"Free Brakes for life": A Pro-tip learned from my friend at local Autozone

I went in to Autozone to get a set of Brake pads (front/rear) for my 2008 Toyota Tundra recently. I ended up going with Duralast Gold Ceramic brake pads front and rear since I do highway driving most often and ceramics wear the best for me

Since I have a free Autozone Rewards card they asked for our phone number to look up our account to put the lifetime warranty under
I inquired how that works, and the manager I know at the store I go to explained that if the brakes wear down uneven, don't last, etc. Autozone will replace them for free under the warranty and send the old ones back to the manufacturer no questions asked...so essentially all you have to do is bring them back the old pads...

So she further explained, next time you need brakes in however many years (or if they wear incorrectly), buy the same brake pads you did last time and then put your old ones into the box that you just took off and bring them back and they'll refund your money under the warranty.
Or if you have a second vehicle you can just take your old pads straight to the store and they'll just replace them for free under your warranty as well, no money charged without multiple trips.

So as long as you're using the same Autozone card with the warranty and are buying the same brakes for the same vehicle you can essentially keep getting your replacement brakes free for life.

The same also applies to certain components like brake calipers you buy from Autozone and put under a warranty on your store card. My dad replaced a Front caliper on the truck 5 years ago and when I went to change the pads it wouldn't compress. Went back to Autozone with the old one and under the warranty that was on his rewards card for the item, they gave us a brand new shiny front caliper no charge, no questions asked and made sure our warranty was still on it should it ever wear out again.
She said it can work for a lot of things like rotors, calipers, etc. as well, just check with them if it comes with a free warranty.

Might be a good option for some of you out there who get worried about maintenance costs but still perform a lot of your routine maintenance work yourself! A little tedious bringing old pads or a caliper back but the cost savings over time seem worth it to me when Autozone is just down the street!
Other stores like O'Rileys, Advance, etc. have similar warranties as well!

 

Thanks for the tip! Are those pads any good?

 

So far they've been fantastic, the truck just stops on a dime so easy!
Had a set of them on my Ford Expedition for years before we traded it and loved em, never got funky wear.

I made sure to invest in a jar of Permatex Ceramic Brakes Parts Lubricant and a jar of Permatex Silicone Brake Parts Lubricant (for rear brakes guide pins/rubber boots) to ensure they glide even smoother with no hassle. Less chance of uneven wear when everything is clean and works smooth!

 

Thanks for the info, definitely that’s what im gonna do.

 

I’ve been doing this for years! If you take them off and bring them in, you won’t even have to buy and get a refund.

Autozone, Advance and O’Reilly all do this, maybe even PepBoys.

O’Reilly even honored replacement pads I purchased from Murray’s.


Greg

 

@TXRailRoads73

Do you exchange your pads?

 

Very true! If you have a second vehicle and can just take your old pads straight to the store you don't have to pay anything!

I updated the first post with the info you mentioned too so thanks!

 

You guys probably won't want to hear this, but that is theft. The warranty is for uneven/premature wear. Just because they do a no questions asked refund/replacement doesn't mean that it is intended to be a free brakes/parts for life. Would you go to a restaurant, eat most of the meal and then ask for a refund at the end? Because that will work too and is literally the same thing. Just my $.02.

 

I used the lifetime replacement pad warranty on our old 99 Land Cruiser..the guy at the O’Reilly’s counter kinda chuckled..when I asked why, he said it’s because he virtually never sees anyone use the lifetime warranty—owners almost always sell their vehicle off before it’s needed. That’s what the parts stores bank on with the lifetime warranty.

 

Totally get your point! Also, why would someone like say Craftsman, offer a lifetime warranty such that if the tool ever wears out, it would be replaced. Why would they offer one so ironclad that if you found a box of your grandpas old rusty tools and found one that said "Cr--ts-man" worn out on it, they would still replace it no questions asked? Because they stand behind their products.

If a company were so worried of people taking advantage of a warranty, why would they even offer one in the first place?
Surely not to save face or sound cool, its because they stand behind their products 100% and want their customers to love them.

They know the majority of customers won't make use of the warranty and they also know offering a lifetime warranty is a great way to endear your customers to the company, and doesn't have to be something that results in a big loss for business.
Autozone knows that even if I come in to get new brakes and use the warranty, they've gotten me back in and I'm going to keep coming back in the future for engine oil, filters, brake fluid, brake cleaner, auto parts, etc because they earned my trust. It's all marketing really.

Other successful companies that offer similar amazing guarantees: Cutco Knives, Eddie Bauer, Land's End, Zippo Lighters, Jansport, Craftsman, Osprey, Tupperware, Patagonia, LeCreuset, Vermont Teddy Bear, CamelBak, Victorinox Swiss Army Knives, Hydro Flasks, Big Green Egg, L.L. Bean, etc.

 

I think you may be missing the point.

 

It’s called a loss-leader if I remember correctly. Even if they are loosing money on them (which overall they aren’t), that exchange get you back to the store which you then buy more product from almost every time you come in, therefore making them more money.

