Brake Pads- Hard to believe!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Mike Mc, May 1, 2012.

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  1. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    This weekend I replaced the front pads on the "06 Prius with helpful suggestions from seilerts and others and I successfully avoided any pitfalls. Everything went smoothly...thank you all!
    The car has 160K+ and has never had "any" brake work whatsoever done to it. Even the dealer has constantly said they were good. I did not want to chance it so I found the best ceramic replacement pads I could and put them on. My father who has done hundreds of brake jobs was lending me a hand. Neither he or I could believe the original pads when we took them off...just unbelievable! I have attached a pic. :rockon:
     

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    #1 Mike Mc, May 1, 2012
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  2. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    Oh,
    Should you decide to do your own brake job...i suggest leaving the hatchback open after disconnecting the battery terminal, and save your back.
     
    #2 Mike Mc, May 1, 2012
  3. errantneuron

    errantneuron New Member

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    What is remarkable about those brake pads?
     
    #3 errantneuron, May 1, 2012
  4. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    That they have 6-7 mm of pad left and they have 160k on them.
     
    #4 Mike Mc, May 1, 2012
  5. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    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. :D
     
    #5 uart, May 1, 2012
  6. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    I ordered them at the same time I ordered pads for my truck because they were on sale and there was a $15 rebate on each set, which made the pads $11. It was hard to pass up.
     
    #6 Mike Mc, May 1, 2012
  7. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Amazing!!!!!!!
     
    #7 usnavystgc, May 1, 2012
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yep. Most people forget about that wear & tear item. Ours has 170,000km and still has over 50% life left.
     
    #8 Tideland Prius, May 1, 2012
  9. justlurkin

    justlurkin Señor Member

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    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. :p
     
    #9 justlurkin, May 1, 2012
  10. SquallLHeart

    SquallLHeart The Techie Guy

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    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.
     
    #10 SquallLHeart, May 1, 2012
  11. cnschult

    cnschult Active Member

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    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
     
    #11 cnschult, May 2, 2012
  12. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    I got them from rockauto, I ordered them in early April and I just checked the site and the price is not the same but the rebate is still available until the end of May. The Raybestos premium ceramics are $31.79 and the Raybestos advanced ceramics are $37.79. Still after rebate $17 or $23 is still good for ceramic pads. I know people prefer brake parts from different manufacturers but Raybestos is what I grew up using with good success (street and racing) so I guess I will continue to do so.
    Part of the reason I had decided to do the brakes (other than my wife not getting stranded somewhere) was we had begun to hear squealing that sounded like the feelers/sensors hitting the rotors so I naturally assumed it was time. After replacing the pads I pulled the rear drums and found the likely source of the squeal...very dirty drums. The shoes had very little wear and I just gave them a thorough cleaning and inspection.
     
    #12 Mike Mc, May 2, 2012
  13. sambojoho

    sambojoho Proud conservative

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    Just curious, why are you disconnecting the battery to change brake pads?
     
    #13 sambojoho, May 2, 2012
  14. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    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.
     
    #14 Patrick Wong, May 2, 2012
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  15. Jeff N

    Jeff N The answer is 0042

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    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.
     
    #15 Jeff N, May 2, 2012
  16. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    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.
     
    #16 SageBrush, May 2, 2012
  17. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    fyi Lexus does require it every 3/30k on your ct200H.
     
    #17 The Critic, May 2, 2012
  18. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I'm afraid I am going to disappoint my Lexus dealership. Many times over.
     
    #18 SageBrush, May 3, 2012
  19. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    I did not change the brake fluid. I did note that they recommend changing it during brake service, but I kinda figure if the brakes didn't really need service then the fluid shouldn't. I will probably have it changed here in the near future, but the extra funds to hand over to Toyota just aren't there right now.
     
    #19 Mike Mc, May 3, 2012
  20. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    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.
     
    #20 Patrick Wong, May 4, 2012
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