My vehicle is 3 years old next month and has about 40,000 miles on it. About 1-1/2 years ago my local Volvo dealership performed a free 50(?)-point inspection. At that time, they told me that my rear brakes were in need of immediate repair; the front brakes could possibly last another few months. Knowing a little about cars and brakes, I found this odd as I had not heard the telltale squeal/whistle upon deceleration (indicating that the brakes were approaching replacement time). So, I opted to wait. And wait. And wait some more.

Presently, I'm starting to hear a slight whistling coming from the rear brakes when I begin deceleration but then the sound stops as I apply greater brake pressure and come to a stop. There is no smell, no grinding, no spongy or reduced stopping power that I can tell from 'normal' driving around town/on the highway. The brake fluid level is the same as always (but has not yet been flushed).

The Volvo dealer now tells me that my brakes need replacement as I'm driving 'on metal' (I'll assume he means the front brakes since he was replacing some rivets on the front mud flap when he 'noticed' this). I haven't seen the brakes yet as the car is still at the vehicle but, as I mentioned above, I know a little about cars; not enough to know what I'm looking at should I decide to remove the tire and look at the pad depth. Again, no sound heard from the front brakes, no smell, no grinding, no reduced stopping distance or braking performance that I can tell.

Is the dealer looking for some extra spending money from me or are Volvo brakes susceptible to sudden catastrophic brake failure? I was planning on getting the rear brakes replaced as a precaution since they started whistling. Should I pay for the front brakes as well or wait until I hear them whistling?

Thanks for your help/advice.

The Slickman