i went to brakes plus to get my brakes looked at

Lexus quoted me about $700-$800 for it
Brakes Plus wants $1,000

they say I need rotors, brake pads, brake fluid flush and "hardware"

am I getting ripped off? Any suggestions? My pads are down to 1MM front / 2MM rear

so fast fixes would be great!

thanks

 

tell me how many miles. how many brake jobs have been done and type of area. ie like chicago or something u know what i mean tho

 

IMHO, yes. I just did my fronts for $124 (new front rotors/pads). The rears were fine. Lexas wanted $156 for each front rotor and $125 for pads, I didn't even ask what they charged for labor (I DIY'ed it). One of my stock Lexas rotor was warped, so it's not as if the Lexas rotors are better quality than aftermarket (Durastop are what I bought).

Your brakes are nothing special, you should be able to find a local independant mechanic that can do your fronts for less than $400.

 

but the problem going aftermarket they will throw away the anti squeel kit. and ive found that many of my customers who have aftermarket brake pads tend to squeek more. imo if u want to attempt to doing it ur self. get lexus pads and take ur rotors to a parts shop and have them cut it there. more than likly depending on how many brake jobs uve had done to the car u dont need new rotors

 

I used the anti-squeel pads from the worn out OEM pads, everything fit together, no squeels after a month and 1000 city miles. The Factory Service Manual says to re-use the pads, does Lexus ship replacement pads w/the anti-squeel pads installed?

Some people cut the rotors everytime they replace the pads. I'm in the camp that never cuts rotors, I've never had any issues getting new pads seat on uncut rotors, IMO cutting rotors removes good metal and lowers the rotor's life. If the rotor is warped (pulsing brakes) or too thin, I replace it.

BTW, one of my LEXUS OEM rotor was sooo warped it barely came off the wheel studs, had to really yank on the sucker. can you say potatoe chip? Even $150 OEM rotors will warp, my $42 durastops have a 1 year warrenty, Lexus rotors had nothing.

 

Check www.irontoad.com for idea on parts cost. Add $50 or so for shipping. Search this forum for many good ideas on replacing the brakes.

 

Hmm...this is an easy DIY...most likely your fronts need replacing. I bought some pads at O'reilly's..not sure if they're in colorado, for 40-50 bucks. Brake Best Premium ceramic, dustless and no squeaks yet. Basically jack up, remove wheel, use 12mm wrench to loosen one upper bolt, rotate caliper up, remove old pads, use a c-clamp to compress pistons, install new pads and put the spreader springs in, rotate caliper back over rotor, install bolt, install wheel and ready to roll....dont forget to test drive and do some hard stops to bed in the pads. Shouldnt take no more than an hour and all it costs you is the pads...i also never turn the rotors...have had no problems...most rotor warps come from using impact wrenches on your lug nuts. ALWAYS torque your lugnuts with a torque wrench.

EDIT Oh and by the way...1000 for a brake job...all they saw was a Lexus pull up and they went KACHING!!!! yeah, they're trying to screw you.

 

sad part is that lexus doesnt give u anti squeel kit. they are an extra 35(msrp) per set.
if u dont cut the rotors u actually wear out the pad and rotor faster. besides ur only cutting less than a 1/4 of a mm
in my experience i tried to get away with it. they came back and ya learned a lesson

 

isn't there a shim kit or something, or is that the anti squeel kit you speak of?

 

the shim kit is the 4 metal pieces that the pads ride on. the anti squeel kit goes behind the pads

 

so what are these? shims and anti squeel kit?

http://www.lexus-parts.com/partdetai...bCategoryID=52

 

ya those are it...btw ive seen those beeing sold for 35 a set not 60