Ceramic Brakes

[5H2DA]

I have a 2004 RX330 which seems to have issues which rotors warping long before the pads need replacing. Someone suggested switching to slotted rotors and ceramic pads. Any advise, wisdom or alternatives???

Dennis

[1990LS400]

Instead of buying aftermarket slotted rotors, get a set of regular OEM rotors if you are currently using aftermarket rotors, make sure that an air wrench is never ever used to tighten the lug nuts and ensure that the lug nuts are always tightened only with a manual torque wrench to 76 ft. lbs. making sure that the lug nuts are torqued down gradually and not all at once. If you are using aftermarket brake pads, get sets of OEM brake pads to use with your OEM rotors.

OEM Toyota/Lexus on your RX should easily last to over 200,000 miles - maybe to way, way over 200,000 miles.

OEM Toyota/Lexus brake pads can go much further than most people allow them to go. The brake wear sensors - either mechanical or electronic - alert the driver when the brake pads wear down to between 1 mm and 2 mm. 1 to 2 mm may look "scary" to some people and dishonest shops will often tell people to replace the pads when they aren't even half worn out.

I have the rotors "resurfaced" (ground, trued up ... whatever term you prefer) every time I have the pads changed - just make sure that some ham fisted amateur doesn't get carried away. The Lexus LS400 I sold last year at 179,000 miles were still on their original front rotors and their thickness was within one millimeter of what they were when the car rolled out of the factory. I've never got less than 70,000 miles from a set of front brake pads on a Lexus or Toyota and the rear pads have lasted at least twice as long.

And we have never had to replace a set of rotors and we have driven a bunch of vehicles to very high mileages.

[MBman]

I have found that you MUST use lexus OEM parts. ONLY

[zieke]

There seem to be many different qualities of pads and rotors. Aftermarkets are ok in my opinion as long as they are of the quality of original Lexus parts. Unless u are racing your vehicle I don't think u need slotted rotors or ceremic pads. Just my take.