My 2016 NX Fsport about 40700 miles on it and I had it in to the dealer recently for the recommended 40000 mile service. All is well and I have enjoyed over 40000 miles of trouble free driving. The service advisor told me that I needed new rear brake pads and rotors to the tune of about $600. I told him to hold off because I am having no brake issues and am hearing no noise from the rear brakes as a result of the wear indicators on the brake pads. I do not doubt that the pads are worn and it may be time to replace them, but do they no longer machine rotors? Do they just replace rotors as part of normal brake service? Is there something I can look at to determine in the rotors really need to be replaced? I assume replacing only the pads is an option? Any input is appreciated. I don't drive the car hard or brake hard and often use the paddle shifters when slowing to reduce the used of heaving braking.

Thanks!

 

I just replaced mine@85k they still had life left . Are you planning on changing the pads yourself?

 

no, I will pay to get the brake work done. My do it yourself car repair days are over.......... but i am just questioning the need to replace the rotors. Did you just do the pads and retain the rotors. I was also a little surprised they are in need of replacement at 40000 miles because I basically pamper this car.

 

They should be able to be machined but they likely want to sell the new parts. Put it this way, my dealer did it on the CPO I purchased at 40,000 miles because it saves them money, but when they want to take more of your money, they will go for the new parts. You can look up the minimum rotor thickness specification and use a caliper to see if your's falls within that spec to resurface the rotor.

You can replace just the pads but you increase the likelihood of vibration and noise. The pad and rotor form to each other over time so it's best to start with a clean slate, especially if you brake lightly. It's good to brake heavily and heat up the pads and rotors once in a while to help keep everything settled. It dosent have to be a full bedding but sometimes if there is a slight vibration it can help remove any deposits that may be the cause.

Also I would encourage you to use your brakes rather than your engine to slow down, one is a cheap wear item and one is not...

 

I did both pads and rotors on the rear brakes for a couple of reasons 1) the vehicle spent the first year and a half in NJ and it shows on the rotors(Road Salt). 2) the rear pads need a scanner to be put into service mode for replacement 3) rear rotors are solid and less costly Here’s more info https://media-cf.assets-cdk.com/team...TG_Outline.pdf

 

As an experiment, I did the fronts without replacing the rotors using an economy pad (Bosch Blue) and after 6k I feel no appreciable difference. If I were you I would try to get a visual on the rear pads or wait till I hear the wear indicators. Just out of curiosity did the dealer replace your spark plugs at the 40K service?

 

Rotors are cheap...I'm in the camp of pretty much always replace pads/rotors at the same time. They end up as a mated set with grooves/wear lines and you won't get the same braking performance for a while until they match up again, which is just premature wear to the pad. Plus with grooves in the rotors you do get more noise/vibration under braking.

When your vehicle is cool (brakes get hot in use, don't burn yourself), you can just reach through the wheel and run your finger nail across the rotor surface (perpendicular to movement). If it catches a bit on anything, you should replace the rotors too. If you have the tools, checking thickness is also advisable but you usually get grooves/wear lines before you go below minimum thickness. You should also be able to check the pad visually by looking right where the pad meets the rotor and seeing how thick the pad material is. You can eyeball if they're close or not, but the inner pads where the piston is usually wear faster than the outers. So if the outers look close but ok, the inners are probably finished.

Disclaimer: I'm not a mechanic but I've been doing my own brake work (and other maintenance and major repairs) on my vehicles for the last decade.

Per the shop manual:Using a micrometer, measure the disc thickness.

Standard thickness:

12.0 mm (0.472 in.)

Minimum thickness:

10.5 mm (0.413 in.)

If the disc thickness is less than the minimum, replace the disc.

Using a ruler, measure the pad lining thickness.

Standard thickness:

10.0 mm (0.394 in.)

Minimum thickness:

1.0 mm (0.0394 in.)

If the pad lining thickness is less than the minimum, replace the pad.

 

yes, they replaced the plugs at 40000 miles

 

There are numerous DIY brake rotor inspection guides available on the internet. Here is one example:
https://brakeperformance.com/inspect...ake-rotors.php

Keep in mind the authors are typically in the business of selling new rotors, so may have a slight bias .

Assuming you live in a region where road salt is prevalent during winter, waiting for wear indicator noise before replacing pads is not a good practice. Why? Because, as the pads wear, the caliper piston must extend out further in its bore. This exposes the micro-finished piston wall to contaminants, because the piston seal is not hermetic (it is more accurately called a dust boot). The end result is reduced caliper life, and a new caliper is often more costly than combined pad and rotor.

