How Much You Spent On Your Brake Job?

[dchan865]

Hi Folks!

I got about 118K miles on my RX300. When I replaced my timing belt late at 2007. My TOyota dealer told me that I had about 40% brakes left front and rear. I drive a long commute, about 90% of it is freeway so a lot of pads left. The car seems to brake fine and no bad sound. A tire store told me couple weeks ago that its about time to change it and don't wait for it to make sound otherwise it'll damage the rotor. It sounds kind of fast(4months time) for the brake to wear down so fast.

I wonder if they are taking me for a ride. I think I'll get another opinion just in case.

If its just a simple pads and roter resurfacing, how much did you guys roughly spend at a non-Lexus dealer(perferably at a toyota dealer)? And would you have the tire store use non-OEM brake parts(worry about the reliability and quality of these parts)?

Thanks for any insight.

[Grumpa72]

two comments:

1. the tire store is looking for business

2. why not remove one of your front tires and do an "eyeball measure" of your pads. Anything less than 1/8" imo needs to be changed.

In all my years of driving I have never heard that having the brake wear indicator make noise is detrimental to your rotor. I rotate my own tires and when I do I always take a peak at the pads. They get changed when the pads are at or near 1/8" thickness.

[LVheretic]

I agree it sounds like the tire place is trying to "drum" (bad joke, I know) up some business. I can practically hear the mechanic saying "you dont HAVE to replace 'em today--but you never know when they will go so drive careful...especially if you have kids". Well, you do get a warning...from the wear indicator which does not harm the rotors...

Search this site and you will find a good posting (originally from Auto Zone) with about 10 steps, with pictures, to change them yourself...pretty easy...total cost: under $50 per axle.

Good luck

Nick/Las Vegas

[artbuc]

Do not depend on wear indicators. They will not damage your rotor but they can break almost immediately after giving you a little squeal. You may think all is well and then you have to buy new rotors.

You don't have to have the rotors resurfaced unless they are warped (you will know that by a pulsation in the brake pedal when applying brakes) or they have worn past min thickness (you should get at least two full pads worth of life out of your rotors).

Forget about aftermarket brake pads. Buy Toyota pads. The braking on the RX300's is outstanding with factory rotors/pads. High tech ceramic pads will give you excessive black dust and/or generate enough heat to warp your rotors. Don't try to save money by buying cheap pads and don't try to improve braking performance by buying hi-tech ceramic pads.

Make sure you lube the caliper slide pins.

[wwest]

Do not depend on wear indicators. They will not damage your rotor but they can break almost immediately after giving you a little squeal. You may think all is well and then you have to buy new rotors.

You don't have to have the rotors resurfaced unless they are warped (you will know that by a pulsation in the brake pedal when applying brakes) or they have worn past min thickness (you should get at least two full pads worth of life out of your rotors).

Forget about aftermarket brake pads. Buy Toyota pads. The braking on the RX300's is outstanding with factory rotors/pads. High tech ceramic pads will give you excessive black dust and/or generate enough heat to warp your rotors. Don't try to save money by buying cheap pads and don't try to improve braking performance by buying hi-tech ceramic pads.

Make sure you lube the caliper slide pins.

When I buy brake pads I make it as plain as possible that I want the best braking ability available. If the seller starts talking wear replacement warranty I WALK. If I get brake dust or warped rotors then so be it, my life and those of my passengers is what is most important to me.

I don't really have anything against Toyota and/or Lexus parts except that they have less reason to be performance competitive (and their stock is purchased competitively price wise) than aftermarket parts shops so I ALWAYS buy aftermarket.

[mikey00]

I changed my original pads at around 70K using Lexus/Toyota pads from Irontoad. Both the original and replacement pads had a manufacturer # stamped on the pad frame. Researching the number indicates that Lexus factory pads are actually Aikembo Ceramic pads. 70K seems around average for brakes on a mixed use RX. I didn't turn the rotors at this time. At 120K I could feel a little pulsating in the brake pedal. I looked at my options: 1. Pulling the rotors myself and having them turned and get another 20K out of the pads. 2. Or do the same but put new Lexus pads being that I already have things apart and have 20K at best left on the old pads. 3. Just have a reputable brake shop do a brake job using quality pads and turning the rotors. I went with option #3. It cost $315 for a brake shop to do a complete brake job using Raybestos Quiet Stop Ceramic pads. I have had good luck with these pads on my other vehicles. They have a lifetime warranty. So next brake job there is still labor related charges but the pads are free.

