RiceBerner

I have a 2008 RX 400h with 43,000 miles on it. I've had for 6 years this past Oct 28th. About a year and a half ago, when my car had maybe 30K miles on it, the Lexus dealer that I purchased it from said I needed new brakes front and rear. I had just bought all new tires at 30K so I didn't want to spring $900 for new brakes. Every 4-5 months I get oil change, inspection, etc. and the last time I brought it in it would be $1400 because now he wanted to replace the rotors too.

I don't have any noise and the car stops on a dime. I asked him if I would further damage the car if I drove it as is for another 5 months. He said no, only embarrassing noise a possibility. I said I didn't embarrass that easily. I only put about 30 miles on it a week because my workplace is now very close. I have the cash now to get this addressed but I wonder how much the price will go up because I waited (new things wrong, etc.)

Before I make the appointment, can any of you please tell me if $1400 is too high and isn't it a little weird that I have to have them done at 42K miles (or is the age factoring in too)? My friends and coworkers, none of whom have a Lexus, say it's funny that I need new brakes at this low mileage.

The reason I needed new tires at 25-30K was because the original tires were known to wear out quickly (I googled it at the time). So I ended up putting different tires on so the ride isn't as smooth but that's ok.

Thanks in advance if you can tell me about the price and whether I'm being ripped off. I'm afraid I cannot do the brake job myself because of lack of experience and work schedule.

kornpeef

theres no way unless ur a taxi driver that a hybrid brakes are worn down that much. ive seen prius brakes with 50% life left on them at 70k miles. hybrids use the regenerative brapking to slow the car down and barely use up any front brake pad. most of the time i replace rear brakes more than the front. New ROtors!!! at 40k they should be able to machine those twice before they replace them. UNLESS they have heat spots. if they did you would feel brake puslastion at freeway speeds. next time you have your car serviced have them show you the ur brake messurement. normal car dealerships with a 10k mile oil change service will rotate tires. when they do that have them show you the messurements their taking. then throw a fit and get the service director involved.

roadbike56

If the service writer is correct, you should be able to see scoring on the rotors. In fact, if its so bad they have to be replaced, it should be pronounced. You can check this out without removing the wheels. I've had tire dealers in NC tell me I needed brakes after rotating tires. I insisted they rotate the tires and that's it. They give the old guilt trip look and comment something like "are you sure, you know if you don't do it now, it will cost more because we'll have to replace some rotors so your really ought to do it now"
Took the car to my mechanic who scratched is head and told me to see him in another 10,000 miles cause the brakes were fine. Your best bet is to have it checked out by another shop that you trust. If the brakes do need replacement, you don't want to put it off.

kornpeef

3mm-4mm is when brakes are normally recommend at the shops i trust. unless brake pulsation is felt. normally pads start off around 10-12mm in thickness. stick to oem pads and shims. the aftermarkets are harder and i cant count how many times ive seen after market pads with 50% or more pad life left with brake noise and pulsation concerns. tell em you want brake rotor thickness measured as well. cause they should not be under spec if they have never been machined.

RX3302004

At 54,000 miles I had the front brake pads replaced and the rotors resurfaced.
Even if you do need what's listed I'd at least have a Toyota dealer do it, or a regular brakes place or mechanic. That price seems high to me.

Rainbird

$1400 is a rip-off. I had the front brakes replaced, hardware cleaned lubed and the rotors machined at 63K miles at Lexus of Santa Barbara, California.. The price total was $340. Go to another shop or a Toyota dealership and get another quote.

txt

Let's assume you buy after-market parts (ie. pads & rotors & brake hardwares from Advanced Auto part)
The parts alone cost $360 (with 15% discount from regular price).
Dealership usually charges 2X the street price for parts, so that comes to $720.
The work would take about 3 hours at $120/hour, so labor is $360 (this is a wild guess; Lexus labor rate may be higher).
You will need 2 bottles of brake fluid; let's say $20.
The total so far is $1100..
Maybe the dealership also perform a brake bleed at each wheel, that would cost $200-250 and the final $50 is miscellaneous fees.
That brings the total to $1400.
I think $1400 is quite high but it's a Lexus dealership so don't be shocked that the prices are much higher than Toyota shop or a brake shop.