Seconding BMGS's final comment, "engine braking" uses the expensive clutches and brakes inside the automatic transaxle to slow the vehicle instead of the relatively-inexpensive service brakes. If you think a $600 brake job is expensive, you will not like the quote to replace an internal transmission clutch or brake (a 4-figure number in US$). The transmission must be unbolted and dropped for this service, as opposed to just removing a wheel and tire.

 

Brake rotors used to be quite thick and heavy. Routine was to "turn" the rotor in a brake lathe
and replace the pads. Cheap and easy if you have the lathe. Recall that we had steel wheels
back then and the unsprung weight was enormous. As speed and MPG performance improved
it was necessary to cut down weight everywhere. Alloy wheels are now standard on economy
cars and the rotors are one-use, thin and light. While rbiniker and I no longer kneel well enough
to tackle a brake job, it is comparatively easy to just exchange parts and wash up.

 

Assuming you live in a region where road salt is prevalent during winter, waiting for wear indicator noise before replacing pads is not a good practice. Why? Because, as the pads wear, the caliper piston must extend out further in its bore. This exposes the micro-finished piston wall to contaminants, because the piston seal is not hermetic (it is more accurately called a dust boot). The end result is reduced caliper life, and a new caliper is often more costly than combined pad and rotor.

I have not heard that before can you provide some documentation on that?

 

It's a bit much, the seals on the dust boots are enough to keep almost all foreign materials out. The problem with seized calipers is almost always caused by torn or damaged dust boots letting stuff in. I had to change a damaged dust boot (was starting to look rough, pre-emptive) on our old rav4, even with Canadian winters the piston inside was perfectly fine. That's not to say they won't eventually seize up, but pad wear and the piston being out further isn't going to cause it unless it stretches the boot open.

The other more likely source of problems is the slide pins getting stuck, see that ALL the time.

 

My advice was based on personal experience with multiple vehicles exposed to New England winters and stored outside.

I have had this occur twice, once with a Datsun (Nissan) and once with a Ford. In both cases it was the right rear caliper I had to replace.
In those days, good tools were expensive, so I used 2 opposing wedge-shaped pieces of wood to retract the caliper pistons for pad replacement. In these incidents, I could not retract the piston far enough to accommodate the new pads; another 1 mm and I would have been OK. So I purchased a re-manufactured caliper. Before returning the old caliper for core credit, I performed a postmortem of sorts by popping out the piston with a short pulse of compressed air. In both cases, even though the dust boot appeared fine and had been properly seated in the piston groove, there was 1-2 mm of piston corrosion and pitting directly behind the groove.

Up here in the northeast US, roads are usually crowned (higher in the center) to shed water. In late winter, your right-side wheels are driving through a salty brine/slurry that accumulates along the edges of the roadway. This brine is thrown upward by the tires, coats the under-carriage and suspension, and freezes at night. When pads are new, the dust boot is folded and not much of its surface is exposed to the brine. As pads wear, the boot unfolds and more surface becomes exposed. At your first brake application in the morning, the boot, now coated with a film of ice, has poor pliability, and its ability to maintain position in the piston groove is compromised.

Having finally learned my lesson after the second incident, I adopted a strategy of replacing pads at ~50% of original thickness and coating the dust boot (using Q-tips) with a liberal layer of high temperature grease. No repeat incidents have occurred in the ensuing 25+ years, and they use a lot more salt nowadays than they did in the past.

Perhaps Canadian winters are more forgiving, if the brine does not thaw during the daytime hours.

 

I work part time at an independent repair shop as a service writer, 80% of our work is brakes’. Most rotors are made overseas now. If they are turned there is a good chance they will warp under heat. A lot of people do not want to pay for rotors. Sometimes they are happy. Depending on the customer some will just live with the problems because they do not want to spend the money. We do get a lot come back for vibration/pulsating and squeaking when the rotor are not replaced.. You do get what you pay for. You bought a high end car, I personally would not skimp on rotors.. Certain brakes have the same problems. Federated make noise and their rotors seem to warp a lot, especially on bigger vehicles like Pickups and larger SUVs. AZ pads wear out quick. Sure they will give you new ones under warranty, but who is going to replace them?

I am very hard on Brakes I replaced the pads and rotors on my F150 with OEM Motorcraft ceramics. My wife just bought 2017 NX. When it is time I will either go with Wagner or Power stops best ceramics front or rear with new rotors.

On Lexus parts now .com ,Front pads are 77.20 and rotors are 65.00 each plus shipping. Rears are 61.95 for pads and the rotors are 74.15. They do use a scan tool to release the rears. Check out Rock Auto. Some shops will install your parts we do. 125.00 an hour, a brake job is an hour.

As n0v8or stated proper lube with good High temp brake grease does make a difference.