VikH

iTrader: (5)

I have a 2001 RX300 Silversport. It has about 95k on it and has done pretty well so far. There are a couple problems that are bothering me.

1. On start up there is a high pitched squeal. Do I just apply belt dressing? Link
2. Vibration under braking. Almost uneven braking. I looked at the rear rotors and they are pretty rusted. The fronts look fine. Are the rear rotors causing the problems?
3. High pitched noise coming from the front right wheel while driving. Sounds like nails on a chalk board. The noise does not occur when braking or turning to the left while driving. Do I have loose caliper pin?

Thanks guys!

salimshah

1. The belt dressing will help quiet it down for a bit. @95k you should have recently replaced T belt and typically, you also replace the acc belt.

2. Light rust on rotors is very Lexus like. If the rust is thick, I would worry. The thin oxidization/rust is due to the metal used by Lexus for rotors. The rears provide substantially less braking so the problem in the back has to be severe to cause noticeable problem. I would think the problem is due to warped rotor.

3. Some one needs to take the wheel off and really see what is the source of problem.

2&3. Some thing is going on with brakes and the wheel. It is very hard to diagnose and pin point the problem. You must inspect or have it checked by a competent mechanic.

Salim

bob2200

1. I think that what Salim is saying is that, at 96k-mi, you should have already changed the timing belt; and, when this was done, they should have replaced the two accessory belts too.

2. If you are referring to the rear brake rotor surface that is normally touched by the brake pads, this (in my experience) should be shiny metal. If this stays rusted, I think you have significant brake problems that need to be checked out. I could be caused by a bunch of things. You could have two problems: rear brakes not working and front rotors warped. If the rear rotors are part rusty and part shiney (in a radial direction), then I guess it is warped rear rotors, but you didn't describe it that way.

3. It could be just some caught debris, or it could be something serious. I agree with Salim that it needs to be checked out.

mikey00

1. has already been covered. 2 & 3 You need a brake job. Your high pitched squeel if the wear indicator on the brake pad contacting the front rotor. This noise is there by design to let you know it's time to change pads. Do it soon or the next sound you will hear is the metal of the pad frame contacting the rotor (not good).

VikH

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the replies guys!

I was afraid it was the timing belt. As the car will probably be sold before it hits 100k, I will pass on the $1k service. The squealing isn't too bad.

Brakes
Isn't the wear indicator supposed to occur when braking? This noise occurs when I am NOT braking.

Here are pics. Let me know what you think.

Front Left:


Front Right:


Rear Left:


Rear Right:

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

are those your original rotors on the car?? if so it just may be time to replace them. to me in the pics it looks like its time for new ones either way....

if thats the case hit up Brian as hes got someone that can get the OEM parts like this for much less.

salimshah

No bud, you got it wrong. The belt squeal is not from timing belt. Typically it is the ac/alternator belt, which is typically replaced when you change the "t" belt.

The rust you show in picture is normal (may be a bit more, but it should not interfere). The part that touches the pads seems smooth and shiny. The pad does look thin (worn-out) but the photographs never get the third dimension.

3rd picture is so zoomed in, I cant say. Just make sure the area where the pad comes in contact is shiny and smooth.

Salim

mikey00

The wear indicator will squeel when you are not breaking and usually stop when you break. You just need a simple brake job. They will turn the rotors and put in new pads. Any good break shop can do this. Also need an accessory belt or put on some belt dressing for a temporary fix to verify it is the belt.

m1tk4

Timing belt replacement is about $350 job if done at Toyota, about $600 job if done at a Lexus dealership. If I were buying a 100K+ RX and the timing belt hasn't been done on it I would pass because it's a sure sign that if such an important maintenance item was skimped on, it's unlikely the RX was maintained well.

The wear indicator may be missing, if your brakes have been replaced by el-cheapo places like Just Brakes. At 90K your RX might have seen 2 or 3 break replacements. At any rate, it would only sound when you hit the brakes. If you hear noises without the brake pedal pressed you do have a problem.

Your rear rotors look very wrong to me. They should have uniform shiny stripe like the front one, only narrower (about 1 inch). What you have most likely means your rear pads are long gone. Take the wheel off and look through the caliper, you'll spend 5 minutes but you'll know for sure.

mikey00

I disagree about the wear indicator sound. I have had many cars in the family over the years reach the wear indicator and that is exactly the way it sounds. High pitch sound (like nails on chalk board) while driving without applying brakes. Pads are lightly contacting rotor at this point and so is the wear indicator. The sound will stop or change when turning depending on car and how far down you are on indicator. The high pitch will stop when applying the brakes as the indicator now has a more solid contact with the rotor. It is very unlikely you are missing the indicator especially if "el cheapo brakes" did the brake job. The wear indicator is a non-removable part of the pad frame on aftermarket pads for the RX, so if they put aftermarket pads in they put the indicator in. Lexus (Toyota) factory pads are the only pads that come without the wear indicator, so that you have to move them over from the old pads. And that is just the front ones. Rear factory pads are part of the pad frame like aftermarket. So if you have pads you have a wear indicator. Unless they broke off, not easy to do unless they have been squeeling for a while. Very doubtful el cheapo would use factory pads and in the rare event they did even less doubtful they didn't move the front indicators to the new pads.
At 95K it is very possible you are at your first brake job. This really depends on past driving habits for your RX. If you look at all the past posts on the various RX forums you will see some get over 100k on the original brakes. The average looks to be somewhere around 70K. When Consumer Reports originally tested the RX they put expected pad replacement at 120K. At the time I thought it was a misprint as I was only getting about 40K on my vehicles.
Your pics show some rust in areas where they all have rust. Pad contact area looks good. That's about all you can tell from pics. The rotors need to be measured for thickness and turned if they have enough left or replaced if they are too worn or warped. You just need a regular old brake job. Go to any good brake shop. Not Lexus, unless you have cash to burn.
Don't wait too long. The next sound will be the metal pad frame contacting the rotors at which point you will need new rotors.

bob2200

I have to disagree on the photos of the rear rotors. My front and rear rotors look like the photos of his front rotors.

m1tk4

Akebono front pads do not have the wear indicator. When I changed my front pads, the wear indicators were missing, even though the history shows a break job at a Lexus dealership at 50K (did mine at ~90K).

VikH

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the help guys! I will look into getting the brakes done and the ac/alternator belt replaced.

m1tk4

This is how the rear rotors SHOULD look if your pads are ok:

mikey00

Lexus pads are Akebono. The manufacturing number stamped on the pad frame traces back to Akebono.