HOW TO : Replace Front Brake Pads and Discs (Rotors) Prius Gen 2

Wonderful tutorial. I did exactly as you said and the job came out perfect. Thank you so much.

 

I have seen 81 ft-lbs as the Torque for the calipers. But when I look at the official Toyota site I keep seeing 101 ft-lbs. What's up with that?

https://techinfo.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/rm/RM07X0U/xhtml/RM00000216E002X.html?sisuffix=ff&locale=en&siid=1473577539307

https://techinfo.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/rm/RM07X0U/xhtml/RM00000212Q002X.html?sisuffix=ff&locale=en&siid=1473578038328

https://techinfo.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/rm/RM07X0U/xhtml/RM00000216E002X.html?sisuffix=ff&locale=en&siid=1473578022229

 

Hi SaganGathering,

Good catch. What's up with that is that you've gone to the primary source material, the Toyota repair manual, and you've seen the correct figure there, and you've seen that other sources can have details wrong or missing, and that's the chief reason I recommend going straight to the primary source when you work on your car. PriusChat threads and youtube videos and so on can be a valuable source for tips on things that aren't obvious in the manual, or to see how something is done if it's hard to visualize from the manual, but relying exclusively on other sources instead of the manual is risky because there is often significant stuff left out or misstated.

I'd go even slightly further and say that, however well-meant, alternative writeups and youtubes of stuff that's already in the manual tend to contain mistakes or omissions more often than not. All the reasons for that would make a sort of long story, but here's part of it:

Generally, if somebody wants to do a task, looks it up in the manual, understands it easily, and completes it without incident, that person isn't going to feel that there's much value to add by posting an alternative writeup, making a video, etc. He or she is likely to think "well, that was straightforward enough, it'll be straightforward for others too" and just move on to life's next thing.

So already there is a sort of bias at work where alternate internet-posted procedures, videos, etc., are more likely to have been prepared by those who had more difficulty with the task. That's not automatically bad, especially if they are transparent about it: if they say something like "this part of the procedure in the manual puzzled me, and I finally figured out it meant this, and here's me showing how I did it." Or, "the manual says to do this this way, but I found this other way that saves ten steps and works just as well." Those can be real value adds. The best thing about that transparency is, since they tell you where they have diverged from what the manual says, and why they did, you have the chance to compare for yourself, and decide whether they really seem to have improved on Toyota's procedure, or just misunderstood something.

But a lot of the internet videos and task guides you run into aren't transparent like that at all; instead of saying "here's where what I'm telling you beats what you'll find in the manual", they just offer themselves as one stop shopping telling you all you need to know in place of that dry boring old manual. And if you don't check on your own, you don't notice what's left out or twisted up, but sadly, fairly often important stuff is.

-Chap

 

... you don't need a universal, or a c-clamp, for retracting the piston. Denote, Toyota engineers spec'd a hole in the caliper casting, where the piston is leveraged by the pad, inserting a flat-head screwdriver. Through that hole the piston can be retracted, without breaking loose the caliper bolts; taking anything apart:

 

Levering the pads through that inspection hole does not negate the need to remove calliper. Which begs the question; why not just use a C-clamp, when the caliper's off.

There's so many shortcuts, omissions and neglects in this guy's "service", I do not know where to begin.

 

Another successful front pads/rotors job complete thanks to all the contributors. It took me about an hour total, and 20 minutes of that was waiting for the PB baster to soak the caliper bolts and/or hammering my 17mm spanner to break them free.. 100k miles in a snowy part of the country and those bolts might as well have been welded in.

Of course I pulled the ABS relays and battery terminal before getting to work, but I wanted to note my car required 2x IG-OFF to IG-ON cycles to rid the dash lights (ABS, CEL) after the job was done. All is well though.

 

I'd be very glad to read your write up on the rear discs if you ever get around to posting it!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post this-valuable info!
So, I've been told by Toyota that my rotors, etc are rusty and they want to replace for $500.
Question about the rotors: If they are replaced simply because rusty and slightly pitted, why not just clean rust, lube as needed, and replace pads?? If rotors are thin, different story. (I'm guessing)
Also, when I do myself, any recommended rotors, pads? I see both on ebay from 'Fast Source' for $46. Claim to be as good or better than original equip. The pads are ceramic.....good idea? Thanks again! -Paul

 

Thanks for this post! Between this and a handful of other YouTube videos, I ended up changing out both my pads and rotors. Just wanted to share an end-to-end view of this here as well. Big things for me were removing/reconnecting the 12v and removing the rotors with that M4 bolt.

 

I made a YouTube video on how to do a Prius brake job. If you have done brakes before but feel unsure if you can handle the job on a hybrid, I recommend going for it! This job is not any more difficult than doing brakes on a non hybrid.

 

Did not know about the orientation of the copper "handles". Will keep that in mind.

To put anti-seize in precisely the right zone, I like to apply it to the piece contacting the back of the pad, or with dual shims, to the second (smaller) shim. I do like to put anti-seize in every layer: pad back to inner shim, inner shim to outer shim, and outer shim to caliper/piston.

Don't think you need to remove the reservoir cap, it's by no means completely air-tight. You do need to keep any eye on it, especially if there's a possibility someone's "topped it up". That should never be necessary, but who knows...

