Brake pad replacement after 142k but they really didn't need it.

This is a maintaince item that should be done every 36,000 miles or 3 years. Many people say “lowest maintenance vehicle ever, just change oil and filter, nothing else.” Then come back here with seized rotors and dealer replaced, changes mind to worse car ever bought in regret

 

Second post and you're off topic lol. Anyway: the warning light is for low oil pressure, not any particular oil level.

 

This is the trend now in turd gen forum, it's only matter of time that it goes to heck.

 

Take on the rears now? Even if the pad thickness is ok, the interval (per @grid) there is there more than just pad replacement.

Just disconnecting the 12 volt is sufficient, and before reconnecting, pump the brake pedal multiple times, to take up any excess brake pedal travel, which can throw a code.

Be careful with the rears, to orient the caliper piston so that the spoke pattern on it's face is like a letter "X" (see attachment, there's a picture showing correct orientation), so that the pin on back of pad is in between the spokes. And well seated thus (brake pedal pushes).

Avoid using the parking brake at first, post-brake-job, take the car for a test drive, then apply/release the parking brake a few times, then raise the rear and verify the wheels are turning fairly freely, say a turn or two after you give it a push. If they drag badly it's likely the caliper piston has managed to rotate, and you need to remedy that.

 

A few months ago I replaced my tires at an NTB store. When they finished up they said my brake pads were at 5mm. He said they were in good shape as I still am not good at the metric system. 2 weeks later had a leak in a tire and took it to a different NTB to get fixed because it was closest to me at the time. That manager came back to me and told me my brakes were shot, and metal to metal. I told him that was odd that 2 weeks before, I was told 5mm. I said no to the brake job and went home and removed the wheels to check for myself. Fronts were at 5mm and rears were closer to 6mm. looked online and found 9mm to be the new spec.
Oh yeah, the other thing that tipped me off that he was making it up was he told me the drums in the rear could be turned, but the rotors on the front would have to be replaced.

 

Front pads new are 10.0 (mm) and rears are 9.5.

Regular in-depth brake inspections are recommended by Toyota USA, every 30K miles or 36 months (in Warranty and Maintenance Guide booklet), regardless of remaining pad depth. These should include pulling the caliper off the rotor,.inspectioning/cleaning the pads, shims, caliper and rotor, clean/relube of the caliper pins, and relube of the contact points between pads/shims/caliper.

 

At 219250, and because I was rotating the tires, I looked at the rear brakes. Rear thickness is between 4-5mm. The previous owner had the maintenance done religiously by the dealer, and there was no mention of rear brakes being done. The front were done due to a leaking caliper at 120k. So it looks like I will likely not have to replace them for quite a long time.