my95tsi

iTrader: (2)

Ok so I just brought my car in for an oil change at the local Toyota dealership and they informed me that my front pads are paper thin and should be replaced immediately. I found that to be quite a suprise as the Lexus dealership replaced my pads with the low dust ones at 15,000 miles. I now have 42,000 miles. I drive about 25,000 miles a year, 90% of them being highway miles in stop and go traffic. I just didn't think I would need pads in a years time. The guy at the service counter who is clearly not a mechanic said I may also need to replace the rotors as they have "lip" on them. I found this odd as the stock "unused" rotors have a lip on the outer edge.

So when I got home I inspected my rotors but I can not for the life of my see the pads no matter what angle I got at. The pads are deeply hidden by the calipers and the only way to check them are to remove the wheels. My concern is with the rotors. They visually look fine but there is a small lip near the hub and outter edge which appears to be normal. The rotor surface is smooth to the touch but appears to have very slight bumps or ripples. Notthing that will catch your finger nail but it's not as smooth as glass, very very minor though. I'm not sure if this is normal wear or not.

I'm likely going to bring my car into a local brake shop tomorrow to get a 2nd opinion and then go from there.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

No reason to touch the rotors if you're not getting uneven braking and it's still above min thickness (27mm I think)... as to the pads the minimum thickness is 1mm...what did the shop say yours were at?

Here's a way to check the pads without removing the wheels

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/3674857-post15.html

my95tsi

iTrader: (2)

Well this was found during an oil change so they just did a basic visual inspection, they never removed the wheels. So they didn't give me a exact thickness of the pads, just said "paper thin". So whatever that means.

I agree that I shouldn't resurface the rotors unless i'm getting uneven breaking. I just see slight grooves but nothing to be caught with your finger nail. More like small waves almost. My braking has been perfect and even, never had any issues so this is why this info comes as a suprise. I'm shocked they thought my pads were worn even though they didn;t take off the wheel. The said you can see better when it's on a lift?

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

The '06 350 I purchased with <31k miles on it had a minor brake squeal up front. As soon as I could I got that wheel off and checked the brakes. The innermost pad was GONE, like down past the material to the actual metal pad. These were the OE pads. I was surprised to say the least, but after more research on here I found others saying around 28-30k is a good mileage window to replace your pads.

Only because of that one brake pad I ended up deciding to pick up some new Power Slot slotted rotors to match up the StopTech Street pads.

my95tsi

iTrader: (2)

Well I went ahead and had the pads replaced at a local shop. I bought my own pads, went with ceramic and they charged me $95 for the install. They really thought I should have replaced the rotors since they had a lip on the outer most edge. I assured them that this was normal for the vehicle and didn't need replacement. The shop owner disagreed until he measured the thickness and realized I was within spec. I was also incorrect in my assumption with the last time the front pads were replaced. I had to go and check my Lexus invoices from getting the low dust pads installed. I had them installed at 10,000 miles instead of 15,000 which means it's been 32,000 miles since they were replaced. They showed me the old pads and they were definitely worn. Not "paper thin" like the Toyota dealership explained to me but I probably couldn't go another 2 months without hitting the rivets. I would say it had 1mm left on both sides. The good news is that they are wearing completely even.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Good stuff. BTW, the pads on a 350 are incredibly easy to change. Next time consider taking the 2hrs and DIY. With the money saved you can purchase new hand tools.

my95tsi

iTrader: (2)

I've replaced them before on my 2006 IS350 and even my 2008 IS250. I would just rather pay the $95 than spend 2 hours replacing my brakes in my non heated garage in 30 degree Chicago weather.

MIA_LEX

iTrader: (4)

thats crazy you guys are only getting 30k im going 60k strong and i can probably go another 5k on the oem pads
im talking about my front only

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

FWIW I happened to be at the dealer today and figured for the heck of it I'd have em check my pad depth since they do it for free.... I'm about 22k miles since I had the low-dust pads put on free.... and my front pads are still at 9mm... assuming an even rate of wear that means I'll get about 72,000 total miles out of these pads before they reach min spec.

Rears were at 8mm, but they're original on the car (~30k miles)

MIA_LEX

iTrader: (4)

wow.. well i havent checked mine in awhile but they are still going strong.. OEM low dust pads ftw

Ep350

thanks for the informative info guys....

GilIS250

iTrader: (10)

Guys, I took my car to the dealership yesterday for something with my TPMS and they told me about my pads and rotors in the rear, seems like they are gone! I knew about the pads being low but didn't think the rotor needed replacement because it was resurface not long ago... oh well, point is that I am looking to replace both, rotors and pads so just want to confirm some part numbers see if I got it all right..

Front Rotors: CENTRIC Part # 12044125
Front Pads: AKEBONO Part # ACT1178
Rear Rotors: CENTRIC Part # 12044142
Rear Pads: AKEBONO Part # ACT1113

Can someone tell me if I got the right stuff, and what other stuff I might end up needing too.. trying to purchase the stuff and have it done by end of next week