I DIYd my brakes for the first time two months ago. I'm seeing a wear pattern that looks abnormal to me. My mechanic took it apart and only remarked that the pads had heat spots. Performance seems normal but I've just never seen this before. It's similar on both sides.

 

Did you clean and grease the caliper slide pins when replacing the brake pads? If not, then the calipers may be sticking and causing the uneven pad pressure against the rotor.
If unsure how to clean and grease the slide pins do a youtube search as they are the same on almost all Toyota-Lexus vehicles (and other manufacturers that use floating calipers).

 

^^ What he said. Properly-sliding caliper pins will usually put an end to those relatively uneven wear patterns on the rotors.

 

Yes, I did. Took all 4 pins out of the boot, wiped them down and applied new grease.

 

What brand and part number of new brake pads did you install? Front brakes only, rear brakes only, or new pads on all four wheels?

 

Maybe it is time to bleed and flush the brake fluid. It should be done every few years as it attracts moisture leading to internal corrosion of brake components.

 

Yes, admittedly I did skip that step. Do you have a good reference for how to do that yourself?

 

What you see could be just staining based on pad to rotor contact when the vehicle is parked.
Run the back of your nail and sense if it is surface stain ... you can take steel wool and polish it off too.

If you have never done a brake bleeding, it is not something you do on your own the first time. There are plenty of videos on the net, but I recommend getting help from some one who has done this before. Without certain equipment it is a two person job. Since you are asking for directions/pointers let me emphasize that if air is introduced in the system, you will need to call in a mobile mechanic.

Salim

 

Even though it may be a good idea to do a brake fluid exchange, that has nothing to do with the issue you presented. I have no idea why that was even brought up.

 

I don't know why I mentioned bleeding either except I couldn't think of anything else at the time except that it may be marks from the old brake pads. That as suggested he could try cleaning up the rotor with steel wool etc.
I doubt the visible pattern will affect braking performance.
The next question to ask is did the OP perform a bedding in procedure on the new pads? Some brake pad companies advise to do it and provide instructions, others say nothing. Thus a person new to installing brake pads may be unaware of this final step. Again you can Google how to do it or look for youtube videos. Or check the package your new pads were in.

 

Yeah, I bed them. Multiple stops at varying speeds in quick succession without enabling abs. Could smell them afterward which maybe how they developed heat spots? They are OE+ brand from Canadian Tire.

Thanks for the advice guys. I think the cleaning of the caliper assembly could be improved next time as my wire brush wasn't small enough to get into every corner.

 

Here's the problem. It's not multiple STOPS in succession, it's multiple extreme brake applications to the point of almost stopping.
My guess is the actual stopping and hard pressure on the squealing hot pad/rotor deposited pad material unevenly during bedding.
It probably still is fine though. This may lead to premature "warping" which everyone still calls warping and produces that sensation, but apparently it's usually not warping.

 

guys, if you read his first post, you will see that he said every thing is normal as to performance. His only concern is the looks of the rotor. It is highly unlikely that the pattern on the rotor will have any effect on the performance down the road. (so to speak)

 

That may be, but I understand his wanting to know the reason(s) for what looks to be abnormal rotor wear.

 

I would just run them for a while. I ordered some Advics front pads for the front of my 2015 today. 71,000 miles and first change. pads only have 1/8 inch left.