I have changed rotors/brakes on my previous LS400 with no issues so had no hesitation in doing the same for my 2007 LS460L. After replacing the rotors and pads on both the front and the back I have a couple of issues.

1) I didn't disconnect the battery while doing the work so now all my break warning lights are on. (Brake,Pad Wear, ABS, and VSC) I disconnected the battery afterward but that did not clear the warning lights. Any suggestions on how to reset these?

2) Do the above warning lights effect how the braking system works b/c the ABS isn't working now? When I was conditioning the new pads/rotors after replacing them I found that the front left wheel would actually lock up if I tried to break too fast. So the brakes before normally under a controlled stop but an emergency stop can lock that wheel and only that wheel. This is obviously a concern.

3) Is there a way to verify if the brakes are working evenly from one side to the next? Meaning is the front left brake working the same as the front right brake. I only drove the car for about 15 min afterwards to condition the new rotors and brakes but noticed when I parked the car that the front left rotor was hotter to the touch (just a couple of quick taps) than the front right. I took that as an indication that the front left brake is working harder than the front right brake. I would expect them to basically be the same temperature if both sides were working evenly, Yes?.

Please Note.....The only complication I had was on the right front (so not the wheel that locks up when emergency braking) caliper. When using the C clamp to squeeze the caliper piston back in I just used in on 1 of the 4 pistons. (I knew better but got careless) When I did this the added pressure made one of the other 4 pistons came out enough that break fluid started to leak. I pushed this piston back in and made sure to bleed the line to get rid of any air bubbles. But other than that no real hiccups. I've done this kind of auto job several times on several vehicles and not had the issues listed in this post before. Your advise and experience is greatly appreciated.

 

I never disconnect my battery when doing the brakes. Not sure why you now have warning lights emitting. I just did all my pads and rotors on my LS about 6-8 weeks ago and no issues. I've worked on them before as well with no issues. If brake fluid is leaking, you may need a new caliper(s).

 

First time poster, long time reader. Really love this site and the perspective that I get from other LS 460 owners that are capable DIY'ers. I'm hoping this post helps a fellow member.

Two weeks ago I did front pads/rotors and a passenger side front wheel hub assembly (wheel bearing went out). I also didn't disconnect the negative terminal while doing all of this work. After getting everything swapped out and getting all 4 wheels back on the ground, I too had the Christmas tree of lights on the Dash (see attached image). At this point I tried disconnecting the negative terminal for 10 mins the first time and 20 mins the second time, the car would re-initialize when reconnecting and turning the ignition to ON but the lights remained. My next step was to take it for a short test drive on a back road to see how it was responding. My brakes worked fairly well to slow the vehicle down from 40mph down to 15mph but it would take far too long to come to a complete stop. Also, the vehicle would pull to the left pretty hard when braking. I was at a loss, I thought the wheel speed sensor in the Wheel Hub Assembly might have been working incorrectly or the connections on the car or hub side were damaged. The hub I put in was an OEM hub mftr by Koyo and I was really thinking that I might need to setup a return and get a new hub installed.

After all of this, I reluctantly decided to call our local Lexus dealer...clearly I was on my last resort. After speaking with the Service Manager (a.ka. Service Salesman) he said he'd talk to one of the service techs about my issue. After talking with his tech, he informed me that those lights will only be on if the problem wasn't fully resolved with the replacement part. "All lights will go off if you replace the problematic part." At this point it was going to cost me a minimum of $100 for the diagnostic and then whatever cost would be associated with the “problem” they were fixing. In my experience, anytime the dealer tells you they will run a diagnostics and go from there, they end up finding a problem 99% of the time. I really try to avoid dealers at all cost.

I then called a local shop that specializes in super high end cars. McLaren, Lamborghini, Ferrari…etc. However, they work on daily drivers as well. I spoke with the actual service technician, something I have never been able to do at our Lexus dealer, and he said to swing by that same day and he could hook up to the OBDII port and go for a quick ride to diagnose. After hooking up his computer and monitoring the hub for a minute or so, he said there was no drop out on the wheel speed sensor, so he reset the error codes. We drove another 5 mins or so and none of the lights came back on and there was no drop out from the wheel speed sensor. He sent me on my way with NO COST! I was astonished…and after I got back in the drivers seat, I quickly tested brakes and they were back to 100%!

My suggestion, is to clear the codes and see if your brakes return to normal again. If the ABS system is in fault, then it will not brake normally. However, it is purely your decision on how you want to get the car to a shop. If it’s not safe to drive, then have it towed…I don’t condone driving on a brake system that is faulty. There’s far too much at stake.


1.) Take it to a reputable shop that can reset the codes. **It’s your decision whether you drive it or tow it, I don’t condone driving when the brake system is in fault.**
2.) Yes, the above lights definitely impact the capabilities of the braking system.
3.) I’m not sure if there is a way to verify that they’re working evenly from side to side. I’m guessing a shop can with one of their diagnostic devices.


Good Luck! I really hope this helps and apologize for it being a bit long winded.

 

Good point Roadfrog, if it continues to leak fluid, you definitely need to do more than reset the codes. I had my local Lexus dealer quote replacing a caliper recently and it was $545 out the door. They won't reseat pistons, replace dust boots and seals...they will only replace the caliper.

 

I still don't understand what you guys did to set off the lights. I've worked on my 08 twice now (as stated in my post above). Never disconnected battery and no lights. Not sure what we are doing differently. Are you guys powering up the ignition while working on it? Perhaps others can chime in.

 

Wow. 545 bucks. I can get quality calipers from Rock Auto for 60 bucks with warranty and even includes all hardware. http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....434552&jsn=352

 

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll probably just take it to a service shop to get them to clear codes and make sure everything is working properly. CEMERICK that photo shows exactly the same warning lights I have on my dash as well.

 

Interesting. My son had the front and rear pads/rotors replace and the calipers "serviced" (seals and boots removed and replaced, calipers cleaned) on his IS250 at McGrath Lexus in Chicago. Charged him $800 - I told him he got a great deal! I know the parts for the LS will be more expensive but there's an example of a dealer that isn't afraid to get their hands dirty in the best interests of the customer. My local Lexus dealer for sure wouldn't do that!

 

Dealers can be such a rip. I need to do my rear pads / rotors before long on my A8 L. $700 for the rears only at the dealer. I got the parts for $160 shipped. The amount of money you save if you source the parts yourself and do it yourself is incredible.

 

I swapped out a wheel bearing on my LS460L.... During the prcoess we needed to move the wheel to get a better anagle. The ABS cable was not connected while turning on the car to turn the wheel. As expected, the dash lit up with failue warnings. After the car was back together, and we started it up, it still did the same thing.

I needed to use a code reader and clear the codes (techstream is what I used) to get it working again. Trust me driving with all those saftey features is kind of scary when I was going 70 miles ah hour and hit the breaks, they locked up and I was sliding !

Try one those autozone type places, there is 2 in my area will hold your licence while you go in the parking lot to check your codes, with this device, you can hit "clear".

If everything is back together with no lose connections, I would get the codes reset.

 

My lights were the result of doing the same thing DavidinCt did. I needed to get a porta power on the back side of my hub and had to start the car so I could turn the wheel.