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I used Raybestos Element 3 pads and they came with all new hardware. They worked so well I also put them on my niece's 2010 ES350. Plus the price is great at Rock Auto.
I went with OEM rotors and pads for the front. Right at $200 in parts, it’s s simple job to do if you’ve done basic repair work, you need something to press the caliper out and a bolt (I think it was 8mmx1) to help get the rotors off. I usually pack the caliper ins with new grease too.
Thanks for the tips. Easy peasy. Better design that prior model. I will go OEM next time. I had to re-use the clips from the old Toyota pads on the Bosch Rears.
I was told by Lexus that Akebono is OEM. I have used Akebono on four different Lexus cars without problem.
The Front Akebono's were fine, as well as the Bosch rears. But would go OEM the next time around. With the normal 20% off from a dealer, price would be awash. Although the stuff I ordered from mazon came in 2 days, free shipping, instead of a trip to a Toyota dealer...time is money.
Although my driving style doesn't usually incur hard braking, I noticed in the past that every time I had to do so (due to a maniac driver changing lanes or stopping all of a sudden) lead to a nose-diving of my vehicle. I googled for the root cause of such thing but didn't find substantial feedback!
I listened to Clutchless' advice and bought Raybestos front and rear pads from Rock Auto. They came with all the hardware but was a bit disappointed by the fact that they were all imported and not made in the US!
My vehicle had only 60,000 km (about 40,000 miles) which, in my opinion, still too early to replace the brake pads. I, however, decided to undergo the process of replacing the pads due to safety concerns.
Checking the brake pads thickness could be tricky without removing the caliper bracket. Once removed, I found 2 elements that could contribute to the root cause of the "nose-dive" action:
All the hardware attached to brake pads was completely rusty to the point that some of the brake pads were seized in place
And the sliding pins were very stiff in moving back and forth!
I also found the wear on any given pair of brake pads (on any given wheel) was substantially uneven which could be the result of the findings above.
The amount of brake dust was notably much!
Done a spotless cleaning job and installed everything with using synthetic brake grease widely available in Western Canada market which I'm hoping it won't swell the rubber or plastic inserts on the guide pins. I can tell that the brakes feel much more responsive. I tried to replicate the hard braking to see if the front dipping is gone but I'll report back if it happens again.
This is for today. Hope it helps, at least with the car front diving action.
Well done. I will probably need to replace the factory front brake pads on my wife's 2015 RX350 at the vehicle's next service interval (55,000 miles). I have had great success with Wagner ThermoQuiet pads on all of our vehicles during the past 10 to 12 years so that is what I ordered a couple of months ago (also from rockauto.com). They are sitting on one of my garage shelves until it is time to install them.
Nose dive while braking has nothing to do with your brakes. However from what you found, your brakes certainly needed servicing!
From your mechanic dot com: If you are experiencing a nose dive condition with your vehicle, your intuition may tell you to look for an issue with the braking system, when the problem is more likely in the suspension. Any vehicle will nose dive under heavy braking, to a certain extent and the cause of this is called weight transfer.
As you apply brakes while in motion, weight is transferred to the front of the vehicle which forces the front shocks to compress. The same amount of weight transfers away from the rear of the vehicle, which causes the rear struts to expand. The compression of the front shocks lowers the front of the vehicle and the expansion of the rear struts raises the rear. The harder you brake, the more defined this effect becomes.
If you are experiencing more nose diving than normal, you may have a suspension issue.
Just to add to what Clutchless posted above, keep in mind that the factory shocks and struts on these vehicles are mediocre at best. Several owners have recently replaced their factory shocks with Bilstein B6 shocks, some of the best in the industry. That is what I will do when my wife's 2015 RX350 begins to show signs of shock weakness.
Nose dive while braking has nothing to do with your brakes.
So it is nothing but the shocks? I humbly disagree!
Here's why:
I still recall an issue found with the RX300 (or maybe 330) where customers complained about the same thing. It turned out to be a known issue to Lexus that the proportional valve doesn't provide enough braking fluid to the rear. Lexus never taken any correction measures to this since it was all random.
As for the brake pads uneven wear at the rear wheels, mine were seized in place so, with the assumption that the rear pads are at 10% of their designed braking efficiency while the fronts are at 60%, wouldn't that create an uneven braking power?
It definitely will.
As for the shocks, I'm assuming you're talking about the front struts. It's definitely something worth looking at in the future. My rears were replaced with KYB since my F-Sport had the roughest ride I've ever experienced.
Last, I forgot to mention that one of the things I experienced prior to replacing the brake pads was that, beside the nose dive, the brake pedal would travel down in a "step" scenario. That what worried me most!
Can you guys allow my tie-breaker in the disagreement ....
Both of you are right.
Per Clutchless .. the dynamic weight transfers to the front AND heshamos is right that the proportioning valve directs more braking force in the front. This is done as the dynamic weight based down-ward force on the front tires -> area of tire contact to the stationary road is the place to apply more braking. The proportioning valve still applies enough braking to the rears so that rear wheals do not break traction and keep the vehicle movement in a straight line.
The harder part is defining 'excessive' diving. Slow application of brakes will have less dive. In an emergency (standing on the brake) will cause maximum dive [still no definition of excessive/normal]. If we limit our discussion to what can be done to mimize the nose dive .. reduce the weight would be one and the other would be the suspension.
Although the suspect would be the soft front spring and sloppy front shocks ---> imho it can be sloppy rear shocks too (specially they are Achilles heels of RX 3rd gen).
Salim
Note: There are numerous simplifications in my argument .. like front to back weight difference, fuel sloshing in the tank, tire sidewall flex etc.
Salim,
For simplification purpose, if we assume that a vehicle is only equipped with brakes at front axle while the rear wheels are not, wouldn't that also deliver the same scenario? In other words, if the rear brakes were seized (or the caliper piston, or the pressure valve, etc), wouldn't the car behave in the same manner even if the front struts are top notch?
I would agree that it's a combination of factors. Ever pop a reverse wheelie by hitting just the front brakes of your bike? Lack of rear braking effectiveness combined with crappy suspension front and rear can cause more of a nose dive than one would expect.
I had worn out brakes on my 2014 350 at 55,000. Dealer usually wants to turn the rotors which never seems to work well. I ordered slotted and drilled from Powerstop and used the OEM pads(they don't dust). The dealer did the work for $400 including pads and the brakes are much better than when new. FYI my wife has a 2013 450H with 103,000 on it and has the original pads with at least %50 remaining. Hybrids don't wear out brakes.
In most cases, rotors should not need turning or replacement. Shops do it as a routine as it maximizes their profit and customers dont come back with a complain. If you are a DIY, simply check for smoothness of the rotor [physical check] and use steel wool to polish the two surfaces. If there are grooves cut into the rotor surface then have them turned or replaced. Put in the new pads and test drive to see if you have pulsations. If you feel pulsations, then take it to a machine shop for turning or replace the rotors.
Dealers and most shops dont want to make the second attempt and in routine just turn the rotors. I have always replaced the pads and never had rotor damage on any of my vehicles.
This is true. Most new pads have squeal tabs on them also. I have never figured out why pads that come from the factory do not have the tabs. The Lexus pads I have used in the past come with them. The pads look identical to the OEM but with squeal tabs. I think both the side cut and the tab indicates 2/32" left on the pad.
I just bought a set of Akebono pads and they have the squeal tabs also.
For some vehicles the squeal tabs have to be moved from the old to new. Toyota Lexus uses knubs and they make metal to metal rubbing sounds and not a high pitch squeal. [Fortunately I replace the pads before and have not witnessed the sound]
08-17-19, 11:49 AM
