Larry62

I had my rx300 at the dealer for knock sensor replacement last week and was advised that all four of my rotors should be replaced because they were "rusty".
. I replaced the front rotors 2 years ago and did front and rear ceramic pads. I took a look at the rotors and they are shiny but do have some small rust pits in them. I have no braking problems or noises, The car is garaged and I only put around 10k miles a year on it. My instincts tell me the rotors are fine but thought I would run it thru the forum for other opinions.

Thanks

carguy07

Pic would get you a solid answer, but sounds like they are just fine.

lserlohn

Did they give you a repair list, which is exactly $1000 in total?

kalali

Picture would be helpful but rust on the rotor surface is quite normal especially if they are exposed to moisture and brake is not applied for a few hours afterwards. According to your mechanic all the (new) cars sitting on the dealer lots need new rotors since they are all covered with a layer of rust. A quick ride around the block cleans the rust right out.

drewkaree

You only said you were at the dealer, and not "the mechanic at my dealership". Are you sure the person who told you this wasn't the receptionist at the dealership?

Larry62

I took the vehicle to my neighborhood mechanic and .pulled the wheels. What we found was a huge amount of rust build up on the interior outer edges of the rotors which over time migrated down the rotor surface about 1/4 inch. This was chewing up the pads at the edges. The mechanic said this is not uncommon on aftermarket rotors due to inferior steel quality.
I ordered Brembo rotors which are high quality and Akebono pads and had them installed. Another option of course is Toyota oem rotors which are still made in Japan and are high quality according to the mechanic.
The bottom line here is you get what you pay for and good quality is not cheap.

Larry

jnovak01

I had the same thing happen to my rotors last year. I was surprised at the amount of rust on the rotors and decided to change all of them with Power Stop Extreme and ceramic pads. The Power Stop rotors seem to be doing great after a year or so. Good Luck

Larry62

Thanks for the feedback. I think that it is a good idea to post what brand of rotors hold up and are better quality, since nowadays it isn't certain just who really makes the rotors .


Larry

jnovak01

FWIW. I did not mean to plug the Power Stop rotors and pads. I just wanted to let others know my experience.
I first changed to the Power Stop rotors and pads on my wife's Sienna. She has the 3rd gen Sienna and some, including me, were having problems with the OEM front units. Others on the Sienna forum were swearing by the Power Stops. Some were taking the cars back to Toyota and they were changing out the rotors with new ones. the parts were free, but you had to pay for the labor. I changed out the rotors and pads myself for less than the labor would have been. When my 3rd Gen RX needs front or rears I feel confident the Power Stops will do a good job.