Murphy5156

All,

I'm at the end of my rope here. I have a 2008 IS-250 RWD. Took it to a Lexus specialty shop about 6 weeks ago (not a Lexus dealership) to have the front brakes done.

Shortly thereafter I noticed a rubbing/groaning sound during the last 10-20 feet before coming to a complete stop, when there is light pressure on the brakes. If the pedal is pushed hard there's no rubbing sound.

I took it back to the shop. They replaced the first set of pads with a different brand. Sounded ok when I drove away from the shop, but it wasn't long before the rubbing/grinding sound was back.

Took is back to the shop. This time they decided to turn the rotors even though they were brand new when they did the original work a few weeks earlier. By now you can guess what happened. Sounded OK when I drove away, but sure enough within a day or two the sound was back.

Took it back a fourth time. This time they ordered all new shims and pads directly from Lexus to ensure they were using the same parts the dealer would use. They cleaned and lubricated every part of the caliper that they could think of. For the first few days I thought they had finally fixed it, but today the rubbing/grinding has returned,

I should mention that the sound is not constant...it's more of a rub.....rub......rub.....rub. And, the slower the car is gong the slower the frequency of the rubbing/groaning.

I know there's a TSB for squeaking/squealing brakes, but I wouldn't call this noise squealing.

Does anyone have ANY idea what the issue could be? The shop has literally done everything they can think of and yet the sound is still there. It's totally annoying to come to a stop and have the car sound like I'm driving a 30-year old truck.

Thanks!!

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Did you bed-in the pads properly after any new pads were installed or after the rotors were installed?

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-su...ake-pad-bed-in

Murphy5156

Yes, I've performed the bedding procedure several times...hasn't really had an affect on the grinding /moaning sound I'm experiencing.

I'm completely stumped...short of having a different garage do the brakes all over again (and of course paying them to do so) I'm not sure what to do.

Murphy5156

UPDATE:
I took my car into a local Toyota dealership this morning (they are closer than my Lexus dealer and frankly I figured any work they needed to do would be cheaper than the Lexus dealer). They did a complete inspection of the front brakes and could find nothing wrong, The only thing they could point to was the fact that the shop that originally did my front brakes used after market pads and rotors rather than Lexus OEM parts. Their theory was that maybe by using OEM pads it would eliminate the noise. It's either that or just live with it.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Interesting. So did you pay Lexus to install new brake pads and assume they installed genuine OEM quality parts? Did you pay for OEM parts? Do you still have that invoice for the brake pad installation?

Murphy5156

Gville350,

No, that's the thing. The Lexus dealer wanted $550 for the front brakes, so I took it took a Lexus specialty shop that was about half the price. Clearly part of the reason they are that much cheaper is that they are using after market parts.

panda08

iTrader: (1)

so, with the cost of the brake job from the independent dealer and all the diagnosis fees from other shops i bet it wouldve been cheaper just to let lexus do the brakes in the first place?

Ive said it once in another thread and ill say it again here, we drive lexus'. if people dont want to pay for OEM parts theyre better off buying a kia or something. we're luxury cars, not beaters.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

The thing with shops like that is that you have to be very specific with what you want the shop to do to your car. If you dont specify, they'll do whatever makes them the most money...aka, putting inferior parts on the car.

SeanO

iTrader: (1)

I'm having the same problems with my front left brake.. squealing and squeaking/ rubbing when coming to a complete stop.. did you find any solution to the problem OP? My car was bought from a suzuki saab dealer and they did the brakes before i bought it.. the car was lexus serviced up until the day it was sold before that.. wondering if they used ****ty brake pads as well..

sgmbab

iTrader: (1)

Maybe you should try to rebuild the calipers. I had this problem with my rear caliper a few weeks ago. It was a slight grinding noise you could only hear at slow speed and gets drown out at higher speed.

SeanO

iTrader: (1)

Yeah i'm going to have a look today.. gotta be the weirdest noise I ever heard when i pull it apart it should be fairly evident as to whats makin the noise.. thanks

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Yes, good point. The rear caliper on the 2IS are known to seize up and cause uneven pad wear. The sliding pin over time actually rusts up solid, causing only half of the caliper to work as it should. I have a set of seized up rear calipers just sitting in the garage collecting dust. LOL!