My apologies for what is going to be a lengthy post – I just cannot figure this out and want to provide as much detail as possible. I am not a mechanic, but I’m no stranger to auto maintenance – I’ve probably done this exact same thing at least 50 times over the years.

Over the weekend, I put all new pads and rotors on my wife’s new-to-us 2013 200 Convertible Touring. After wrapping up, I went to take it for a test run and after approx. 500 feet (50’ of that in reverse), the driver side outside rear pad fell out into my driveway. There was no obvious damage to the pad or caliper, so I put the old pad in and went for a ride. I made it less than a mile (including another 50’ in reverse) and the passenger side outside rear pad (also a new one) fell off. This time, one of the 2 spring clips that secure it to the caliper was snapped off. I then took everything back off and re-installed the old outside pads on both rear wheels. I took it for a rather spirited ride of about 5 miles with lots of braking. I checked the pads at a few spots along the way and everything seemed to be staying in place. When I got home, I decided to back down my half-mile driveway – it is quite steep, so I was on the brakes quite a bit. When I got back, the driver side pad was fine, but the passenger side had slid about .5-.75” down. It is still in the caliper, but the top clip is no longer making contact and the lower clip is pushed all the way down (the counter-clockwise rotation of the wheel in reverse would account for this). I have attached photos - they are not the best since the they were taken with the wheel still mounted, but it should give you an idea.

I am stumped. The new rotors are exactly the same diameter as the originals. The new pads are exactly the same size as the originals – the edges on the new ones are chamfered, while the originals are more blocky, but both failed. The inside pads fit nicely in the bracket, and I replaced the shims/clips in the bracket with the new ones provided (which were also an exact match for the originals). Everything was/is tightened sufficiently. The only thing that was out of the ordinary to me was the removal of the calipers – the top caliper slide bolt is obstructed by the rubber hose, so I had to remove the bottom slide bolt completely, pivot the caliper 90 degrees on the top bolt, and slide the caliper assembly out of the rear bracket. I have never seen as setup like this.

I would appreciate any feedback on what is going on here. Obviously, it is something I am doing wrong since there were no problems in the 1000 or so miles we put on the car before I changed the brakes.





Thank you.