When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I appreciate the response. I did try the search and found a few threads about brakes. This one seemed to have a solve so I read all 16 pages. If I understand you correctly you’re not against OEM rotors? Also, what’s a reliable and fair priced source for the pads you’re recommending? And rotors? I currently have what appear to be stock 2 piece rotors on the front. Do you recommend the same Akebono Performance / ProAct on the back? Don’t really see any complaints about the rear brakes. I can clean and slather lube on brakes, no biggie. But if one brand, model, type works better, I want that. Don’t want to trial and error it like so many other have.
I appreciate the response. I did try the search and found a few threads about brakes. This one seemed to have a solve so I read all 16 pages. If I understand you correctly you’re not against OEM rotors? Also, what’s a reliable and fair priced source for the pads you’re recommending? And rotors? I currently have what appear to be stock 2 piece rotors on the front. Do you recommend the same Akebono Performance / ProAct on the back? Don’t really see any complaints about the rear brakes. I can clean and slather lube on brakes, no biggie. But if one brand, model, type works better, I want that. Don’t want to trial and error it like so many other have.
Search and read. There are like 25 Threads on this. 10-15 owners with Zero noise ever.
The Pad choice is yours. Either is fine. If your Rotors still are within measured spec's they should be fine, as long as they are not Warped. Do clean the Rotors good, even if you keep the ones you got and reuse them.
Just search Brakes in the 4th Gen GS. Top right hand corner. FYI - some of the Lexus Factory run Pads from the Lexus Dealers are actually Akebono produced Pads stamped right on the Pads. I like the Performance Pads they bite, better than factory but a little dust.
The Pad choice is yours. Either is fine. If your Rotors still are within measured spec's they should be fine, as long as they are not Warped. Do clean the Rotors good, even if you keep the ones you got and reuse them.
Just search Brakes in the 4th Gen GS. Top right hand corner. FYI - some of the Lexus Factory run Pads from the Lexus Dealers are actually Akebono produced Pads stamped right on the Pads. I like the Performance Pads they bite, better than factory but a little dust.
Thanks again. I have been reading, that’s why I asked. There are so many threads. After a while it all sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher. Just looking to drown out the noise and get a straight answer. That said, I think I’m settling on a PowerStop OE replacement kit with the Akebono pads up front and copious amounts of the SIL Glyde lube, unless somebody sees something wrong with that set up. I’m certainly not tracking this pig, I’ve got a weekend toy if I want to track. This is my daily, so no need for anything high performance.
Have have seen lots of car forums complaining about PowerStops Warping in short mileage. I personally would not put PowerStop anything on my Lexus or other cars. It's your choice though.
Have have seen lots of car forums complaining about PowerStops Warping in short mileage. I personally would not put PowerStop anything on my Lexus or other cars. It's your choice though.
I just read through all 16 pages of this and I'm confused as ever, LOL. New member but I have had my 2015 GS F-Sport for 5+ years. Minor squeaks on cold and/or wet morning at the first braking application. Quiet as one would expect after that. Had the brakes checked when I first bought it and was told that they squeak from time to time, aftermarket brakes. So I'm not sure what's on there. I'm ready to put in new rotors and pads and came here to make sure I don't set myself up for misery. I was happy when I first read the post by Kenny, but he seems to have disappeared. Other posters who had initial success seem to have eventually gotten the squeal. I don't care if it's OEM, or aftermarket or, or Non-F-Sport, or 2-piece, or if the brake dust is high or not. I have 2 requirements: The brakes stop the car as they should and the brakes don't squeal. I can accept the first stop on a cold/wet morning, but constantly would be a no go. What is the go to solution? @jgscott I'm looking at you in particular since you seem to know what you're talking about and have the most recent posts.
Well, here is a 3 year update for you guys. If i remember correctly, none of the fixes really worked for me long term. After a couple of months, the squeal was back. I was ready to get rid of the car because I was so annoyed. In Feb 2021, I made one more effort to find a fix. My solution was to go with 100% OEM setup, which was the 2-piece rotor set up. I am glad to report that my brakes have been noise free ever since, 3 years and counting. There have been some moments here and there where it would give a slight squeal at slow stop, that's about it. Make sure you use the service of a qualified mechanic/technician. I am always glad to pay for a good mechanic to perform a solid brake job.
I know it's been a while, life gets busy haha. My GS is now my semi-daily, for days i don't feel like driving the Tundra. The GS became mine when my wife got a vehicle upgrade. With the brake noise problem resolved, I have been really enjoying it again for the last 3 years. I don't think I'll ever sell it. At this point the GS is much more valuable to me to keep than to sell or trade for whatever it's worth.
Well, here is a 3 year update for you guys. If i remember correctly, none of the fixes really worked for me long term. After a couple of months, the squeal was back. I was ready to get rid of the car because I was so annoyed. In Feb 2021, I made one more effort to find a fix. My solution was to go with 100% OEM setup, which was the 2-piece rotor set up. I am glad to report that my brakes have been noise free ever since, 3 years and counting. There have been some moments here and there where it would give a slight squeal at slow stop, that's about it. Make sure you use the service of a qualified mechanic/technician. I am always glad to pay for a good mechanic to perform a solid brake job.
I know it's been a while, life gets busy haha. My GS is now my semi-daily, for days i don't feel like driving the Tundra. The GS became mine when my wife got a vehicle upgrade. With the brake noise problem resolved, I have been really enjoying it again for the last 3 years. I don't think I'll ever sell it. At this point the GS is much more valuable to me to keep than to sell or trade for whatever it's worth.
See this has been consistent on all the threads with some. It still squeals. Just sometimes. That may be acceptable to some but not to me. No car I have squeals or makes brake noise. Especially a Lexus.
