Lexus recommends checking brake components every 30k miles, im about 900 away so i decide to change them anyways.

changing brake pads is a very simple task especially on our ES, if you ever done a brake job you'll have zero problems... for those first timer no worried you'll be pro after your first one.

Tools Required
(2) 14mm wrench
(1) 17mm wrench
lug nut wrench and Lock key (Located on top of your spare Tire)

I went with akebono pro-act ultra-premium ceramic disc brake pad kit that i bought off of amazon but your local parts store should have similar pads in stock. Also pick up some brake parts cleaner and hardware if not included with your pads.

LET'S BEGIN!


once you have the tire removed, loosen the both 14mm bolts that hold the caliper up.



once both bolts are out, move the caliper out the way with out bending the brake line. i decide to hang mine on the spring seat. now you can pull both pads out and replace the clips. since my pads didn't came with hardware i decide to clean them instead with brake cleaner



the front Requires a 17mm wrench to help get both 14mm bolts out.



also the front has anti squeal springs, remove and clean the springs unless your pads came with new ones.
now that your ready to install the new pads just pop the clips back in follow by the pads. apply a small amount of brake lube to pads( the side that touches the caliper NOT the rotor)



push in the piston and slide the caliper back on.
Now here is the tricky part, the front pads anti squeal spring pushes the pads off the clip. what i did was partially slide the caliper on just enough to hold the pads together so i have room to pop the springs back in



once in fully slide the caliper back on and torque the bolts back on to spec and spray brake parts cleaner. wheels on and your done onto the next one. took me about 2 hrs to do all four in my garage you can probably do in less. also i recommend doing one at a time.

Total Cost was about $100 more or less

 

Thanks - a good simple pictorial and description of the brake job. Yes, this brings back fond memories since I haven't done one in over 10 years, and it looks like things haven't changed too much .

 

It looks like from the picture your old/original brake pads do not have much wear.

 

I did a visual inspection of the rear with the caliper on when i was installing wheel spacers and it looked like i had nothing left. didn't bother sliding the caliper off to measure or to even get a better look as i was feeling lazy that day so i went ahead order pads that same night all around. today as i pulled the first caliper off I was in shocked that they had probably 80% of life left on them but went ahead and replaced them since these new pads have less dust and of course i had nothing better to do than have fun working my car and sharing with you guys.

also most of my commute is highway 85% and the rest is City/Neighborhood so that could also explain why the pads had so much life left

 

Is it the same procedure for an ES300h?

 

Basically, yes. The part numbers are likely different, though. (I haven't looked them up.)

But the hybrid cars have and advantage -- they hardly use their mechanical brakes. The disk brakes are used for hard braking (when you stomp on the brake pedal), and when you are almost stopped (the last couple of mph, and to stay stopped). When you push the brake pedal gently, as in normal driving, the electric generator does most of the braking. So the mechanical brake pads usually do not wear out.

My previous car (a 2008 Camry Hybrid) had almost no brake pad wear at 100k miles. There have been reports of (older, Prius) cars going more than 300k miles on their original brakes...

 

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with us! What is the mileage on your car?

 

From his original post:

 

Thanks for the info, I always try to stay in that "charging" zone when I brake so I recover the electricity. I never brake hard except when needed. I guess I won't have to replace them for a while. I heard that a car that is not used for a while the brake rust and they need to replaced, so I guess the same will happen at some point.

 

While brake disks can rust, that really is not a problem for these cars. Even a little bit of use is enough to keep the rust from forming. These cars do use the mechanical brakes for the last few mph while stopping, even when you operate the brakes very gently. That seems to be enough to keep them clean.

 

If you look at the photos, you can see a buildup of corrosion and brake dust on the rotor hat, including around the hub. If your car has this, take a wire-brush drill attachment and use it to remove all of that. Then flip your wheel around so that the mating surface(the opposite of the side that faces out) is facing up and do the same procedure. You will be knocking off all contaminants and ensuring that you have a completely flat surface.

 

Reviving an old thread, Good tutorial and pictorial. I have ES350 2013 and I need to know what is the correct torque on the front and rear caliper bolts? or where I can find these info. Thanks for any help.

 

Did you have to siphon off some brake fluid before compressing the caliper piston?

 

my front break pads finally hit their wear limit at about 60k. The rear ones still had a bit of life left, but had all 4 done at once.