nowstime

Hi!

Did a schedule maintenance and was told I will need a brake replacement on my next visit. Call my local dealer for a quote and told it was about $600 ($300 for each axile) for the front and back.

Is this a reasonable price? I believe this is for the brake pad and smoothing out surfaces...

If they are asking too much, What are the OEM part for the brake pads? And is it something do able at home?

SaneEnch

Do it yourself!
You'll need to do some good reading on this forum first! I used to be one of 'those people' who would take my car and have the work done by other. With $600, you can get all, if not most of the tools and parts you'll need. And you'll also have these tools for other car project! Read this for the brake project.
You'll need:
- Torque wrench
- Car jack
- Brake pad spreader
- Smaller wrench (14mm) to remove the caliper bolt
- Brake part cleaner
- Brake quiet
- Brake part lube/anti seize
- Brake pads (You didn't state what year is your car, but you can find it in Sewell
- Brake rotors - if you need surfacing on these, I would say it's best to replace them all because they will eventually go out anyway. And also, make sure you change your brake pads AS WELL as the rotors if there's uneven wear on either.

dcdyd

Do it yourself at home if you want to save a lot and if you want to keep your truck for a long time. It doesn't only save your money but also teach you a lot.

But you need to be very careful, especially yo have not done this before. Take your time and be safe.

I started with my own car maintenance from three years ago and I so far I found out how much money I have wasted by using the dealer and independent shop.

As regarding the pads and rotor, you don;t need to buy OEM at all. There are lots of named brand items which is very reliable sold on Amazon. I also visit Rockauto.com for comparison.

For example, I purchased at Amazon for my 08 about 2 years ago, It has been 15k since then and no problem. There was $10 rebate from manufacture so the final price is less than $30.

1koolfella

iTrader: (1)

Same thing happened to me over the weekend.

I went to the dealer to have the oil change and tire rotation for 45k mile service for an '09 Rx 350. I went to a dealership in NJ. I was told that I needed brake service because my pads are low. I was quoted $350 for the front and $350 for the rears. They could set me up with a loaner and they believe they had another rx350 in the back. When I declined they said that I should have the fronts done now and come back for the rears. I asked him about how many miles would you guestimate / estimate I have left on them, they said about a 1k worth of pad wear.

So I'm looking at prices from Sewell parts (club lexus owners get a discount) and looking at Carvers signature about his brakes and rotors and will take it some place else to do the labor.

dcdyd

That was two years ago when my 08 was still in manufacture warranty. I took it to the dealer for checking what was wrong with the Windows which had strange behavior. After they checked the windows, they told me that my front pads are about to die and was told that it is only 1mm left. I told them them that I check the thickness just one week ago and it had 5mm left. They said 'Oh' and the conversation didn't continue.

Deal will try to convince you to change when it hits 5 to 6 mm. But actually you can still get a lot from it. The minimum is 1mm for the front. But it id better to change once it hits to 4 mm just for safety. If you rotate your tires every 5000 miles you can check the thickness of the pads.

You can replace the pads anywhere at independent shop which charges far less than dealer does.

Rainbird

I don't trust brake inspection by dealerships. I still have the original factory brakes. Here are various brake inspections measurements taken from actual service invoices. As you can see they are very inconsistent. I plan to have the brakes done at around 65K by Toyota or an independent shop.

Toyota (Mileage 28,527) front pads 7mm, Rear 8mm (May 2009).
Toyota (Mileage 44,537) front pads 7mm, rear pads 7mm (February 2011).
Lexus (Mileage 48,373) front pads 4mm, rear no measurement done (August 2011).
Toyota (Mileage 55,326) front pads 7mm, rear pads 7mm June 2012).
Lexus (Mileage 60,0093) front pads 5mm, rear pads 6mm (Feb 2013).

Rainbird

I want to note that the brake measurements above were done by different Lexus dealerships. I will never have work done by the East Bay Lexus Dealership that measured 4mm. It was a lie to do unnecessary work. They tried very hard to have me authorize front brake work. I refused and they have lost my business forever.

Adamjeeps

It's a shame the stealerships have resorted to this but they don't make too much money on selling new vehicles (usually) so they have to make up for it somewhere. For every one that refuses their BS brake jobs I'm sure someone who doesn't know any better will pay the $$$$. We are in the major minority when we come on here and discuss our vehicles. Most people don't give a second thought to their car or don't care. They just wait until the pads hit the rotor and pay mega $$$$ for rotors and pads or they let the dealer replace the pads when they still have half their life left. I bet some dealers reuse the old pads or don't even change them when they get some poor sucker on their lies.

nowstime

Regarding the brake pads, I will only need the "PAD KIT" for my front and rear right (item number 04465 for the front and 04466 for the rear)?

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

If you dont want DIY, you can bring it to a reliable mechanic to get it done.

LEXRX04

I say if your handy, go ahead and do them yourself. Or visually inspect the brakes yourself. One of the reasons why I left being a dealership mechanic was the fact of doing things that didn't need done. Unfortunately, you have to do what the service writer approves for. But if it isn't a dealership taking your money, it will be another shop doing the same exact thing.

So give it a shot yourself. This is one of those jobs that is pretty straight forward, as long as you don't open up the system.

nowstime

I plan to get the parts from my local Lexus dealer and found a installer who's asking $70 for front and rear installation of the pads. Thank you for everybody's input.

1koolfella

iTrader: (1)

I read that you mentioned that you're going to get the parts from your local dealer, but I would suggest to check out sewellparts.com if you register with them and select club lexus as a reference you'll see the discounted price. After factoring in shipping you still may come out ahead from the dealership that is if you don't want to wait.

As for me, I check the brake fluid under the hood and it's about a quarter of the way from the full line. I'm going to have the actual breaks check this weekend by taking one front and back wheel off to see the pad wear myself. Then go from there. When I registered at Lexus.com it mentioned that the previous owner had the rotors shaved twice. The first owner was a real stickler about the vehicle.