Hey guys, I recently purchased a 16' IS350 F-Sport and I must say - it's a fantastic car. Coming from a commuter hatchback, the difference between the two is night and day. However, I've been getting this frustrating and abnormally loud break squeal coming from what appears to be the rear end. I did a visual inspection of the pads and rotors and both appear to be healthy (22,000 miles on the car). What could the issue be? I saw a couple threads here on ClubLexus that said that others have had luck bringing it into the dealer to get serviced because there's a TSB for it.

TL;DR
- Brakes squeal/squeak even when the car is already warm. The noise tends to show more when I'm in reverse or when it's cold (gets SUPER loud).
- Separate note - is it normal for there to be so much smoke coming from the exhaust? Here in NorCal, the weather has been in the 50s but even after the car runs for about 5 minutes, there is still white smoke coming from the exhaust. Is this just condensation or should I be concerned?

 

Hey, if you "recently" purchased it, the dealership should be willing to take a look at the brakes. More than likely, there's something wrong with the rotors. I had a persistent squeal with my IS back when it only had 17,000 miles. The pads were fine, but the rotors needed to be resurfaced. I'm still on the same pads 9,000 miles later and have no squeal.

Congrats on the new car, btw.

 

That happened to me on my 2016 IS. It was a constant squeal after braking and it still continued after I kept driving. I did have to replace the brake pads but the noise started after Lexus changed one of my rear tires. I think they did something with the rotors not sure? Either way, I never went back to the dealer, the noise eventually stopped after weeks. But I'd go the dealer. I was too lazy to go.

 

 

 

Not sure if your vehicle is RWD or AWD, but there are two bulletins out in Canada:

 

 

Maybe try Googling the TSB title..."Front Brake..."
Unfortunately the US and Canada numbering convention is completely different for TSB's, so I'm not much help for south of the border.
But for sure the US bulletin exists.

 

 

I see. Looks like the TSB for Canada tells the technician to replace both the front pads and the shims. Did you notice any difference after the service since they didn't resurface the rotors? Also, did you just do a drop-in at the dealership or did you schedule an appointment?

 

 

Cool. I scheduled an appointment with a dealership this weekend. Hopefully they'll service my car under the TSB. Service performed under a TSB should be free of charge, right?

 

 

Gotcha. Did you have to tell the technicians that you would like to get the car serviced under the TSB or receive any trouble during that process? I just don't want to end up having to pay for any diagnostic charges or walk out empty-handed. Thanks.

 

Just make sure you complain about a brake noise as the TSB describes...if there is no complaint they likely will not apply the TSB. No complaint means no problem, which means no TSB applies.