I have done the rotor and pad replacement myself but there were times I had to use a brake shop because I didn't have time.
My most recent visit to a brake shop cost $340 for front pads and rotors replacement (w/o brake system bleedlng) on a Honda Civic with 40 K miles (yeah, lots of stop and go urban traffic).
So my guess is the RX350 would cost $400-450 for front pads and rotors replacement.
Rear would likely cost the same.
So a brake shop would charge $800 - 900 for front & rear pads and rotors replacement (w/o brake system bleedlng).

I suggest OP get an estimate from a brake shop.

Call the brake shop and ask for an estimate for replacing rotors, pads on front and rear with and without the bleeding of the brake system.
If happy with the estimate, then bring car to shop for a free inspection and estimate.
You may end up not needing new rotors.

lexus997

Without actually inspecting your brake system, we do not have all of the data. With that being said, here are a couple of points:

1. Replacing rotors should be based on measuring the rotors for runout, thickness, etc.
2. Retail price for all new pads, rotors, shims and hardware is $625 and it should be about 2-3 hours for a dealer to do the work. Also confirm that they are replacing the brake fluid.
3. Brakes are not just based on miles alone, but also driving habits. If the vehicles sits, this can cause deterioration as well.
4. Dealers are in the business of making money and they will suggest doing maintenance proactively. I would expect a Lexus dealer to be more proactive than for someone driving a [insert cheap car model]

takeshi74

You can always get a second opinion.

lexus997

A quick 2nd opinion would be to call another dealer or independent shop and just ask how much they would charge to replace rotors, brake pads, etc. Independent shops may or may not use Lexus parts, so take that into account when comparing pricing.


The alternative way is to take the vehicle in so that they can inspect it. Upon inspection, the other shop may or may not suggest replacing pads/rotors/etc. You should also confirm what they did during the inspection: was it visual only, what did they measure, etc.

vuman1

I have a 2008 RX350 that I bought when it had about 28,000 plus miles on it. When I took it in for service at about 40K miles, the dealer told me that I had to replace the brake pads. Not believing that pads could be worn out that fast, I took it home and checked. The pads had more than half of thickness left. But since I had already removed them, I changed them out with Akebono pads. The car now has a little over 100K miles on it. I am thinking about changing just the front ones to be sure. It is very easy to change out the pads. This is the first time I have worked on brakes, so I took my time doing it. Just look at youtube for suggestions and advices. I feel safer doing it myself because I took my time doing it right and I saved a bunch of money.

lexus997

If you can replace the brake pads, you should be able to replace the brake rotors too.


The part that might get tricky is replacing the brake fluid and properly bleeding the brake system. It can be done by yourself with a tool like a Mighty Vac, or it can be done with two people.


If you replace the pads and rotors, but are not confident that you can do the fluid, perhaps pay someone to do that portion of the work.

Rainbird

I question why the rotors would need replacement at 43K miles. Most shops would simply resurface them.

RiceBerner

I really appreciate all the responses and good advice I got here. I should have mentioned that the Lexus dealer said my rotors should be replaced because they're "all rusty". I do live in metro Detroit so salt and snow and rust possible. My driving habits usually wouldn't cause any abnormal wear EXCEPT I spent a year (2013) driving 30 miles each way to a job. The 30 miles were HARD on the brakes I would guess because it was freeway going 70 MPH and then sudden panic stops because the freeway has lots of traffic and quite a few Kamikaze drivers, road rage, accidents 2-3 per day each way so a nightmare commute.

I will take it to a Toyota dealership but I hope they cannot access my Lexus service records else they'll see I was advised to get 4 wheel brake job each time I took the car in since 30K mile inspection.

I just hope that when I take it to Lexus again for an estimate that they don't say it's more than $1400 now. Thanks for the tip about bleeding the brake lines. I'll ask them that when I take it in.

I'll post again after I have some more news, which may be next week.

Thanks again.

jakenbake

I had my brakes replaced for the first time on my 400h at 110,000 miles. They just resurfaced the rotors and did 4 new pads. That was at Lexus of Portland and it was around $600.00.