npteske

I own a 2011 RX450h that will need a brake job soon. Has anybody ever used aftermarket brake pads on a Lexus or Toyota hybrid? I know the performance/smoothness of the regen braking is a function of the transition from pad to regen. Can that transition be negatively affected by pads that grip differently than OEM pads?

MellonC00

I'd like to know also. OP, how many miles do you have on your car?

npteske

84k miles now. I expect to need the brake pad replacement by 90k miles.

MellonC00

hmmm.... that's a little early for a hybrid. You sure it wasn't one of these case where the mechanic said, "you ONLY have 1/3 of the pad left..... should think about replacing it SOON."

My car has 80K and the pads look almost new. Well, not new but really just minimum wear.

npteske

Just bumping to the top of the list...

Droid13

I suppose its a real possibility. Having driven Toy/Lex hybrids continuously since 2006, I know the balance between regen and mechanical braking can be delicate at times, and never perfect. The question you need to ask yourself is, what do you hope to achieve by going with a different brand, cost savings, performance? Given that hybrids require new brakes so infrequently (I suspect mine will probably only get 1 or 2 brake changes during its useful life to me) I wasn't really too concerned about cost savings going with a different brand. As for performance differences, that's where you might see more noticeable transitions between the two systems. I have stuck with OEM brakes done by the Toyota dealer.

npteske

Honestly, the only reason I like aftermarket pads is because they produce less wheel dust. But to your point, there wouldn’t be that much other benefit with a hybrid!

703

Avoid aftermarket. Not worth the experiment.

tdott

I went with original toyota parts, fairly cheap online and my originals lasted 120k.

rdy4flt

I know this is an old post but I'm at 154k miles on my 2010 RX450h and I still have all original brakes. I just got back my car from dealer for a quick inspection and they said brakes still have life on them, I'd have to look at paperwork to give exact numbers. I don't really notice that much brake dust on mine and I get no indication of brake issues. I personally would go with Lexus pads and skip aftermarket for this application.

Rudi

ukrkoz

Brake pads material is absolutely irrelevant to regen braking and energy recovery. As in - has ZERO influence.
Use whatever works best for you. I prefer not to use ceramics on OEM Toyota rotors, as they make rubbing noise during rolling stop. Otherwise, whatever is your faith and wallet preferences.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Wow that’s incredible especially considering the front pads were down to 2mm on our 2010 with 44k miles. Really shows how different drive cycles can the life of the car.

For anyone shopping for brake parts, I recommend Advics pads and rotors if you want to go aftermarket. They are the OEM for Lexus/Toyota, so you will be getting almost the same parts without the Lexus markup.