Tesla Owners, You Can Avoid Brake Squeal and Surface Rust on Rotors With This Trick

However, there's a problem. Most EV owners treat their rides as zero-tailpipe emission commuting appliances that can be charged at home or at work. They know that there's almost instant torque available, but that's not what matters to them. Their rides exist to take them from point A to B and back to A safely and with minimum costs.

If they were to constantly take advantage of that snippy powertrain, accelerated wear and tear would make their ownership experience very costly. Just replacing tires more often would negate both the financial and environmental benefits of EV ownership.

That's why most drivers drive cautiously, abide by the law, respect traffic signs, and don't feel the need to speed or brake hard. Many also agreed to have their driving remotely monitored for cheaper insurance premiums, so they won't risk paying less for coverage to have some fun while behind the steering wheel.

And that's where other problems start to appear. Some Tesla customers were surprised to find out that they had to replace the rotors and the brake pads after less than 50,000 miles (80,467 kilometers), despite them not enjoying the joy of spirited driving every once in a while. The rust was just too much to deal with.

Sadly, they didn't read the owner's manual or thought about regen braking becoming an issue. Surface rust doesn't require specialist intervention. Anyone can deal with it pretty easily, and Tesla even created a guide to help techs and owners maintain the health of the braking system.

Called "brake burnishing," this method of keeping the rotors and the brake pads from rusting, and possibly creating serious problems in an instance where the driver might require the full stopping power of their car, consists of two things: driving at a speed of minimum 50 mph (80 kph) and up to 55 mph (89 kph) and applying the brakes gradually until reaching 10 mph (15 kph).

Essentially, what you have to do is find an open road, drive a little bit faster, the press the brake pedal with moderate power to bring the EV to a gradual stop. You can repeat that process two or three times, but make sure to take a break of at least half a minute between brake burnishing sessions. It's that simple.

Do that every three or four months, and you'll always be able to trust your ride's braking system until, of course, the brake pads will need changing. But, unlike rotors, those are cheap.

Finally, check out the video below to see how to stop the regen motor from turning on so you won't have to brake too hard. Don't worry about that Safety Score too much!