Kaius88

Whats the average life of everyone's brakes here? Here's my story:

Went for my 15k service today at Lexus of Glendale. After 1 hour the rep comes back to me and says i need new rear brakes. He showed me a comparison piece of metal, and indicated what my rear brakes look like. He quoted me $295, and I was like "damn...i only have 15k miles on it". Anyway, I figured this dealership is reputable enough to be honorable, so I said ok fine. I drive 95% local streets every day.... takes me 1 hour to drive 15 miles each way to and from work. I also live in the hills with very steep inclines. Is it normal to need new rear brakes after only 15k miles under my driving conditions? Does the TSIB cover this? Any advice?

amf1932

That's very strange......usually the front brakes need replacement before the rear brakes?? I NEVER heard of this happening!
Brake wear generally is not covered by TSB's or warranties.

MD350

I agree with Alan, sounds like your rear brakes were either "pulling" or your emergency brake is out of adjustment. Something is not right, would fight it with the manager.

350Dave

My ES300 had brakes and rotors replaced on all 4 wheels back in 2004, but it was due to a faulty run of rotors from the vendor. If I had not complained of mild pulling to the right (occasionally), it probably would have ended up on my dime instead of 100% warranty. These same brakes were almost 50% when I traded the car at 48,000 miles.

GUJIGUJI

wow...something's wrong w/ ur brake system. I have 17000kms on my ES now and i just had my service done last week. I was informed that I have 90% front/90% rear brake left. I know yours is Miles but still it's quite impossible unless something went wrong with it.

LexBob2

This may not apply in the OP's case, but I occasinally drive behind people who are probably resting their foot on the brake pedal. The brake lights are either on all of the time or flashing off and on reguarly. Even with light pressure on the pedal, it isn't good for the brakes and, can wear and/or overheat them.

Kaius88

im going to contact corporate and argue my case. I either had a faulty rear brake system, or the dealership try to take advantage of me. Either way it is Lexus' responsibility. They can argue that "wear-n-tear" is not covered, but at 15k miles and on rear brakes, that's kinda unheard of. I'll give it a shot.

mingyuchun

I do not trust anybody at Glendale Lexus... they try to rip you off with everything

15951

Just be positive you've never driven with the parking brake on. Even if it was only slightly engaged, it could really kill the life of your rear brakes in a very short period of time.

amf1932

Hmmm......I always thought that the parking brake used a separate system to lock up the rear wheels when set. In other words, the rear brake pads are not engaged when you have the parking brake set.

mmarshall

Two things. First, look at the rear pad thickness yourself, if possible, through the rear wheel openings.....in some cases, depending on wheel and caliper design, you can see for yourself how much pad material is left. Second, you state that you live and drive regularly in an area with steep inclines. While that alone does not necessarily wear out brakes at 15K, it can......and often does.......greatly accelerate pad wear and rotor warping, especially if you don't downshift on steep downgrades.

If the service people at Glendale are trying to sell you new brakes, and you can see for yourself that they are still OK (the rotors can be warped, though, even if the pads are still OK...you would have a pedal and steering wheel shimmy), then I would file a complaint with Lexus Customer Service (see the Lexus web site for the phone number) and the California Better Buisness Bureau.

dreyfus

You're partially correct. The rear brake pads are set by a mechanical link through the parking brake cable. Normal braking uses an hydraulic link to activate the rear pads.

onsknht

He's 100% correct... The rear brake pads have nothing to do with the parking brake mechanism.

Instead, what you need to imagine is a drum style brake inside of the disc hub... It has shoes that expand creating the necessary stopping force.

FWIW - Usually the front brakes will go out 2 maybe 3 times before the rears should ever need service... Toyota is big on their use of a load proportioning valve especially in trucks to distribute braking power, I don't recall if this has been added to cars... If it is in the ES, there's something wrong with it.... This has to be 5th-6th time in my travels that I've seen ES/Camry owners complain about needing rear brakes @ around 15k ---->>> There's something wrong, at the very least save receipts and wait for a TSIB in the near future.

larrynimmo

My daughters 1998 Avalon had its first brake job at 135,000 miles with better than 50% pad remaining...why the brake job...the front rotors had a shimmy.

Cost to have all 4 rotors turned and pads changed...$185

amf1932

Sorry.......I don't believe that, unless the car was highway driven 90% of the time!