Does est. $500 sound right for front brake replacement?

Actually, if you wait 10 minutes before starting the job and make sure that no one opens the doors, you will probably be fine. The system goes to sleep after a certain point and as long as you do not "wake" it, it will not cause problems. Also keep the smart key very very far away. I have done this more times than I will admit to...

For the record you should probably disconnect the 12V, but I prefer not to.

 

@NutzAboutBolts puts tape on the drivers door in one brake video. One thing: I think it's good to push brake pedal a few times after pad replacement, to avoid the car detecting excessive pedal travel, throwing a code. I suppose you could sneak in through passenger door, reach or climb over, to get to brake pedal. Still, considering the consequences, I prefer putting the car "to sleep".

The next few start ups I've noticed an odd rev up, as it recalibrates something?

 

I wouldn't want to disconnect the battery for this reason alone, let alone erasing all the radio presets, fuel consumption record, trip meters etc.

 

Having done many brake jobs, replacing the prius brakes is much different. One really needs to know what you are doing or, as others have wrote, you can really wind up causing serious damage. Front pads are easier than the rear. Things to worry about are lining up the pads to the pistons correctly and keeping the car from powering up while doing the job. Rear pads, I will be taking my car into the dealer when that happens. I will know when to take it in, and not before!

 

Rear pads are easy, brake reset tool is 7$. Alot better than rear drums like the stupid tacoma.

 

If you're reasonably careful you'll have no problems with the rear brakes. Too: there's no guarantee the dealership mechanics won't screw it up.

To avoid problems:

1. When reinstalling the rear caliper ensure the pattern on the caliper piston is in an "X" orientation (see attached).
2. After reassembly don't touch the parking brake, but do push the brake pedal multiple times, to get the whole thing well seated.
3. Install the wheels and give them a spin, verifying they spin relatively freely, at least 2 revolutions after a good push. There's bound to be light drag, it's the overhead of a disc brake setup.
4. Lower the car, reconnect the 12 volt, take it for a short test drive, being easy on the brakes.
5. Apply and release the parking brake a few times, then raise the rear again, and verfiy the wheels continue to spin as easy as they did earlier. If so, you should be ok.

One thing too, Toyota USA recommends a full brake inspection tri-yearly or 30K miles, whichever comes first. I wouldn't wait for the pads to wear down: by then the caliper pins could be seized, for starters.

 

Repair shops love brake jobs. They are super-high markup.
If you want to do the job yourself, you can get the Toyota front brake pads,
part number 04465-47070 from Amazon or others on the web.
They shouldn't be more than $50. The brake piston tool should be less than $10.

 

$500 for front pads is robbery, and it’s questionable if a Prius needs new pads at 85,000 miles because regenerative braking reduces brake wear substantially.

 

I’m selling our 2010 next weekend with just over 200k miles on it and it has never needed brake pads and the pads are still at 6mm up front and at least 4mm in the back.

So they can last awhile if you take care of them.

 

Maybe rephrase to "they can last if you do mostly highway driving"?

I'd guesstimate our fronts are around 6mm now, around 80K kms, a lot of short trips and stop and go.

 

2nd that as I found out the hard way LOL. The right rear caliber slide pins were seized on my Prius. Had to bang them out with a large screwdriver and mallet.