Rx300 Brakes

[GAguitar]

I have a 2001 RX300 with 42,000 miles. My questions: When is it recommended to replace the brakes and what brand to use. The brakes feel/ work great now but I don't want to wait and possibly damage the rotors. I can do this work myself so what brand should I use or any specific type?

I appreciate any help.

Thank you,

mark1175@hotmail.com

[RX in NC]

Depends entirely upon your driving style. My wife is a careful and cautious driver so I elected to replace her brake pads (her rotors were fine) back in March at about 75,000 miles. In looking at her old pads after pulling them off the vehicle, I figured that she probably could have gotten another 5,000 miles or so out of them. The front pads were worn more as is typically the case since 70% of your braking is done up front. The RX300 OEM pads (semi-metallic, not ceramic) are well-engineered and should last a long time if the vehicle is driven properly.

Take a look at your pads before you elect to replace them. I always check the pads thoroughly whenever I rotate the tires.

At just 42,000 miles I'd be willing to bet that you still have plenty of pad left. And by the way, the original pads should begin chirping before they wear down enough to damage your rotors. Listen to them, look at them regularly, and you'll know when it's time to begin thinking about replacing them.

[vinaysrathore]

Just thought I'd mention my recent experience on my 2001 RX 300 AWD. At 43K, the rear brakes were pretty much worn out and need to be replaced. I refused to do the $390 brake job at Lexus, and just bought the pads there and had a local mechanic replace them for $80 + $75 for the pads. The rear rotors were fine, though the lexus dealer said they should be resurfaced and were the primary cause of my vibration while braking. That turned out to be inaccurate.

The front pads are still the original ones and have nearly 30-40% life left in them but the front rotors had warped at 39K. Resurfacing the front was just a temporary fix (90days) and made the braking a little mushy. The dealer finally replaced them under warranty after my 3rd visit and a test drive with me in the car.

The only other comment to add is that my mechanic mentioned that the Lexus dealer really torqued the hell out of the lugs. He said, if the rotors had not warped yet, their over-torqing (sp?) would have definitely warped them, as they did on the front. I have since had those re-torqued as well.

My 2 cents