Carpe Diem

My friend just got her car back from a 45k Lexus dealer service. The receipt says:

BRAKE SPECS: FRONT & REAR 6/32

Do you guess this is the minimum recommended pad thickness or the actual current pad thickness?

If actual, does anyone know what the minimum is? 6/32 seems pretty thin to me.

Thanks,
George

VVT-i

Brake pads are usually check by MM(milimeter) and tires will check by #/32. The new pads are between 10mm to 12mm depending on the car. For the ES, new pads will be 10mm and minimum to replace is 1mm. I think 6/32 is approx. 5mm, so your friend brake pads still o.k.

mburnickas

Not trying to start a war here but 1mm is still okay????? Kind of cutting it close ha. 1mm is only .039xxx and that is too close for me. 6/32 is not even 5mm! I replaced my front with just under 4 mm! Pads are cheaper then rotors.

Just replace the $45 pads and call it a day!

Carpe Diem

Well I called Lexus CS and they also say 1mm! I agree that's much too thin.

Anyway, 6/32 is ok and I suggested to her that she should get another 5-10k miles out of them. For her it's much more than $45 since she will have the dealer do it. What a waste! They'll probably charge her $300 for a simple pad replacement. Oh well, I guess her keeping them in business is good for all of us. I only buy their cars and a few parts. Since none of the Washington area dealers discount parts I get those from Carson or Champion when I have the luxury of planning.

George

jfelbab

The rotors on most new cars can only survive one turning before they are too thin and must be replaced. My dealer insists on turning the rotors when replacing pads. Their reasoning is that he new pads won't seat correctly unless the rotors are roughed up. So I wouldn't replace the pads any earlier than necessary because the next pad replacement will be very expensive.

mburnickas

I do not turn the rotors and just buy new ones. The problem I think is that today’s pads are much harder then they were in the past; hence, the rotors get messed up quicker. Also I think that when they turn them down (overall thickness is smaller), they heat up quicker and will warp much quicker. So you will be replacing the new set of pads and rotors quicker then the first, guaranteed.

I also think that dealers MUST turn for legal reasons.

VVT-i

The 1mm minumum thichness is from the repair manual, but it a good idea to replace the pads before it goes below 2mm. If you don't have any pulsation when braking, then just replace the pads. The aftermarket pads seem to used harder pad material and harder on the rotors too. I stay with the OEM pads.

Carpe Diem

I rode with her a couple of months ago and alerted her to the front brakes pulsing. They turned the rotors under warranty. Should she have insisted on new ones? She loves the way the brakes work now. "It's just so much smoother".

George

VVT-i

She'l be fine and no need for the new rotors at all. When they're resurface the rotors, they probably took about < less than of 1mm off.

mburnickas

She will be fine but based on what I have found that rotors are cheap along with being nice and thick. Many shops do turn rotors for $10 to $15 each but you can buy new ones for $40 retail (Brembo) and dealer price is around $15 to $20 (which are thicker and less acceptable to warping). Or OEM is around $60 and dealer is $20 to $30.

Rotors are soft and many people need more the 1mm (0.039”) taken off. All you need is some foreign material to get in there and rough the surface area up. I would guess more like 2 or 2.5mm on average and 3mm on very bad rotors. Then you need to start worrying about min thickness. Not worth the time to resurface, time without car, more acceptable to warping and cracking etc. You will be replacing brakes much quicker then the first time. But that is me.