Part Fitment - Why so complicated? Part 2 - Sometimes You Just Have to Go Old School 🚗🔧

Sometimes You Just Have to Go Old School 🚗🔧

Brakes should be a super easy thing to change, right?

Go to your local parts supplier, give them your registration number, buy the brakes, go home and fit them.

Easy peasy! 🚗🔧

But… maybe not! 😂

Recently, I had to replace the brake pads and rotors on a Hyundai JM Tucson. The vehicle had started to feel a little like a pancake shaker bottle every time we braked, so it was definitely time to investigate!

I did what I thought was the sensible thing. I looked up the registration number through a parts finder, selected the recommended brake pads and rotors, purchased them and headed home, confident that I had everything I needed.

Until I tried to fit the rotors.

They didn't fit.

Cue confusion. 🤔

I double-checked the part number. Checked the vehicle details again. Surely I'd been given the right parts?

So, naturally, I turned to the trusty Google machine. 😂

And that's when things got interesting…

The Hyundai JM Tucson came with two different front rotor sizes — 300mm and 280mm.

Now, being the nosy person I am, I had to know:

Why are there two different sizes?

And more importantly…

How do I know which size is actually meant for my vehicle?

Most of the information I found suggested the rotor size depended on whether the Tucson was AWD or FWD, and whether it had the 2.0L or 2.7L engine.

Well… according to that information, this particular Tucson — a 2.7L AWD — should have been running the 300mm rotors.

Except…

They very obviously didn't fit. 🤦

Other sources suggested the rotor size could depend on the wheels fitted to the vehicle.

That didn't quite stack up either.

So, what was left to do?

Go old school.

Out came the measuring tape.

I measured the original rotor…

And presto!

280mm. 🎉

Problem solved.

It turns out that sometimes you can do everything you're supposed to do — use the registration number, check the parts finder, confirm the part number and research the vehicle — and you can still end up with the wrong part.

Sometimes the computer says one thing, Google says another…

…and the old-school measuring tape tells you the truth. 😂

So, the lesson?

Don't always trust the computer.

Sometimes you just need to get your hands dirty, measure the part that's actually on the vehicle before buying a part.

Because when it comes to cars…

Sometimes you just have to go old school. 🔧🚗

The more you know.... Until next time...