Hello,

My 2001 RX300 with 34000 miles on it has 3MM on rear brake and dealer recommend changing it for $320 plus.
There is no noise and everything seem to be working ok.
How many miles can I drive safely without damaging rotor and other parts?

Does this require lexus expertise or any non lexus repairman can do it?

Anything to watch out?

What is the best place to buy part and what rear brake is recommended?
Thanks in advance

 

I'd recommend genuine Toyota/Lexus parts. Other than that, it's not rocket science. If you do a key word search in this forum you will find detailed instructions on how to Do It Yourself (DIY). After you read the procedure, you can decide if you want to do it yourself. Any time you take the wheel lugs off, you should use a torque wrench when putting them back on. I'd get the parts from one of the mail-order Lexus parts dealers who co-sponsor this forum, or a local Toyota dealer (once you get the part numbers from the search of previous postings on this forum).

The number of miles you have left depends greatly on the type of driving you do. For instance, I have over 50,000 miles on my RX300 and still have half the disk pads remaining.

 

I just noticed that you're in New Jersey. I'd add www.irontoad.com to the list of potential parts sources since they're just outside of Philadelphia.

 

If your rear pads are at 3 mm, you should start to hear a high-pitched squeal any day now. The factory pads have 9.5 mm of pad material when new and have a wear indicator set at 3 mm. When you reach approximately 3 mm the wear indicator is designed to contact the rotor to produce this noise. Doing the math on your mileage you should have about 8,000 before the pad material is gone and you hear metal-to-metal contact. This is not a point you want to reach. 34,000 miles sounds low for a 2001 and is also low for wearing out the pads. Is this possibly a typo? My pads lasted about 70,000 on my 2001.
If you are a do-it-yourselfer, Irontoad, as mentioned above, is a good source of factory pads. Price is good and they came in 2 days. If you are not doing it yourself, any good brake shop should be able to handle the job and I would recommend them over the high priced dealer.

 

Watch out for scam. Get a second opinion or have a mechanic friend check it for you first.

The dealer told me the same 3 mm rear brake pad story at my 90K service. I was naive enough to authorize the pad change over the phone. Later I reviewed the wear rate from past services, I should have about 6-7 mm left. I rarely have to use brake during my commute. Never heard of any noise from my brakes.

Obviously without having the old brake pads on my hands, I can't accuse them of anything. I am very suspicious of this, however. I am already out of $319 (same price quote too,) but I hope no one else does.

 

dealers don't "scam" you. do you you really thing fraud or theft is something they look to do? First how are they measuring the pads? You realize the inner pad can wear much faster than the outer depending on your driving conditions. Dirt and crap foul up the inner pads causing it to bind and "stick on". We have seen inner pads with 15% and outers with 40%. Again if you question your dealer ask him to kept the pads a side for your. Why do you people go to a place you do not trust? Do you you go to a bank, doctor, food store that "scams" you, NO!! Perhaps because you barely use you brakes they tend to seize up, what happens to your park brake if you never use it.

As for how long can you drive? That truely is up to your conditions and habits. Yes your pads are fairly easy to replace. Make sure to clean off any rust under the fitting kit of the caliper bracket. To do an even better job remove the rotors and send them out for resurfacing, it only 4 more bolts.

 

Actually, I agree with HarrierAWD on this one. I have been told along with others I have met on the net this same Lexus story. Luckily, my uncle/cousin and I do the work, so we are quite aware when it needs to be changing. The price sounds about what they wanted to charge me, too.

True, the inners do wear faster, but under normal American/Canadian (not Mexican) driving conditions, one should not have to change their pads as often as I do. I am partly hindered by high altitude that speeds up the brake wear given the lack of oxygen.

 

The inners do wear slightly faster than the outers, on mine @70,000 miles the difference between inner and outer was only about 1mm both front and back. But this doesn't have much to do with anything as you already assume they are giving you the measurement for the pad with the most wear.
I also agree with HarrierAWD on this one. But maybe it's not an actual "dealer scam" but the end result is the same. Everyone there is pushed to bring in more $. The dealer’s intent is that the tech do a thorough inspection to find all problems. When you are the guy doing the measuring if a number is open to interpretation, you always go the direction that puts more $ in your pocket. Some do this more than others. This may be more noticeable at Lexus dealers because the cost for everything is so high.

 

I've been scammed by many other dealers throughout my life. Some cases were proven. In this particular case, I cannot. So I suggested to the original poster to get a second opinion.

It's your freedom to be naive and trusting.

 

i fully agree get a second opinion, or have them show you the pad. It is a matter of trust, remember trust is earned, ask questions, ask for the old parts. Look we know that if you treat the guest right they will return next time therefore you get the brake work either way. Screw the guest once and they will never return. All I ask is that you do not lump all dealers in the same boat. now note 3mm is still 30% remaining so if you do the math you can still go awhile, assuming you keep an eye on your brakes.

 

Which part of my posts did I "lump" all dealers in the same boat? Explain yourself please. You can search for my "good, bad, and ugly" Lexus/Toyota dealership post. There are good ones out there.

3mm is not 30% remaining. Please check the spec.

"Dealers don't 'scam' you." That's a classic. I'll remember that one. LOL. Thanks for the good laugh.

 

Actually I think it is. New Lexus rear pads have 9.5mm of pad material, so 3mm is roughly 30% (31.6, if you want to be exact). The problem you would have, though, is the wear indicator is set at about 3mm so you would have to put up with that annoying squeal or modify the indicator if you wanted that last 30%.
I think it is almost an accepted practice that most dealers stretch the truth when checking for wear on replacable items. When I had my timing belt done at the Toyota dealer, I got the expected phone call explaining everything else that was recommended. On that list was the air filter, which I just changed before taking it in and it had less than 100 miles on it.

 

sorry harrier, thought you said to look out for the scam, and that you had been scamed by many dealers in your life. as for the spec, according to the factory repair manual new std. rear pad thickness is 10.0mm(0.394in.) to be exact. The manual also states the minimum thickness as 1.0mm(0.039in.). I truly wish you would hold these dealers accountable for there actions so that it is not an accepted practice to stretch the truth.

 

This is according to the good Lexus dealership in Colorado: The RX300 OEM front pad is 12 mm and the rear is 11 mm.

Back at 42K miles, I had warped rotors (a bad batch of '01-'02). This good dealership replaced the front rotors under warranty. They also put in new front pads, though not required. The service order showed the actual measurement vs. the original pad thickness for both front and rear brakes.

I went to the other dealership for my 90K because it's conveniently located on my way to work. (Same price compared to the good dealership.) I don't think that I will go there again.