Prius needs rear brakes at 38k?

depends on how you drive, I have 73k and have not touched my brakes. But every 30-35k is very rare

 

there are occasional reports of early brake wear, not sure of any conclusion. might be road salt, but it's just too rare for anyone to investigate. sorry you are one of the victims. make sure they show you what they are talking about, or get a second opinion. all the best!

 

Are you forgetting to release the e- brake. I do now a then!H

 

1. The mechanic is full of manure. There is no good reason why the brakes are in this condition at this point from normal driving.

2. Pads DO NOT wear unevenly unless there is an install or wheel alignment issue. Sounds like you had a mechanical defect from day one that SHOULD have been covered under the warranty.

Toyota SHOULD repair the alignment issue and repair the brakes under warranty. Misaligned rotors ARE NOT normal and should never be that way from ordinary use or lack of physical damage (e.g., from an impact to the wheel).

 

^ I agree that no way you should be replacing any brakes this early - much less the rear brakes before the front.

Either something is very wrong, or your dealer is taking you to the bank.

 

Get a second opinion!

 

Like posted you may have severe corrosion issue. Not sure where you live as you didn't bother to post in your avatar.

Take a picture of the front rotors through the wheel spokes so we can see how corroded the brake system is. But 38K is low even for a regular car.

Did you buy this car new or is it a salvage title?

 

There have been reports of rear pads seizing up in the brackets, and therefore, causing unusual wear. Given your location's climate, this is definitely a possibility. This is an unfortunate side effect of having rear disc brakes on a car that rarely uses the friction brakes -- the rears do not get enough use.

I am not sure about the fronts. I am at 91k on my 2011 and I am down to 3.5mm in the front, but still have 7mm on the rears.

 

Pop the wheels off and see for yourself how they look?

 

My rear pads needed replacing at 60,000 miles.

But I am heavy on my brakes and as such the front pads were replaced at 30,000 and then 60,000. So for just your rears to be needing replacement at 38k would indicate a problem; probably rust and corrosion due to salt in winter?

 

That figure is a bit more realistic, though.

This is also why you should rotate your own tires ever 5K. You get the chance to inspect your brakes and rotors. If your tires were being rotated on schedule, whoever did it should have caught there was a problem.

 

I agree that does sound fishy. I'd save all the paperwork in case they release a TSB or recall later.

 

The main thing that can cause early, uneven wear on pads is a caliper that's not free to move. And the main thing causing that is the caliper pins being neglected. They should be pulled out, cleaned and relubed periodically. Couple this with a check of the pad and disk condition, you won't have problems. A casual glance over during tire rotation is not a brake inspection.

 

I've never heard the term "Misaligned rotors"?
I'm guessing you mean "warped" rotors? As far as I know- there's no way to re-align "Misaligned rotors".

 

My bro in-law lives upstate NY and they use tons of road salt from Sept-March. He goes through exhaust parts like they're made out of paper- and we have to cut the parts off with the torch/cutoff wheel they're so rusted!
I'd bet on corrosion due to road salt... frozen caliper or corroded piston not retracting enough to keep the pad off the rotor (or a combination of both).

 

In upstate NY this is not surprising, and is common on all cars. Most rear brakes don't see as much use as the fronts, and are of a different design where the pins that locate the pads and allow them to float in and out with the piston are susceptible to corrosion. If that pin corrodes, the pad may be locked against the rotor, perhaps at an angle, which will wear the pad funny, may wear the rotor funny, and with no more regular pad to rotor contact to remove it,serious corrosion may set in. I think that's all that has happened here.

Out of curiosity, do you park primarily on gravel, dirt or grass?

 

$400 is actually not a bad dealer price for rear pads and rotors.
True.....a good independent shop could have shaved $100 off of that price, but the shocking thing is that brakes for a non-NASCAR/renal car could possibly need to be replaced at 38K.

I have an Envoy with over 150K miles on the original brakes and rotors, and I do NOT drive like your typical Prius owner!!!

I would launch an immediate and thorough investigation for the cause of this failure, and I would also investigate this car's pedigree to determine if the previous owner saw too many "Fast and Furious" movies or was a NASCAR fan.

Good Luck!

 

^ Especially considering Prius brake work can trigger codes, might need techstream.