The pistons are some kind of high strength plastic (phenolic), anyway: you really want to be careful. Don't use just a C-clamp for example. You want something bearing evenly around the piston diameter, it can be cracked with a point load. You do use old pad as a bearing surface, but anyway, worth noting.

With the rears, I like to remove the shoe retaining clips, pull the shoe away from the backing plate and apply a small dab of bearing grease to the three contact points. Just a little, and be careful not to get it on the friction material.

One thing I like to do, is disconnect the 12 volt neg cable before starting, and when done pump the brake pedal multiple times, to take up any play. The second will prevent the car detecting excess play, possibly throwing a code. The former will prevent possible activation of the brake pressurizing system, which will pop the piston out of the caliper.

 

I get the sense this was the first time those brakes had been serviced? Toyota USA recommends an in-depth brake inspection tri-yearly or 30K miles, whichever comes first.

The inside pad was completely worn, down to the backing, which is negligent. Also, the outer pad had somewhat more friction material. The difference in wear between the two pads likely means the caliper pin lube is pretty much gone.

In the video you only remove the bottom bolt and rotate the caliper up. This is ok if you're doing frequent inspections, but in case like this you really shouldn't be rushing through the brake job "in 45 minutes". Better to pull the caliper completely off, pull out the caliper pins, clean and relube, with appropriate lube.

Toyota has a recommended lube for this, and I've sub'd Sil-Glyde Brake Lubricant with no ill effects. Definitely do not use anti-seize for this.

Also check the condition of the caliper pin boots, make sure they're intact, rotate them a little, put a very light smear of the aforementioned lube on them as well. What's left on your fingers will do.

 

Thank you for the write up.
Just did my 2009 Prius with 156K on the odometer. Pulled the relays and disconnected the battery.
I saw 101ft-lbs for mounting bolts and 25 ft-lbs for the sliding pins.
No issues with the 17mm bolts or the 14mm sliders. I broke loose the 17mm first, just in case I had an issue. (it seems logical to address the hardest stuff first.
I ordered my parts from Rock Auto. Read good reviews on them.

AKEBONO ASP822A Brake Pad $ 44.79 (the A includes new stainless steel inserts that the pad tabs mount in)
CENTRIC 12044135 (120.44135) Rotor $ 26.79 each

I did compress the piston with while it was still mounted on the slider to compress it straight. No issue. I didn't need to drain or top off any brake fluid.

So new front brake and rotors were about $110 delivered and about 1.5 hours including bedding. I'm pretty happy with my self.

I did get tights (abs/brake/Traction control). Cycled power twice. All gone. No issue. (Also remember you need to retrain the window power stitches when ever you disconnect the battery.)

 

Ok, I signed up for this forum just to write this message. I have quite a bit of experience with -hybrids.

I did my wife's front brakes using this guide and it went excellent, but I did what I always do. I bled the brakes.

DON'T BLEED THE BRAKES UNLESS TOU HAVE THE SOFTWARE OR WANT A $140 BILL FROM THE DEALERSHIP.

I could have accomplished the whole job if that caveat had been included in the first post, and if it was, it was hidden darn well

In conclusion, great go-to guide, just add DON'T BLEED THE BRAKES LIKE YOU WOULD ON A NORMAL CAR to the first post. Would have been a $40 job. Still saved lots of money, but not as much as I could have.

 

I replaced the OEM at 140k miles with aftermarket reusing the shims, but I felt uncomfortable about the fit of the shims on the new pads. Furthermore, I decided now a couple years later I should lube the pins and inspect. I found that one of the shims was not flush in one spot and had a twisted ear. I ordered all new pads and a shim set, but does anybody have a GOOD diagram or photo of the shims on a 2008 Gen 2? And where to apply the lube?

 

Hopefully what you need:

 

Sir, you are a gentleman and a scholar, and a saint! Thank you!!! Very helpful!

 

Meh, just have a copy of the manual, and the ability to make pdf's. But thanks.

I always just coat the inner face of shims with a thin coat of anti-seize, just before installing on back of pad, and do the same to the rim of the piston, and the "fingers" of the caliper. Basically all the points of contact. I sub Sil-Glyde Brake Lubricant for the lithium soap lube spec'd for the caliper pins, have used that a couple of times on our 2010, no problems.

Also, I disconnect the 12 volt neg connection before taking anything apart, and when everything is reassembled, pump the brake pedal several times to firm everything up, and then reconnect the 12 volt. For a couple of reasons: to avoid the system pressurizing when the piston isn't restrained (could pop out), and to take up any looseness in the system that could trigger a code.

 

That's great information! I have the silicone material for the pins which were kind of stuck I have to confess. And that is a good idea about a little on the rim of the caliper and the finger. Perfect! That's what I will do. I just ordered the OEM shoes and shims. Why not? Not much $$. And I will follow your suggestions. The rotors don't have any grooves and are not excessively worn so unless you think it absolutely essential I did not plan on having them turned. Is that unwise? Thanks for all your advice and help.

 

I'm glad Mendel said it that way. Thanks!

Makes it clear the silicone stuff is a substitution, and the non-silicone that Toyota specifies is a different stuff.

So it's good to remember "the silicone material" you have is a substitute, and if you elect to use it, you may want to first be extra careful to clean the original glycol grease out completely from the pins and the bores, so you're not mixing the different types of grease.