 

That’s not what that means. A loss-leader is a product that is SOLD and they lose money on that product to attract customers, like Costco hot dogs. Not exchanging a non-defective item under warranty. That’s stealing.

 

I thought everyone did this

 

Id say that’s not really the same thing. Craftsman tools aren’t wear parts and designed to be replaced. Brake pads do eventually wear out and need to be replaced. Would you do it with tires, windshield wipers, or your oil filter?

It’s definitely skirting the system.

 

The problem is that the Duralast caliper that AutoZone sells is crap. At least for the older cars or the ones I bought.

I had bought 2 front calipers & pads from the dealer for a 2005 car and they fit perfectly.

Couple years later I bought the rear ones (both Duralast) from AutoZone and with one of them the brake hose would not fit into the slot or the notch and I had to take the caliper off and grind the notch to make it bigger and then paint the exposed metal with anti rust stuff ...

with the other side the notch was perfect but the banjo bolt would not screw in and would get stuck half way no matter what I tried. I had to go to two different stores and wait couple of days to get the replacement.

The funny thing is they were both Duralast (L/R Rear) and same model (gold I think) but iirc, one was made in China and the other one in Mexico and they were different colors as well. One was chrome and the other one had a dark yellow tint ... Each had a different problem.
I kept the picture of boxes and should look about China vs. Mexico but pretty sure they were made in different countries. They must get The cheapest junk any country can provide and stick the Durajunk logo on it.

The amount of time I wasted using these crap from AutoZone was not worth it. The front from the dealer was more expensive but perfect ... So be careful if you buy older stuff from the auto parts.

They sell cheap crap over 5 times the cost and give you a warranty hoping you sell the car or forget about it. lol

basically half a day job took 4 days ...
[/rant]

 

Autozone is hoping that you are going to replace the rotors. I usually can get two sets of pads before replacing the rotor. So if you buy the lifetime pads and in another 75k miles you walk in to get new ones you will most likely get new rotors. Both of which can be bought on-line for half the price (if not less). So it's not really a loss and if you pick up a few extra things while you're there they make out. Often when I need a bulb I just go there and pay a little extra so I can get it immediately. Brakes are one of those things that unless you are on-top of it and have the replacement in hand ordering on-line takes too long if it's your daily driver.

 

they have been doing this for years. I worked at auto zone in like 2000-2002. anything with a lifetime warranty was like this.... brake pads, alternators, radiators, etc etc.

its all about getting you back in the store and selling you add on items to complete your job. We used to have sales data showing how many "add on" items we would get per sale. if it was a brake job, we would always suggest brake cleaner, the goo for the back of the pads, brake hardware and even hand cleaner.

funny story, we had a store manager fired because he would add on a bunch of "add ons" to peoples transactions. so for example someone bought a radiator and only the radiator. he would add hoses, clamps, anti freeze etc etc. but he would only charge the person for the radiator, the drawer would be short, but then he would return the items so the drawer would balance. got caught inflating number and was fired. lol.

 

This thread came up on Google and I had to reply. I have many cars (6 at the moment) and do all the maintenance myself. Every car has Duralast pads and I change them regularly (some annually) just because they are free. When the screen comes up at Autozone for my 1995 Explorer (sorry Tundra forum), there are several pages of previous warranty exchanges. Friends pay several hundred $ to have their brakes done regularly. It is pretty easy to do and can save a lot over the life if a vehicle.

FYI, FCP Euro has a similar warranty on everything they sell, even oil! Mostly european cars and you do need to ship old part back if you are not located near CT.

 

I was about to post this. This same argument is rampant on BMW & I bet all Euro forums as people do send their oil back to FCP Euro and get free oil.

I have better things to do with my time but the companies allow it.

 

I am in MA. But many on my AllThingsAutomotive forum live in RI, pretty close to the FCP Euro location, so bringing back some high quality synthetic oil is probably worth it. Being a Jaguar owner (among others) the replacement of a wearable part or other, makes quite a bit of sense. Just bought a transmission fluid filter which is integrated into the pan on a ZF transmission. Will be nice to swap this out to get a free one at next maintenance interval. They are not cheap. And yes, I have Duralast Ceramic pads on the Jag.

 

While I'm not sure where I stand on the auto parts exchange argument, I can tell you that if I were allowed to sleep and work remotely in an Olive Garden I'd be in there for multiple days straight enjoying unlimited soup salad and breadsticks

 

Breadsticks and Brakes. No reason you can't enjoy both. Just do not want to be around when you return the breadsticks.

 

LOL "pro tip". Pros do not shop or work at big box stores.

The only guarantee you get at Auto Zone is that you WILL be replacing the parts you buy there. They sell Chinese trash, plain and simple. Brake pads are a wear item, not a big deal.... but don't buy anything else there unless you enjoy swapping parts forever.

 

Seems a little dishonest.
Am I’m missing something?

 

Nope. Part of a lifetime warranty is free replacement.

 

Me. 27 year old Explorer, bought new 1995.