I had timing belt and water pump replaced yesterday.
I knew I haven't replaced front brake pads since I bought the truck in 2000. I since drove 115 K km ( 72K miles).
I had an opportunity to buy parts at a discount (Toyota).
So I bought pads and gave them to the mechanic and told him that the pads probably need replacing...
At the end of the day he gives me the pads back and tells me I have 50-60% left.
I know I use the breaks very sparingly... but I never heard of pads going that long - what's your experience..?
BTW, I live in a city, so my driving is mixed (HW/city).

 

If you use the brakes sparingly then yes they can last a long time. Mileage doesn't really matter with brakes, it's how often you stop. The less you use them the longer they last.
But I would check the pads at least every 6 months, the mechanics 50-60% estimate might not be very accurate.

 

I tend to have to brake hard when I wheel often, and around the city the "yellows" don't last very long. So I need new pads quite often.

 

dunno if they were ever changed before me, but i changed out OEM pads at 110K, mostly hiway miles.
still havent changed the rears, which were at 40% left

 

I've seen brakes last awhile or not enough. I had a customer ask about their brakes at 73k miles which he had every single service done at my dealership. I checked his history and no brake work had been done. I checked and he still had 6mm left on the front! He said he'd never had them done so I was surprised. I came to find out he did mostly interstate driving for his business so that made more sense. On the flip side: I recently had a young girl who complained about her brakes squeaking. I checked the ticket she only had about 12k miles on car. When I took the wheels off she was already down to the wear indicator! As I left for my lunch break, I watched her take off. She floored it until she got to the stop sign which was only 60 yards from the dealership. She may have either been checking to see if I did a good job, but I highly suspect that's how she drives.

 

I still haven't changed my brakes since I got my 4runner used with 60,000. I now have 150,000. My last oil change I asked the guy to check my pads and he said I still got about 20,000 left. I told him they were the ones from when I got it and then he said I probably got alot more than 20,000 left.

 

I just got my pads replaced last year on my 96. It had 130k miles on orginal brake pads.