I have a set of PBR pads in the front of my 850. The right side when coming to a stop has started to make a grinding noise once things warm up. I pulled the pads and found that have hairline cracks down the middle of each pad, on the narrow width. Images of later pads show the manuf. making a cut down this area. The rotors look ok, pulled to look at front and back nothing out of the ordinary.
So my question is, Should I make a cut also down the middle or just replace them with some Volvo stock units?

As an aside, I replaced the back pads with Volvo stock again after they began making loud squealing noises, even after adding grease on the shims. More dust, but no noise.