I use brakes hard. I knew the disk pads in my Saturn wagon had been in there for quite some time. I kept telling myself I should make an appointment with the mechanic to check them and replace them - but nope, I never got around to it.

Yesterday I did a long freeway trip down to LAX and back. I noted in the sound reflected from freeway barriers a dangerous seeming razzy squealing noise, not all the time but most of the time - and it had to be brakes.

"Oh shit" says I, "I'd better get pads on the way home and do this thing myself tomorrow". I wasn't looking forward to it at all.

So today I found that changing disk pads on a Saturn is dead easy, but even better, I found that each pad has a little bent metal thingie riveted to it, the only purpose of which is to make dangerous seeming razzy squealing noises when the pad was nearly worn out.

Every other car I've had the first sign the pads were shot was that horrible metalic grating sound that tells you the rotors will be all gouged to hell by time you get home.