Brake Pads- Hard to believe!

What is remarkable about those brake pads?

 

Yep, regenerative braking is awesome isn't it. Mine are only about 20% worn (80% remaining) after 90000 miles.

You could have just measured them instead of changing them, that's what I did.

 

Amazing!!!!!!!

 

Reduced brake wear is one of the main reasons why I bought a Prius!

That's because I was coming from a Land Rover Discovery II. That sucker costs $500 for changing a set of brake pads, and they last only 10,000 miles because it's such a heavy car. And every 20,000 miles requires rotor machining or replacement-- $1000.

And I owned that car for 60,000 miles. That's $4500 on brakes alone. Unbefreakinlievable.

 

yeah.. regen braking is pretty much why brake pads last so long...

shoot... if you do nothing but regen braking... your pads can essentially last... um... well.. forever.

 

we've almost all learned that the hard way, and the Prius is so reliable you disconnect the battery so rarely that in 4 years time you'll make the same mistake again. i'm guilty of that.

ceramic pads for $26? where? I bought wagner thermoquiet for my corolla and even with the best coupon it was still $33, I was expecting a $20 rebate but only got $10 from Federal ( I guess $20 was for 2 axles, not one.) My Prius started making noises when the rust climbed over to make contact with the pads, so I changed the rotors with cheap aftermarket ones then put sandpaper on blocks of wood to sand the pads smooth which allowed me to reuse the old pads w/o having to fear that they wouldn't make good contact with the new rotors.

I hope fuel economy was the other main reason

 

Just curious, why are you disconnecting the battery to change brake pads?

 

Because you do not want the brake actuator pump to power up while a caliper is removed, thus causing the caliper piston to shoot out of the caliper. If that happens you will need to have the car towed to a Toyota dealer to have the brake lines bled.

 

Speaking of brake fluid, did you replace it? I vaguely recall that Toyota doesn't recommend periodic replacement but does suggest replacing it during any brake maintenance. Lexus, Nissan, and probably some other brands suggest replacing brake fluid every 2-3 years.

 

Fwiw, I'm following Hobbit's advice to check the fluid with a stick, and leave well enough alone if it passes. I think the stick checks for water, but I am not sure.

 

fyi Lexus does require it every 3/30k on your ct200H.

 

I'm afraid I am going to disappoint my Lexus dealership. Many times over.

 

In that case I would say that a brake fluid change is a very low-priority item. You could easily go 8 years/150K miles before starting to worry about that.