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by neilalexander 1391 days ago
I imagine the wear on the pads is reduced by the regenerative braking from the motors.
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Eliminated almost entirely, they should revert to drums on EVs as discs get rust on them.
This has started, ID.3 and 4 has them on rear wheels I think.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/36683/why-the-new-volkswagen-i...

They're also looking at making light weight aluminum brake pads that don't rust from less use.

"The brand also says that drum brakes offer superior performance and reactivity after long periods of disuse"

Sounds like marketing to excuse putting drums on the rear of a $50K vehicle. As soon as I back out of the driveway in our Leaf, because there's no regenerative braking in reverse at 5mph, it knocks the light layer of rust off the discs and we're good to go. I mean, we've been driving this car for eleven years, and not once from a cold start have we gone to hit the brakes outside the regen envelope (say, when we've charged to %100, and nowhere to put that regen energy) and said, "OMG! OMG! Poor brake performance!"

What VW really said in that link was, "doesn't need rear discs: regen braking".

Why are discs more susceptible to rust than drums?
The braking surface is on the outside, more exposed to water splash. Drums are not "sealed", but are much more closed off.