"clicking" Sound From Front Drivers Side When Braking.

[RAYSLS]

Hello everone. I just purchased a wonderful 2002 LS430 has 38k miles on it and adore the car.It had a full service at 36k miles at the dealer (under the previous owner) and had new brake pads installed....Now, I occasionally hear a distinct CLICK when I apply the brakes and its isolated towards the front drivers side wheel.The first click is usually soon follwed by a second click and thats it. It doesn`t happen every time I apply braking, in fact I`d say maybe 10% of the time.The braking performance is unaffected. Anyone have any idea what this could be? Thanks in advance.

[AttilaTheHun]

Hello everone. I just purchased a wonderful 2002 LS430 has 38k miles on it and adore the car.It had a full service at 36k miles at the dealer (under the previous owner) and had new brake pads installed....Now, I occasionally hear a distinct CLICK when I apply the brakes and its isolated towards the front drivers side wheel.The first click is usually soon follwed by a second click and thats it. It doesn`t happen every time I apply braking, in fact I`d say maybe 10% of the time.The braking performance is unaffected. Anyone have any idea what this could be? Thanks in advance.

I'm a newbie on here and love my first Lexus. I'm amazed on what a wonderful car my 04 LS 430 is but I have the same thing happening to me on my 04 LS 430. I took it to the Lexus dealer where I purchased the car used a few months ago and they told me it is normal. I find that hard to believe because it is a very distinct clicking noise, almost a lound clank when I apply brake. Seems to happen about 50% of the time. It is very annoying. That just doesn't seem normal for a car of this build quality. Does anyone have any idea of what the problem might be?

[nc211]

"It's normal" translates into "we can't make enough money off of you to justify the repair". No, it's not normal, but is an easy and common fix. What has happened is the shim kit and fitment kits are not right. Each brake pad on the car has two "add-ons" that go over the back of the pad. There is a thin piece metal sandwiched between the pad and the backing clip-on - rubber covered- back piece. These prevent squeeks and squeals. These are the shims. If you don't hear squeeks and squeals, those are good. The fitment kit are metal like springs that hold the pad in place within the caliper. What a mechanic is supposed to do when changing the pads is to clean off and gently pull these springs out a little to give them a tighter fit to the new pads. What you two are experiencing with your clicks (let me guess, they also click when going in reverse the first time you apply the brakes too, right?), is the pads shifting around in their caliper seats ever-so-slightly. It's not dangerous, just annoying. It is very common with aftermarket pads being put on a Lexus car as well, very common.

OR: the mechanic did not properly clean the slider pins the pads move on. On the top of the caliper are these metal looking pins that slide through the calliper and the back of the pads. They're held in place with a locking clip at the end. If they're not regreased, well, it's metal on metal, and will cause a click as well. But, this click will be heard almost all the time, not just when changing direction of movement and the first couple of times applying the brakes.

What needs to be done: If you have aftermarket pads....replace them with genuine OEM pads - making sure you have the shim kit that prevents the squeals and such. The fitment kit, if memory serves correct, should be part of the caliper itself, not the pad. Have those cleaned, pulled out about 3mm, and you should have a tight fit.

Hearing a Lexus dealer tell a customer "it's normal" just irritates the hell out of me!!! This is basic brake job 101 stuff, and they should know better! But, probably don't want to waste the time doing it right. I'd be on my way back to the dealership and tell them to fix your fitment kit settings!

[AttilaTheHun]

"It's normal" translates into "we can't make enough money off of you to justify the repair". No, it's not normal, but is an easy and common fix. What has happened is the shim kit and fitment kits are not right. Each brake pad on the car has two "add-ons" that go over the back of the pad. There is a thin piece metal sandwiched between the pad and the backing clip-on - rubber covered- back piece. These prevent squeeks and squeals. These are the shims. If you don't hear squeeks and squeals, those are good. The fitment kit are metal like springs that hold the pad in place within the caliper. What a mechanic is supposed to do when changing the pads is to clean off and gently pull these springs out a little to give them a tighter fit to the new pads. What you two are experiencing with your clicks (let me guess, they also click when going in reverse the first time you apply the brakes too, right?), is the pads shifting around in their caliper seats ever-so-slightly. It's not dangerous, just annoying. It is very common with aftermarket pads being put on a Lexus car as well, very common.

OR: the mechanic did not properly clean the slider pins the pads move on. On the top of the caliper are these metal looking pins that slide through the calliper and the back of the pads. They're held in place with a locking clip at the end. If they're not regreased, well, it's metal on metal, and will cause a click as well. But, this click will be heard almost all the time, not just when changing direction of movement and the first couple of times applying the brakes.

What needs to be done: If you have aftermarket pads....replace them with genuine OEM pads - making sure you have the shim kit that prevents the squeals and such. The fitment kit, if memory serves correct, should be part of the caliper itself, not the pad. Have those cleaned, pulled out about 3mm, and you should have a tight fit.

Hearing a Lexus dealer tell a customer "it's normal" just irritates the hell out of me!!! This is basic brake job 101 stuff, and they should know better! But, probably don't want to waste the time doing it right. I'd be on my way back to the dealership and tell them to fix your fitment kit settings!

Thank you very much. I will be back to the dealer and let them know, what they should already know, what the problem is. Thanks again.