Rear Left Prius Brake Caliper Seized

A link for OEM caliper. I'm not saying it's a good price, especially once you factor in the exchange and shipping. Plus, last time I checked, these guys don't ship to Canada. Still, useful for part numbers etc:

Rear Brakes for 2012 Toyota Prius | Toyota Parts

(Just checked: they still don't ship to Canada.)

If it was me, I would get OEM, price be damned, to ensure 100% compatibility. But I appreciate considering the alternatives too.

 

Brake & Wheel Hub Tool Disc Brake Piston Tool Parts | RockAuto

Only buy if it comes from same warehouse. Good luck shopping. You can get a similar cube from Canadian Tire or Princess Auto locally.

 

For Toyota pads at least, the pads and shims are separate items. These are rear pad/shim part numbers, btw:



I think ditto for the the pad end clips, the odd-shaped ones that push into the caliper mount bracket. Are your existing ones shot btw. They do rust out. They're easiest to remove with the rotor off.

 

Yes. Brake pads can come with brake hardware (which sometimes includes the V shaped clips). Look for "brake hardware included". It really depends on which one you buy:


Some kits are bare boned brake pads which expect you to extract and reuse your old shims/hardware. In my case, I bought the Wagner ThermoQuiet Ceramic Pads QC1423 shown in the picture above. I plan to try a different brand next time as I have had a couple uneven wear on the outer pad. It may be different now that I have new caliper.

 

Some pads do not come with the "V" clip. Again, depends on which one you buy. The Prius has them on the rear:

 

I have never seen a caliper that didn't come with a bleeder valve. I would look for the bleeder screw on the pictures.

It maybe however, missing the black rubber bleeder valve cover (I can't quite remember). Just bring your old one over if that's the case.

 

That's a Toyota design question. Who knows, it may be there to force the pads apart and prevent wear, but the rotor rotation force does this. It can be there to prevent vibration of the brake pads. Some aftermarket pads (such as Raybestos) tells you simply not to use them.

In my opinion, they are pretty useless. I was tempted to remove them the last time I cleaned my brakes. I decided to leave them installed in the end.

 

The stock rear brakes have those v-shaped springs, but the fronts don't. Not sure why.



Repair Manual brake info attached.

 

The rear brakes have a pesky parking brake line. You can study the videos below:

-- Removed using 14mm:

-- This guy just cutoff the hose guide:

 

South Main Auto just keeps getting better, lol.

Excellent demo of the caliper piston notches, and how it fits with the pad backing plate pin, btw.

Video reminds me: attached is the Repair Manual brake bleed without Techstream procedure. Watch @NutzAboutBolts video too, pinned in third gen maintenance forum; he makes it look doable.

 

Not sure, would just clean them but not replace. Paint the metal crimps on hose ends with boiled linseed, taking care to not spill over onto the rubber line, just in case.

 

I did have a brake line get rusty enough to leak ... not on a Prius, and the line was steel, about 25 years old.

The leak was hard to find. What seemed to happen was the tube just got weak enough to kind of split, in a little hairline crack along the tube lengthwise. The brakes would feel pretty good unless you really stood on the pedal, and then it would go toward the floor. Only the highest pressures were enough to force the crack open and then spray out a little fan of 2000 psi fluid.

I finally caught it by finding a spot that looked moist across from the brake line, pointing a video camera there, and then standing on the pedal. (With no part of me anywhere near that camera, 'cause 2000 psi fluid can spray through skin, and that's no joke.)

So yeah, if the steel line is getting questionable, you would not be crazy to replace it, whether you go with Toyota's preformed coated-steel ones, or get a roll of cunifer and make some, which ought to be the last ones needed.

 

Huh: cunifer is a copper alloy.