Brake life question

You should be getting close. I replaced the pads on my 2006 Prius at 132K miles.

 

Pad thickness is not the only factor. The disk brake caliper pins should be relubed every so often. Both disk or drum brakes should be opened up, inspected, every so often. It is outlined in the Maintenance Schedule.

Thickness check of the disk brakes is something you can even do yourself: take off a wheel, and looking through the opening in the shoulder of the caliper you can see an edge-on view of both pads. The pad has a backing plate which is (obviously) not part of the thickness measurement. Anything under 3 mm remaining thickness I'd get them changed.

 

If you go to the dealer, insist on seeing the front pads and rear shoes, so you can measure yourself; keeping them honest. Useful to get a caliper gauge like this to measure the pads, shoes, and rotor. LINK Harbor Freight. Link Amazon.

Front Pad Thickness: NEW = 11.0mm. Minimum thickness (essentially CHANGE at by this mark) = 1.0mm.
Rear shoe Thickness: NEW = 4.0mm. Minimum thickness (essentially CHANGE at by this mark) = 1.0mm


Don't forget the rotors/drums. If these fall below minimum thickness, get warped (rotor), or get out of round (drum), you'll need to change it out (recommended to do in pairs). It is also best to get new pads (if the front rotors need to be changed) or new shoes (if the rear drums need to be changed). Why new pads/shoes if only the rotor or drum requires replacement? You will start with 100% NEW braking surfaces.

Front disc rotor Thickness: NEW = 22.0mm. Minimum thickness (essentially CHANGE at by this mark) = 20.0mm
Rear drum diameter: NEW inside diameter = 200.0mm. Maximum inside diameter (essentially CHANGE at by this mark) = 201.0mm
This is a useful tool for drum rotor diameter. LINK

I am still on original pads(8mm)/shoes(2.xmm), and discs(21mm)/rotors(200.5mm) at 127K miles. Amazed at how LONG they last b/c of the regenerative braking system.

 

I just done 160k oil and filter change along with tire rotation. I inspected the disk pad thickness, have about 4 mm remaining. This is a 2011 and a lot of road miles. I think this will be the last oil change I do and the brakes will run another 10k. We may be ready for the gen 4 at end of year, the brakes will make it that much longer, and i should not have 10 k on them by end of year. They usually start offering the incentives starting in October, I will be looking for the internet deals. I drove the Prius today after oil change, to make sure there were no leaks. The car is still getting mpg as when new, drives and rides just as smooth. I do not add oil in between oil changes. There has been nothing done to this car since new except for air and cabin filters. We have had to occasional replace low beam bulbs.

 

I agree with many of the comments above. I have a 2005 generation 2 Prius with 217,000 miles and am still on the original brakes. A lot can depend on where you drive. I am in a rural area. When I have had the brakes inspected they recommend replacement, but the measurements have still been above the minimum limits. I am sure they will have to be replaced before too long, but it may not be an issue if I purchase a 2016 Prius to replace the 2005.

 

Are you even checking the oil level periodically? If no, I bet $ that between oil changes, your car is burning oil, which you don't know about since you never check the level.

If you do check, and claim that the level is near the top dimple mark, on the dip stick, you will be the one exception of not burning oil.

 

Yes I check oil and its not burning oil, I do not add oil nor does it need oil between changes. I have always checked oil levels, has never been a need to add oil. It is always slightly below full level. The car is rarely drove over the speed limit. I guess we got a good one. On my 2015, didn't have to add oil to it nor was its down over 1/2 pint, hoping I got another good one in it, got almost 12 k on it now, changed oil and filter at 10k, mobil full synthetic 0-20. I did it myself, know that it got done@mjustice, is your Prius burning oil at 217k?

 

You are the one exception.

Everyone else here, with a high mileage Prius (close to or over 100K miles) is aware of the car burning oil, myself included.

 

Amazing coincidence there Gary.

My Gen2 is about the same mileage (166k miles) and just yesterday I did the exact same thing - oil change and tire rotation with a quick front brake pad check. Interestingly I got the very same figure of 4mm remaining. Mine is a 2004 build (sold Feb 2005) BTW, and those are still the original pads!

BTW. You're going really well to still be using so little oil at that mileage. Mine uses just under 100mL per 1000km (about 1.3L per 10k miles), so it requires a small amount of "topping off". But it's not really a problem and it still runs just fine.

 

just did my 2015 a couple weeks ago, didn't top off oil in it either, was almost full. I didn't realize there was a problem with gen 3 using oil. I read where it was a minority of owners reporting oil usage.

 

ya, i don't know where that statement came from. it's mostly 2010's with high mileage burning oil, and at that, we don't know what percentage.