You haven't defined "rapidly". How many miles since the last brake job? (Front and rear at the same time?) Were the rotors turned or replaced?

My sister's 2002 Land Rover Freelander needed front pads every 7000 miles (yes - seven thousand), and new rotors about every 2nd set of pads. (The rotors are manufactured so thin that once they are worn enough to require machining, they are already at or below minimum spec.) Her current vehicle, a Nissan Rogue, at 31000 miles, has yet to need brake service. Well, she did complain of braking noise at about 28000, so I inspected them. Comparing the existing pads (all four wheels) with the new ones I'd purchased, they appeared to be only 60%-70% worn. I cleaned and lubed everything, and the noise abated.

Jack up the rear and check for loose wheele bearings. Is there any brake drag? Is, or was the car carrying conciderable weight? Was it towing a trailer? There may be a brake proportioning valve that modifys rear brake line bressure depending on rear ride height. Could it have become disconnected? It will belocated on part of the rear suspension and also connected by link to the car body. There will be hydraulic brake lines attached to it. Check it out.

There does appear to be a design flaw....I would replace the pads and rotors with heavy duty aftermarket pieces, and possibly other components...

http://www.taurusclub.com/forum/114-5th-6th-gen-maintenance-repair/151663-rear-brakes.html

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Taurus/2008/brakes/premature_brake_wear.shtml

"If your rear disc brake pads are not wearing evenly, chances are your brake calipers are sticking or seizing. You can correct this by thoroughly cleaning the inside of the brake caliper, including the caliper slide pins and lubricating the slide pins with white lithium grease.

Read more: How to Adjust the Rear Disc Brakes on a Ford Taurus | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_6763128_adjust-disc-brakes-ford-taurus.html#ixzz260vrGNe9

There is a tendency in newer cars having the new gen ABS's on quard, to be able to use a lot more "percentage" of rear axis braking than in the past, for handling and stability reasons. That wouldn't be so bad if the rear brakes design reliability was also pumped upwards as someone would expect. Unfortunately for some manufacturers this does not seem to be the case. Seen this happening on many models, including my present -reliable by tradition- Toyota. S.M.

I suspect that SimpleMind stated the crux of the problem. Think about it, we all know that the front brakes (especially on hard braking) take the brunt of the load. That is simple physics, the load shifts to the front of the vehicle.

"I suspect that most (90% plus) of the rear brake wear I have now happened in Colorado before I purchased the car--so maybe driving in hills could alter that 80:20 ratio?"

If during light braking the system uses the rear brakes more, than overall wear (for most people/situations), is more even. But if you are riding the brakes all the way downhill from Nederland Co. to Boulder, then the rear brakes will show excessive wear.

I would suggest getting both front and rear up to spec, and after a sufficient amount of time/miles inspecting them before proclaiming the car a "piece of crap".

Look on the bright side, at least it isn't a Chevy Cavalier!

"My last brake job was at about 100K but that was a pickup--I realize car brakes are nowhere near as durable . . ." Really? I guess I'm spoiled, then: I'm used to changing the front pads at around 150,000 - 180,000 miles, and rear pads after another 50,000 or more miles. This includes my last three VW Jettas (one a '97 Trek model, another a 2000 1.8T), a '96 and '97 Jetta I keep in repair for friends, and two others belonging to another friend who does his own work. The 2000 had 196,000 miles at first [front only] pad change, and rears are original at 218,000+. It DID get considerable highway mileage after first 87k. The '96 needed rears at 204k, but only because it sat unused for two years, and the left rear, in a low area, was kept wet enough that the backing plate rusted and failed the bond shortly after it was sold & being driven again. NONE of these cars has yet had a rotor so much as ground, much less replaced. Most still have the original rear pads (4 of the 7); each of the 7 has gone over 200,000 miles at present. FWIW, ALL are manual shift, no automatics.

.....and I thought my brake usage was good.......I was wrong!!!!

Sounds like it could be a dragging park brake situation.

On the older cars there was a valve operated from the rear suspension/back axle. The more load you put in the back of the car the more braking would be pushed to the back brakes.

Unless you like unstable cars and enjoy spinning ther car you want very little effort on the rear. Try using the back brake on a motor cycle - its a quickly learn't lesson.

In the land cruisers the valve you are referring to is called a proportioning valve & is still used in many heavier vehicles today. If it is not adjusted to suit the rear springs on the vehicle it can cause the rear brakes to be applied more than needed. As the springs drop in height from use the proportioning valve will need adjusting. I found this out when I bought a secondhand land cruiser utility & not realising the springs were sagged & not knowing about the valve, it rained a few days later & I braked heavily approaching an intersection the next thing I knew I was doing 360 spins through the intersection because the rear brakes locked up. It's fun if you are expecting it but not this time luckily there were no vehicles in the intersection.

My first thing to check would be the front brakes to see if they appropriately worn for the distance since replacement.

have a compenent mechanic overhaul the complete brakes system. the calibers sliders "normally over-looked" and emergency brake cables "often over looked" in particular. use new springs and adjusters.

stop using junk parts. my family and friends are using the same roads.

ask your dad to loan you the money to have it fixed right.

yes, maintainace is a part of owning a car. SAFETY FIRST
i have a good bicycle for sell, but i doubt if you'ld maintain it either.

Dirty spokes? Try hubcaps.

Maybe;

the drums are out of round (faulty),

the hydraulic cylinder(s) is (are) sticking for some reason, or

the brake cable is sticking or locked.