That's why I posted to do what those have done that have ZERO squeal never, any noise at all. Depends on if you want some squeal still sometimes or.... to fix the problem and get rid of the squeal at all times.
See this has been consistent on all the threads with some. It still squeals. Just sometimes. That may be acceptable to some but not to me. No car I have squeals or makes brake noise. Especially a Lexus.
That's why I posted to do what those have done that have ZERO squeal never, any noise at all. Depends on if you want some squeal still sometimes or.... to fix the problem and get rid of the squeal at all times.
I hear ya brotha. Guess I'm just getting more tolerant these days. A squeal here and there doesn't bother me anymore. I used to obsess over these things. Every rattle, every squeak in the car drove me crazy. Not sure what happened
But I will keep all your advice in mind when the next brake job happens for this car. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience!
Hi there,
I have been looking through all the threads on brakes for my GS350 F sport. You speak about Akebono brake pads, and lubing them up. Sorry if this is redundant to what you have already said. I have been trying to compare after market and OEM. Although OEM is best, they sell everything a la carte and its hard to determine what all I need. I found Akebono but curious if you are familiar with the Pro Act Ulta vs the Performance Ultra to know which is best. Thank you for your help, as I too am dealing with a horrible squeal when its cold outside
Well, here is a 3 year update for you guys. If i remember correctly, none of the fixes really worked for me long term. After a couple of months, the squeal was back. I was ready to get rid of the car because I was so annoyed. In Feb 2021, I made one more effort to find a fix. My solution was to go with 100% OEM setup, which was the 2-piece rotor set up. I am glad to report that my brakes have been noise free ever since, 3 years and counting. There have been some moments here and there where it would give a slight squeal at slow stop, that's about it. Make sure you use the service of a qualified mechanic/technician. I am always glad to pay for a good mechanic to perform a solid brake job.
I know it's been a while, life gets busy haha. My GS is now my semi-daily, for days i don't feel like driving the Tundra. The GS became mine when my wife got a vehicle upgrade. With the brake noise problem resolved, I have been really enjoying it again for the last 3 years. I don't think I'll ever sell it. At this point the GS is much more valuable to me to keep than to sell or trade for whatever it's worth.
KENNYD do you remember the part number for your OEM rotor? can you post? I have been searching but it’s kind of confusing. Thanks
@kennyD I got a 2017 RC 350 F sport recently and it needed new rotors and pads. Toyota dealership wants to charge me $1700 to replace front rotors and pads. Lexus dealership wants $1500. I am not very good with mechanical works and I always did the recommended service the dealership tells me to do but this time it costs way too much, so I started researching and watch a lot of YouTube video and found this post. I have read through this post multiple times to make sure I understand what to order. I ordered the OEM rotors (43516-53030 and 43512-53050), the enhanced brake pads (04464-30540), and the shim kit (04945-30340) from lexuspartsnow.com. They costs me $817.66. I paid my neighbor $200 (he works on cars all day!) to install them. I asked him to follow the steps from this YouTube video.
. The video was made by a Lexus tech. We put grease between the pads and the rubber side of shims, and grease on metal side that meets the piston, also grease on the ends on the pads. To my surprise, there was no noise at all what so ever. It has been 2 weeks and still perfect. I am so happy that I found your post and ordered the right OEM parts. I didn't want to go cheap and take a risk of having squeak noise and have to try different methods of getting rid of the noise, and might have to spend more money and time in the end. After everything was done, I did the proper bedding and saw a nice “glaze" on the surface. It looks so beautiful. Thank you so much for all the people who helped with this post.
I think I left this piece of info out because I felt it was the cause and not the solution. When I swapped pads the first time with the Akebono ceramics, I did NOT resurface my (1-piece) rotors. It squealed within a week and got progressively worse. By the time I replaced the pads again with the new updated pads my rotors looked so glazed you could almost get a reflection off of it. And I did try sanding it down, then reinstalling the ceramic pads. It worked for 1 day. It could be completely coincidental, but I once I resurfaced the rotors and installed the new pads, it eliminated all noises. I'm just about to 2000 miles I have experienced no squeals at all. They are quiet, I mean Lexus quiet.
Maybe I got lucky. But there appears to be a connection from having the rotors resurfaced to eliminating the noise. I did do a half hour long bedding process with the new pads though. Maybe that was the the key. Hard to say for certain. But I am a firm believer that proper bedding plays a large part in the process.
I have received a lot of help from this forum and members over the years which is very much appreciated. I thought I would share my front F Sport Brake results since it's the first time I thought I could add something helpful. I had the squeal in the front. Really only the driver's side.
A: F Sport Rotors and OEM (non tsb) pads (2 piece shim kit OEM)
What are TSB spindle/hub shim, and Rotors? Did you try to put the Lexus Shim kit on the Akebono's?
Didn't try lexus shims (2 piece) on Akebonos since they already came with their own. Thought that might create more squealing with 3 shims per pad. I guess I could have also removed the Akebono shim and tried the Lexus 2 piece shim but after the horrible squealing I decided to just go OEM and follow the TSB.
The TSB is the technical service bulletin regarding F Sport Front Brakes. There is a 2018 version and a 2020 version with different parts, part numbers and recommendations.
2018 TSB requires a thin metal shim to be installed between the spindle and the hub. Looks like a metal gasket that matches the mounting surface and holes on the spindle. There are some photos of this in previous posts.
I didn't realize that the 2020 TSB didn’t require the hub shim so I installed them anyway. The 2020 pad shims are 2 pieces but come connected together already. 2018 pad shims are not connected so you place each one (2 per pad). I would think that the 2020 pad shims are the ones to get since they are fixed from the factory so less to get wrong during install but that's just my opinion.
01-27-24 | 08:50 PM
