shoebopper

Had one of those unspeakable events happen last week...at 55K, the inside brake pad on the right front wheel fell off and became trapped between the dust shield and rotor. It had actually debonded, and appeared to have been that way before it dropped away. Made a heck of a racket initially, but I was able to get home.

After disassembly, I had a pad on the drivers side fall apart. From what I could tell, these were OEM, and, at 55K, looked as though they could go another 30K at least. Mildly disappointed, to say the least.

I thought the passenger rotor was probably damaged, so I went to RockAuto and ordered a set of Raybestos Advanced Tech pads and rotors, based upon the fact the RX is made in Canada. I have used this product before.

Simple straight-up replacement of parts (thanks to mandyfig) and a little cleaning required. Reassemble and put wheels on and nothing moves, as in locked up tight.

Disassemble and discover that the new rotors, although the right part for a Canadien built RX330 (according to Raybestos), don't fit exactly right. Apparently, the new rotor fit about 1/8 to 3/16 closer to the hub than the OEM rotor did, thereby contacting the dust shield and the caliper bracket mounting points. This marred the surface of these new rotors enough to render them unusable. That's $150 down the flusher.

I have sent an inquiry to Lexus about whether a production change took place and Canada parts were replaced with Japan parts. Why these would be different in the first place is beyond me. If there was a change, I am going to let RockAuto and Raybestos know about it so someone else doesn't have the same thing happen. Raybestos has separate part numbers for Japan vs. Canada built RX's.

I have also communicated my disappointment to Lexus in the OEM pads for debonding and creating a driving hazard. I saw evidence that these pads had probably debonded several weeks ago, but had basically stayed in place. Very dangerous. I'll keep them and take them to the dealer when I get the recall taken care of for the master cylinder.

Has anyone experienced this type of part issue? What was the outcome?

shoebopper

Here's an update to this saga.

After many e-mails were traded with RockAuto, in which they sought info from me, and then communicated that to Raybestos, it was determined that the wrong rotors were placed in the box at the factory. Apparently, the casting number we supplied did not agree to the technical specs provided by Raybestos.

Stuff happens.

Many thanks to RockAuto. They are going to take back the damaged rotors and ship out new ones. And I bet I check these thoroughly first!

diverchris

Thanks for the post and I sympathize with getting the wrong parts. I was curious what rotors you purchased from Raybestos. Are the rotors the new, slotted rotors? Also what pads will you be using if you receive the correct rotors?
Thanks in advance,
Chris

shoebopper

I bought the Advanced Technology rotors and brake pads. I used them on my 2000 Tundra and liked them. They are not drilled or slotted.

As a side note, I received a response from Lexus USA regarding my brake pad failure. Essentially, they said "too bad." Then lectured me on not using "genuine Lexus parts" and potentially voiding my warranty. Strange, I believe my warranty had already run out anyway. I'll take it up with a dealer next month. At least it will be a human being I can converse with one-on-one.

At least RockAuto has been a stand-up group to work with. They have shipped out a new set of rotors...I think I should get them on Friday, about the time they get the other ones back.

diverchris

Thanks for the information
Chris

shoebopper

I received my new rotors from RockAuto last Saturday. I am now going to go ahead and replace the pads on the rear as well. Plan to do that sometime this weekend. I'm going with the same brand pads for the rear. Not replacing these rotors, as they look fine. I'll probably have them turned next week at the shop next to where I work just to true them up a bit.


***UPDATE***
Well, one things leads to another and something happens and nothing gets done. So it was with this project...winter came and time ran out and the excuses were plentiful! However, I did get this done over the 4th of July weekend...and to my utter amazement, the second set of rotors didn't fit! It seems as though Raybestos has info that says the Canadian made version should have a different rotor than the Japan made version...I don't know but other rotor manufacturers (i.e., Centric) only show 1 rotor application. Notwithstanding this little bit of a problem, I found myself having to obtain a set of rotors locally from a friend's supply shop...don't really know whose these were, but they fit!

Put everything together front and back and had a horrible squealing from the front right wheel, resulting in a tear down (afraid I had ruined another rotor), only to find no apparent problem. A little more lube on the clips and put it all back together. Couple hundred miles later and all works good. Who knows what the problem was.

On a side note, I did replace the back pads, not the rotors, and noted the pads were all but gone at a bit over 61K. Feels much better now.

I think I have figured out that the pad failure originally noted above that got all this started wasn't from an OE pad...but a super el-cheapo from the dealership that sold me the vehicle. Too much pad left compared to the rear pads. Why didn't they change the rear pads as well? Who knows. But I am glad they didn't.

Next up - recall work for the master cylinder and floor mats. At least I should get fresh fluid!