss in their quality checks. So in the trash they went, the entire set. I'm off to look for something else.

Anyways, thought I'd post this in case some of you might be looking to buy new shoes soon. I should've checked all the shoes before installing. My fault. I won't buy Centric brakes ever again.

 

Curious, how much were they?

 

On Amazon they are $26.57 as of today.

 

Does it really matter though?
If the drum is a circle, and the pad/shoe is a half circle that presses against the drum to brake, and releases from it when not braking,
then does it really matter if the pad end is slightly lower up top and longer below?
There are probably ways to measure if it drags or not. Heat/temperature measurement, MPG reduction, etc.

but yes, I too once learned Centric may not be the best brake brand, nor is it OEM for most car makers I think.
I installed their parts on a different car before which ended up pulsating due to a pad deposit; did not understand why it happened.
Though I suppose I could've tried throwing it on a lathe to cut the deposit off. Even though it was on a German car with narrow thickness specs that states to replace and not resurface rotors; I don't see why I couldn't ignore the manufacturer advice and remove a few thousands of an inch on a lathe or however much it takes off.

 

Is the only "problem" the position of the brake lining on the shoes frame? Because I don't see that as being a problem. Did you try using them?

 

On my 1st gen I installed Centric rotors and pads (front only) and they were great, way better than OEM.

As another said, don't see how the pad length variance would cause any issue on your drums. So you just tossed them in the garbage without even trying them?

 

On a lot of drum brakes there is a leading shoe and a trailing shoe. The trailing shoe is larger than the leading shoe.

I do not know if this applies to a Tacoma. I would compare both shoes to the OEM Shoes to verify that isn't the case.

 

The lining was extended past the metal frame on the bottom. Functionally it might still work. But to me it was just horrible quality control. If something like this could be called "good" at the factory, then who knows what else they are letting slip through the cracks.

 

No didn't try using them. I didn't want to risk something else that could be wrong with the lining or the way it was fused onto the frame. For all I know, the lining could've been superglued to the frame and it slid around during curing. I mean I don't know, but I wasn't taking any risks.

 

It's trash to me. Brakes should have better quality control during manufacturing since it's considered a critical safety component. If something this obvious isn't being caught during quality inspection, then who knows what else isn't being caught.

 

I damaged them trying to take them off again. I couldn't get the damn horseshoe clips off so I dremel the shit out of it. If they weren't damaged I'da returned them back to Amazon or gave them away.

 

Thanks for posting this information, and especially for posting pictures. The comparison is super clear.

I'm not sure how these differences would affect brake performance, but it sounds like several of you do, and that's confirmation enough for me. I will stick with OEM when my factory shoes wear out in the year 2145.

Some people argue that drum brakes are reliable, efficient, and cost-effective. Other people, including me, have driven vehicles with 4-wheel discs, and know that rear drums are utter bullshit that should not exist on new-production passenger vehicles in the 21st century. They are single-handedly the worst aspect of 3rd gen Tacomas, and the sole reason I didn't buy one when I made the switch to a Taco two years ago.

 

There is absolutely no danger with those shoes. They aren't overhanging on the bottom at all, I can see the frame sticking out past the lining. The lining not being in the same position wouldn't change anything with brake operation or safety. I bet every single centric shoe for the Tacoma looks like that and it's not a quality control problem at all but how they are designed.

A great analogy is a comparison to wheels. An aftermarket wheel could have 5 spokes and and a factory wheel could have 8 spokes. They're both round but the spokes are in different places. Neither wheel is trash because it's different than the other and they both do the same job and are equally safe.

Rear brakes are responsible for so little of the stopping power I'm not sure why anyone would complain about the truck having rear drums. Maybe they want to replace pads/shoes more often, or maybe they want a better chance at their brakes squeaking, or maybe they don't know rear disc brakes often still have drum brakes inside them for the ebrake, idk.

 

Bad day at the factory maybe the person cutting the lining was given the wrong dimensions .

Op you should have stated up front you messed them up when taking them off.

Then my Napa Ultra Premium Shoes were much more.

 

Is it just me or do the OEM pads still look to be in great shape?

 

Lurker, I don't think that you are using your e-brake frequently enough. The shoes are almost new condition on the bottom, and apparently thin at the top. I believe that your brake adjusters are cycled by the application of the e-brake. Try putting your e-brake on at least once a month, and see if that doesn't make the wear more even.

 

Amazon return policy is great, claim they are defective and return them.

If you question if you can/should, just chat with a customer service.

 

Actually, zoom in on the photo. The corners of the centric shoes aren’t backed with the shoe frame. I’d be a bit concerned with this unsupported edges possibly fracturing off, although unlikely. I personally wouldn’t have used them either. Back many years ago I had to repair a customer vehicle that had a large chunk of shoe delaminate and it wedged in the drum. What a PIA to fix and it locked that wheel right up. It jammed when the changed direction from reverse to drive.

 

When stepping on the brake pedal the shoes seperate at the top. When the emergency brake is activated the shoes separate at the bottom. Your thinking is exactly backwards.

Plus using the ebrake as a parking brake causes no wear on the shoe. In order to get the ebrake to wear the shoe down any it would have to be applied while the vehicle is moving.

...

 

Those edges that you see aren't the sole source of stress/pressure on the shoe, the stress is somewhat evenly distributed across the shoe. The least amount of stress is at the bottom of the shoe because the shoes separate at the top when the brake pedal is applied.