Are you driving a Prius because you're Green or Frugal?

Feel I'm flogging a dead horse, but there's more reasons to periodically pull off the calipers (or the rear drums) than pad (shoe) replacement. Regular check/clean/relube of various components is recommended by all the manufacturers, regardless of remaining pad (shoe) thickness.

 

I just checked my maintenance schedule for my Prius. It calls for a visual inspection of brakes every 5,000 miles. I do a visual inspection every time I have a wheel off the car and I will do that when I put my winter tires on maybe in November.

Starting at 30,000 miles and every 30,000 miles after that it states.

Visually inspect brake linings/ drums & brake pads/disc. Inspect thickness measurement and disc runout.
Nothing is mentioned about tearing anything apart.

How many people keep up with this schedule to the letter. I bet if you take your car to Toyota they don't do it by the book.

If you complain about brake problems they will do a more in depth inspection and it never hurts to be proactive.

 

I measure thicknesses and make sure things move at each tire rotation. For me that does involve undoing the bolts into the slide pins and getting the caliper out of the way. Hard to really get to the linings and rotors for measurements otherwise.

First time I did that after getting this Gen 3, I noticed the fitting kit pieces in the rear calipers were corroded, and interfering with pad motion. So I reassembled, but made a note to order a fitting kit. Changed those pieces at the next rotation.

Next rotation after that, everything was in order. At the next one, I made a note that the left rear inboard pad wasn't moving easily, and the left rear linings were a little ahead of the right rear in terms of wear.

Next rotation after that was yesterday (and the weather was hot!). I noticed that was still an issue with the left rear inboard pad, and did some trial swapping of the pads and fitting kit pieces between sides, finding the issue went with that pad. Ended up giving that pad's ears just a touch o' the flat file, now everything moves easily again.

That's the sort of stuff you can catch with regular checks, so it all stays in top shape and the parts will last as long as possible.

And yes, I can pretty much guarantee you the dealer won't. If stuff stops working well they'll sell you a brake job though.

-Chap

 

I can see where rear disc brakes would have more problems than the fronts even though most of your braking is done by the front.
The rears live in a much harsher environment than the fronts especially in the rust belt.
This is my first set of disc brakes on the rear of a car that I will have to deal with and I don't have 6,000 miles on it yet. I have other cars with rear disc brakes but they are seldom driven and never in bad weather, they live a pampered life.

 

Maybe it depends on the dealership service department culture. Anything that's nebulous, ie: no parts replacement involved, customers tend to dig in their heels, especially something like a four wheel brake inspection, which can set you back $400 plus if you go with the dealership. But every 3 years, not so bad. Who was that guy that said "you can pay me now, or pay me later".

Still, if you do the brake inspection yourself, and there's no replacement involved, the cost is nil. Your back and knees will be complaining and your hands will be grubby and maybe bashed up though.

The more you work the same car the easier it gets. I did our daughter's Pilot a few days back, front and back pad replacement, pin lube, checked rotor thickess and runout, pulled off the rear rotor and inspected/lubed/adjusted the drum-style parking brake, and replaced the brake fluid.

It's NOT trivial, and the wheels on it are getting up in weight One example of working smart: I was able to get it so all the wheels were barely clear of the slab. Then, when reinstalling a wheel, I roll/lift it up, as close and aligned as I could, then take a small pry bar, lever it up and push in at the bottom. A bit of wiggling and luck: the studs all pop through.

 

3rd gen rear brakes are problematic too: it's too easy to misalign the piston with the inner pad.

 

.. and after you pay big $$ for a dealer brake job, you might still have premature uneven wear because they didn't do a thorough job cleaning up all the corrosion, which is what happened on our Mazda 3. I'm not always good at keeping things clean and lubed between brake jobs, but usually by the time my brakes wear out the rotors and backing plates have rust coming off in big flakes.

And this is all due to driving cars when the roads are salted. My '97 Mustang doesn't see much road salt, and still has the original brakes all around after 21 years and 138k miles, and I haven't had to re-lube those ever.

 

I just changed the brakes on our daughter's Pilot: included in the box with the pads was replacement shims and the little springs that lift pads away from the rotor. BTW, one you've got those little springs in place, if everything's well lubed, you need three hands to keep the pads on while swinging down the caliper. A C-clamp helps.

Here's the front brakes, pushing back the pistons: I didn't have a C-clamp big enough to go in the middle, so resorted to two clamps, did small turns, back and forth:



Come to think of it, getting waaay off topic.

 

I'm driving a Prius Prime because I think that cars should be getting very high fuel economy in this day and age. (Admittedly, the 1st gen Honda Insight has my perma-respect for its high fuel economy for a car dated as far back as 1999; however, it's small, and they haven't made them in over 10 years.)

 

Am I the only one who bought his first Prius because I wanted to give the message to our government that it is time to end our wars in the Middle East over oil. Enough people have died over the oil curse.

 

We are on our 3rd and 4th Prius. We have a Real Estate business and drive close to 5000 miles a month. It made since to get a car with great gas mileage.

 

nope. we used to have a lot of members like you. it seems to have evolved into frugality over the years though.
and they are generally happy until something expensive breaks, then they want to know where the cost savings is.

 

Yes.

 

I don't like to be put in a category, so I keep them guessing.

 

Prius went mainstream a long time ago, so bursting any remaining stereotypes is a good thing.

 

I drive it because I like the car, inside and out. I also want a car that will not need anywhere near as much gas if there is a shortage (though that seems unlikely).

Frugality plays a role because to the extent that the Prime saves money on gas, I am willing to go out more and drive farther to places I want to go. That means a better, more active life. I also want to protect myself from huge potential increases in energy costs (the same reason I have solar panels). The fact that the Prime is good for the environment is just a bonus for me.

 

If there was no conflict over oil, then I believe something would be there to fill that conflict vacuum.

Power projection is still a huge part of USA foreign relations doctrine. The US is too scared to let another state project their power militarily. So, if not oil, I do believe it would be for something else.

If energy was not such a hot topic, then all factories would be on a level playing field. Where's the competitive edge? In this vacuum of conflict, I could easily see there being wars over access to cheap labor. (It happened before the Industrial Age, before energy conflicts.)

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grugal? freen?