Some other things to know about your Lexus pads: Front pads are 7/32" and the wear indicator is set at 1/32". Replacement Lexus front pads come without a wear indicator. It is s spring clip that you must move over from the old pads. I wonder how many RXs are running around without wear indicators because someone failed to do this. Rear pads are 12/32" and have the wear indicator set at 4/32". The rear wear indicator is part of the pad frame.

[dchan865]

Thanks guys or gals.

It sounds like its best to get another opinion at a different shop when I rotate my tires next time around. I am sure aftermarket parts are good but I am more comfortable in getting the parts from Toyota dealer and just bring the parts into the shop and have them replace it. I am just amaze with the longetivity of my brakes(118K miles and counting). But I am sure my driving style and commute has something to do with it as well. I wish I am as good as you guy mechanically but I think I'll leave it up to the expert to work on the brakes.

[lexusmom]

I have 122K miles on my RX300. I went to a brake shop a few weeks ago and was told I needed a complete brake job. They quoted me a price over $700. He dropped it to $675, but I was not interested, especially since they were not using Lexus parts. I did however have a lot of rust on the front brakes so I could see that myself. I was not hearing any noise either, but the brake was feeling spongy and going down kinda far.

I went to a non-Lexus place, my local mechanic who has a person who specializes in Lexus on staff. They always use Lexus parts on my car. He told me I only needed new rotors and pads on the front. The tire places are always out to make a buck...

I took the car in last week and got a timing belt replaced and total front brakes for $825 including tax.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[dchan865]

I have 122K miles on my RX300. I went to a brake shop a few weeks ago and was told I needed a complete brake job. They quoted me a price over $700. He dropped it to $675, but I was not interested, especially since they were not using Lexus parts. I did however have a lot of rust on the front brakes so I could see that myself. I was not hearing any noise either, but the brake was feeling spongy and going down kinda far.

I went to a non-Lexus place, my local mechanic who has a person who specializes in Lexus on staff. They always use Lexus parts on my car. He told me I only needed new rotors and pads on the front. The tire places are always out to make a buck...

I took the car in last week and got a timing belt replaced and total front brakes for $825 including tax.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Hi!

Wow, you also have over 100K miles, glad to see that we have some "over 100K" lexus owners here(can't believe our car reach this milestone). $700 for a brake job sounds a bit too much. Sounds like you have a good deal on the timing belt and brake work. The $700 price seems like lexus dealer pricing.

Thanks.

[Hutch]

I always stay away from the dealers and find a good "independent" shop that I trust. We have a paper in San Francisco area called the SF Advertiser http://www.sfadvertiser.com

They have a bunch of coupons online and in their paper for dealers and independent shops. They also have 20% off Toyota dealer parts which may in some cases be interchangable with Lexus parts.

I have found a few mechanics in there that I trust. My brake job on my 98 LS was $175 with Lexus pads including resurfacing. The mechanic that worked on my car was actually a Lexus dealer mechanic at one time.

[theduder]

Hey Hutch I was wondering what shop you got your brakes done at. I live in the SF bay area too and $175 sounds like a really good deal.

[REDSEA]

Well, when it comes to brake pads, everytime I go with any other brand but the originals, I get noise! I'm wanting to shoot myself, yeah I saved $100 on front and $100 on back, but the noise, just isn't worth it, if you ask me. I say, if you want to save a buck, buy toyota brake pads on the net, and take em to a shop and have them put on. That a way the shop that puts em on is just chargeing you labor. Good luck! You've been warned, go oem on brake pads, or get use to the noise!!!!!!!! Doh!!!!

[RX in NC]

There are many brake pad options to choose from, some better (and far lest costly) than OEM. I really like the Wagner ThermoQuiet brake pad series. I have them on all three of our vehicles (1999 Dodge Ram pickup, 2004 Lexus RX330 SUV, 2005 Jaguar S-Type sedan) and can testify to their tomb-like quietness, their stopping power, their minimal brake dust, and their long lifespan (they come with a lifetime warranty). You can find them online at vendors like rockauto.com for less than a third of the price for what you would pay a dealer for OEM pads if you catch one of the frequent online specials. And if you install them yourself (an easy job for most vehicles), you'll save another $150 or more in labor costs....