How to Replace Tesla Model Y Rear Brake Pads (2020-2024)

Rear pads on a Model Y are a 0.54-hour job (correction code 33010802) with one component that can turn it into a three-day problem: the electronic parking brake. There is no lever and no cable — the caliper piston is driven by an EPB motor. Push that piston back without putting the car into the right mode, or install the pads without clocking the piston slots, and you are buying an EPB motor.

One more thing to settle before you order parts: a Model Y can be built with either base brakes or sport brakes, and the friction material is not the same. Base brake Model Y brake pad replacement runs under correction code 33010802; the sport brake variant runs under 33010812. Ordering the wrong kit leaves the car up on the lift waiting for a second delivery.

Complaint Mapping: What Actually Failed

Symptom on the ticket	What it usually means
Squeal on light brake application	Abutment clips dry-fitted or no longer holding lubricant
Hot wheel after a short drive, car feels like it is dragging	The EPB was never released out of service mode, or the piston was not pushed back squarely
One rear wheel worn far more than the other	A seized caliper slide surface — check the abutment before condemning the pads
Pulsation through the pedal or steering wheel	Rotor runout, not the pads. That is a separate measurement procedure
Parking brake fault on the touchscreen after the job	The EPB routine was never run on reassembly

Keep this in perspective: regen does most of the braking on these cars, so the friction brakes see far less use than on a combustion car. Rear pads usually arrive for noise, drag and uneven wear rather than for being worn out — which means “there is plenty of material left” is not the same as “leave it alone”.

Torque Specification – Base Brakes

Fastener	Torque	Tool	Reuse or replace
Rear brake caliper to rear brake caliper bracket	26.5 Nm (19.5 lb-ft)	14 mm socket	Reuse
EPB harness bracket to rear caliper	5 Nm (3.7 lb-ft)	10 mm socket	Reuse

Both figures are small, and the second one is smaller than most wrists can feel. The rear caliper bolts torque to 26.5 Nm and the harness bracket bolt to 5 Nm — use a wrench that reads that range honestly. Equipment called out by the procedure: EPB release kit 1134520-00-A and XP-10 power supply 1129348-00-A.

Removal

1. Raise and support the vehicle. Open the LH front door and lower the LH front window fully.
2. Place absorbent material under the brake booster and reservoir area.
3. Remove the LH rear wheel.
4. Place the vehicle into EPB Service Mode. Skipping this step means fighting the parking brake motor for the rest of the job.
5. Remove the bolt attaching the LH rear EPB harness bracket to the caliper (10 mm socket, 5 Nm on refit).
6. Remove the bolts attaching the LH rear caliper to the caliper bracket (14 mm socket, 26.5 Nm on refit).
7. Use a caliper spreader to push the piston back into the caliper.
8. Hang the caliper on the body with a brake caliper S-hook — never let it hang on the flexible hose.
9. Remove the brake pads from the caliper bracket.
10. Remove the caliper abutment clips from the bracket.
11. Repeat for the RH rear.

Installation

1. Use needle-nose pliers to set the slots in the rear caliper piston to the 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock positions. This is the step that gets skipped: if the slots are wrong, the pads sit against the piston instead of the bracket, and the car drags, heats up and squeals.
2. Install the abutment clips and apply an even layer of Silaramic lubricant to them.
3. Install the brake pads onto the bracket, pressing them toward the rotor as they go in.
4. Install the caliper bolts at 26.5 Nm (19.5 lb-ft). While doing so, confirm the flexible brake hose is not twisted and can bend forward, and that it cannot contact the wheel arch liner once the vehicle is lowered — the manual raises a specific warning on this.
5. Install the EPB harness bracket bolt at 5 Nm (3.7 lb-ft).
6. Install the LH rear wheel, then repeat all installation steps for the RH rear.
7. Reapply the parking brake by touching the Park button on the touchscreen.
8. On the touchscreen open Service Mode, then Chassis > Brakes > EPB Service Mode, select Both in EPB Selection, select Stop in Action Selection, and Run the routine to completion.
9. Exit Service Mode.
10. Pump the brake pedal to seat the pads against the rotor until the pedal feels firm.
11. Check the brake fluid level and top off the reservoir if needed.
12. Road test and burnish the pads. Burnishing is a billable step: add correction code 33013000 as a separate activity on the service visit.

Mistakes That Bring the Car Back

• Forcing the piston back without EPB Service Mode. The parking brake motor is still engaged; the load goes into the motor and gearset. This is the most common self-inflicted failure on the job.
• Piston slots not clocked to 12 and 6. The pads feel seated but are being held off the bracket.
• A twisted or chafing flex hose. You only see it after the vehicle comes down, which is exactly why the warning exists.
• Dry abutment clips. The number one cause of a noise comeback.
• No burnish, no 33013000. Burnishing is not optional — it sets pad life and quiet operation, and it is separately recoverable time.
• Running the base-brake procedure on sport brakes, or the reverse. Different correction codes, different kits.

When to Hand It Off

If inspection turns up a seized caliper slide surface, a torn piston seal, or a parking brake fault that survives the service-mode routine, you are past a pad change — that is caliper or EPB motor territory. Rotor runout measurement and judgement is also its own procedure; do not use a pad change to chase a pulsation you have not measured.

Same Procedure, Other Model

Model 3 uses the same sequence from the same manual page; only the flat rate time differs (Model Y base brakes 0.54, Model 3 base brakes 0.60). Treat this guide as covering Model 3 as well, and keep checking the brake package against the actual car when you order.

Source

Procedure summarised and rewritten from the publicly published Tesla Model Y Service Manual, Brake Pad Kit – Rear (Base Brakes) (Remove and Replace), correction code 33010802; sport brake variant 33010812. Torque values, tooling and equipment references are taken from that document. Always work from the current official procedure for the vehicle’s build and software version.