Horsepwr

Well ,just put a new starter in over the weekend on my 98 LS400(lots of fun)Now Im driving the car feeling good about my accomplishment and BAM , break wear light comes on .I searched the forum for a DIY front brake pad replacement ,but could not find one .The rotors look and feel fine ,no warping or anything of that nature ,so I just want to throw some pads on there .How hard is it ,and is there anything that I need to look out for .You guys have been awesome in giving advice ,thanks for that .

RonV

there is a break sensor wire that was triggered once the pads got low enough. So just keep that wire in mind when you do your pads and replace that or the light will stay on.

Horsepwr

Do I need to replace the sensor ,or just be careful not to tweek it ,or brake it ?How does the sensor come off ,is it clipped on somehow ?

acidfire52

The sensor triggers when the pad breaks a connection in it. It is broke at that point and needs to be replaced to work. Some people have repaired theirs.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

check the front and rear pads, replace the ones that are worn, then either buy new brake sensors or just solder the wires together to shut the damn light off, though in your case since you didnt feel your pads nearing their limits, and didnt keep an eye on their wear limits, i would strongly recommend you buy a new sensor.

Horsepwr

Is it obvious where the break is at in the wires ?If I solder them ,or splice them together ,will that disable the "break wear" indicator ?I just want the stupid light off .Dont really care if it does not warn me in the future .

steveski

The wire is housed inside a plastic shell. The light only comes on when the plastic housing rubs against the rotor and trhe wires (circuit) is broken. Unfortunately there is no way to fix it as is.

Yes, the easiest thing to do is cut the sensor, solder the wires and seal it with rubber coating to complete the circuit again.

This is exactly what I did - won't buy the sensor again.

python

iTrader: (4)

the brake wear sensors for bmw's are relatively cheap at where i work...dont think the ones for the lexus can be much more, i would get new ones and have ur brakes inspected every 2nd or 3rd oil change...i would have ur rotors mic'ed and have them turned,ur pads will last longer as well

Lexozz

Just like Steve said, solder the wires together. Why waste 100+ bucks in a stupid piece of copper. I've also done the same many times over.

Horsepwr

Check this out !! I found a auto parts store online that sells the sensor for $28.00 .Im gonna snag it up ,way better that $90.00 from my local stealership .I just got back from my local tire place ,they do brake checks for free ,and this car is only equipped with one sensor . It is on the right front wheel ,and yes it is touching the rotor ,but there is actually still about just under a 1/4 in of pad left .Plus they mic'd the rotors ,and there is plenty of meat left on them .Ok guys ,if I just wanted to save the $$ how important is it to have the rotors turned .Do I REALLY need to do it ???

Lexozz

^^^There is also one on the passenger rear!

Horsepwr

Yea ,I just found that out today .My rear pads are getting down there also .Im buying all the pads tomorrow ,and Ill get around to putting them on this weekend .Thanks guys .

Kansas

The one time I didn't have the rotors turned on my previous LS, I regretted it ... got a little pulsing of the brake pedal with the new pads. Besides, it isn't something you have to do very often since the brake pads last a long time on a 98-00 LS400.

On my current 2000 LS400, the front brake pads were replaced for the first time at 71,293 miles. The rear pads have over 110,000 miles on them and they should easily last until I have the car serviced at 120,000 miles.

The indie Lexus trained mechanic I use charges so little to replace brake pads and turn the rotors that I no longer do it myself. I'm down to one car and it's not like I'm going to rent a car or take a cab just to take my rotors some place to have them turned.

Horsepwr

The previous owner had new front rotors and front pads put on at 65,000 .So Im about at the 65,000 mile mark on the front v,the rears I dont believe have ever been changed ,and the car has 133,xxx .So you are right ,these cars do not go through pads too quick .So your brakes did no pulsate with the old pads ,before you changed pads ?The brakes on my car are very smoothe ,no signes of warping at all .Im going to be putting Akebono Proact ceramic pads on it ,I guess they are supposed to be pretty good .Thanks for the advice .

Kansas

The pulsing I mentioned on the 90 LS after changing the pads could have been there and I hadn't noticed. I certainly seemed much worse after I put on new pads without having the rotors turned. I suspect that the new pads took a while to "wear in" to fit the rotors when I didn't have them turned. Besides, my old 90 LS had the pathetic thin rotors that were corrected beginning in the 91 or 92 model year and beafed up still more over the next few years.

To say the least, the brakes on my 2000 LS400 are infinitely better than on the 90 LS I drove for (too many) years. According to Road & Track magazine, the early gen 1 LS400 had one of the longest stopping distances of all the cars they tested during that period of time.

I wonder if the ceramic pads you are going to use will wear as well as OEM and provide as good braking. Sure like the complete absence of brake dust of the OEM pads -- hard to believe that Lexus went with low life, high brake dust pads on newer models.