I changed over to my winter tires this week and did my twice a year brake check. With just under 55,000 miles on the original pads there is still over 40% (+4 mm) of the original pad remaining all around. Lots more miles to go!

I did pull the sensors out of the pads last year to keep them from wearing. They (sensors) are the main reason the dealers have us changing the pads so early.

90% of our driving is mixed city and around town freeway.

Frank

 

How did you pulled the sensors and where/how do you hanged the sensor securely?

 

Pulled the pads out, slipped the sensors out of the pads (there is a small clip that holds them in the pad) and looped them back against themselves, then put a couple of zip-ties on each to hold them.

Added about 10 minutes to the time it takes to rotate tires. Quick and easy.
BTW the sensors are only on the right (passenger) side, front and rear.

 

Thanks Frank

 

Howdy guys:

Thanks for the very helpful thread.

I have owned a 2001 LS430 for about six months and am wondering how much brake life to expect. I've driven the car about 5,000 miles and have a total of 56,000 miles on it now. The previous owner put on new front pads and turned the rotors at 26,000 miles.

I do a combo of city and freeway driving, most of it like a geezer, very lite on the pedal.

Questions:

How many millimeters thick are new pads? And how do you calculate how much is left, in a percentage, as Frank has done?

When do the sensors go off, at what thickness? How many more miles could an easy braker expect?

Is it too late to pull the sensors after you hear them? Is that a job that an independent mechanic would do?

Also, can i turn the rotors again, or is once the limit?

Finally, how important is it to replace pads and rotors with Lexus parts. Could hi-quality after-market parts be used?

Thanks for any and all advice.

 

i have a 06 ls430 but i think my answers can be applied to your car.

1) How many millimeters thick are new pads? And how do you calculate how much is left, in a percentage, as Frank has done?
answer: i don't know how thick new pads are but i bet you could call the dealer and have someone measure from the back part of the pad to the top of the pad. this measurement can be in inches, millimeters, centimeters, feet, etc. once you know how much is there when the pad is new you can calculate how much is left by dividing the amount that is left by the original amount of pad when it was new. for example if the new pad is 2 inches thick and 4 months later you have 1.25 inches left the next time you check the thickness you have 62.5% left. [(1.25/2)*100] = 62.5% pad left. i multiplied by 100 to convert the decimal into a percentage.

2) When do the sensors go off, at what thickness? How many more miles could an easy braker expect?
answer: the sensors go off or rather on when the computer registers a closed circuit from the sensors. lexus presumes that the front right and left brakes will wear evenly and the rear right and left will too. that is why they only put one sensor on the front passenger side and one on the back passenger side. however it is possible for the front or rear brakes to wear unevenly from side to side. anyway, once the pad wears down far enough the sensors will start to rub against the brake rotors (i don't know at what thickness this starts to happen). eventually the rubbing will get down to the metal contacts which causes them to ground. it is this grounding that causes the sensor light in the dash to come on. as far as how many miles you can get before this happens....well it will be difficult to tell. everyone has different driving habits. in addition to that, the front brakes wear faster than the rear. you would have to closely monitor your brakes to determine how many miles you can get from your pads.

3) Is it too late to pull the sensors after you hear them? Is that a job that an independent mechanic would do?
answer: you will never hear your sensors since they are made of plastic and therefore are not designed to give you an audible signal that your brake pads are running low. as long as the sensors have not caused the light to come on in your dash, it is not too late to remove them from the pad and zip tie them out of the way. your independent mechanic can do this at your request. however, once the light comes on, they must be replaced.

4) Also, can i turn the rotors again, or is once the limit?
answer: i have heard of people turning (or resurfacing) their rotors more than once. as long as you don't go below the recommend minimum thickness you can turn them as often as you need to. however, you usually can get only one or two turns before they reach the minimum recommended thickness. how many turns you get usually depends on how much material has to be removed from the rotors to get the surface smooth again.

5) Finally, how important is it to replace pads and rotors with Lexus parts. Could hi-quality after-market parts be used?
answer: you could replace your pads and rotors with aftermarket parts. however, i would not recommend replacing your pads with aftermarket pads and using the factory rotors. you probably will end up with noisy brakes. in other words, they will make a high pitched noise (squeal) when you brake. there is no problem with replacing factory rotors with aftermarket rotors and using the factory pads. nor is there a problem with replacing factory pads and rotors with aftermarket pads and rotors. there shouldn't be any brake noise. at least that has been my experience. some people have done a total brake upgrade and replaced the factory rotors, pads, calipers, and brake lines with high quality aftermarket parts. hope this helps.

 

From 04 LS430 service manual, I assumed this info. is good from 04 to 06, it may be the same for 01 to 03.

Front: Pad thickness: Standard 11.0 mm (0.433 in)
Minimun 1.0 mm (0.039 in)
Disc Thickness: Standard 30.0 mm (1.181 in)
Minimum 28.0 mm, (1.102 in) Need to use a micrometer

Rear: Pad thickness: Standard 11.0 mm (0.433 in)
Minimum 1.0 mm (0.039 in)
Disc thckiness: Standard 16.0 mm (0.633 in)
Minimum 14.5 mm (0.571 in)
The rear disc contain a set of drum pads for parking brake.
Standard thickness for the pad is 3.5 mm (0.138 in)
minimum thickness 1.0 mm (0.039 in)

For the inner diameter of the disc, use a drum guage or equivalent.
Standard inside diameter 190 mm (7.48 in)
Maximum inside diameter 191 mm (5.52 in)

 

My experience has been that the front and rear pads wear at virtually the same rate. My fronts and rears are almost identical in wear at 55,000 miles.

I just measured the NEW Lexus (Toyota) Pads I have in inventory and they measure 10.8 mm fresh out of the box.

Frank

 

This is mainly due to the new system Lexus has implemented in 99, which is Automatic brake distribution. This decreases the dive of the automobile when braking (HUGE difference from my 98 LS to the '04 in that aspect) by distributing braking force. While they wont wear EXACTLY the same, they are very close, and certaintly closer then before the system was introduced.

I changed my pads at 35,000 and they still had about 4MM left in them.

 

any info on how to re-solder the brake sensors to get them to work again, and not send the "Brake Wear" message once brakes have been replaced?

any info would be of great help to me.