New Rotors at 45k??

I think we can assume that rotor rusting is more time and environment related than due to miles. I have never gotten close to rotors rusting through. What happens is surface rust encroaches from the inner diameter of the braking surface and causes uneven pad wear and a reduction of pad to disc friction. Rotor thickness doesn't really play a part (even if rotors were available in different thicknesses).
I suspect that if you drive your car regularly your rotors will last 5 - 7 years minimum. That may be 50,000 miles or it may be 250,000 miles.
If you live in a southern state they'll probably last longer than that.

 

What would it take to convince you you are wrong?

I did the brake on my car 2 days ago and have put 158 miles on it since no lights etc. Have you ever done a set of brakes? Changing brake pads and disc does not require you to bleed the system.

Please enlighten me with how the abrasive stopping component on a Prius is so different than a 1986 Mustang? Ask yourself if a guy tells you he "heard" something and another guy says he's "done" something. Who would you believe?

 

I was referring to not knowing the sex of the poster, not if another female can change brakes or not. I personally don't know any women who know how to or even care to change there own brakes, besides myself of course.

 

Dad showed me quite a bit of 1930-50's tractor mechanics, but nothing on 'modern' (1970s) cars. So it would help me to have any of several women I know who do this on their own cars to show me how.

 

Point 1 certainly not you.
Point 2 yes I have and read my post again and tell me where I said you need to bleed the system to change discs or pads.
Point 3 the abrasive stopping component have not changed greatly apart from the use of asbestos "not sure when this was made illegal" , but the hydraulics are a whole different ball game. See hydraulic circuit below and tell me it does not differ from the Mustang.
If you do not disconnect the battery on the Prius, or alternatively pull the two blue relays in the fuse box you run a strong risk of the brake actuator pump running, and pushing out front calliper pistons or rear shoe pistons if drum is removed. This pump can start at any time even with the car locked and the fob away from the car, opening the drivers door is a sure way of setting it off.
Point4 I have experienced at first hand this happening to a friend who like you thought it the same job as any other car and yes he popped out a rear calliper piston then found he could not bleed the brakes.
Fortunately I have the Toyota software and was able to help him bleed the brakes, a two man job. See PDF on how to bleed brakes.
RTFM

 

at least you drive on the "correct" side of the road, unlike our good friend from across the pond

 

Aarona I was not having a dig at you but trying to point out to Cory151 that things move on, remember the Prius has regen braking above 7MPH but has to transition from this to hydraulic brakes below that and smoothly at speed if it detects wheel slip on any wheel.
Further it is capable of applying the brakes on any wheel or combination of wheels without you touching the brakes if the electronic stability control computer detects a problem when swerving or cornering, add to that the ABS, and you begin to see the complexity of the system.
The discs and pads may be changed in the normal manor if precautions are taken but even then an error code can be generated according to the manual. I have not had this happen but the possibility exists.

John.

 

aaron, there are some people here who are extremely knowledgeable about the prius (not me though), as well as some off duty toyota technicians. Showing some respect and humility will go a long way in assuring these experts will want to help you maintain your car when you have questions.

When Brit, Seilerts or Patrick advise you to do something, I advise you to heed their advice; you, your car and your wallet will all benefit in the long run.

And no the Prius is not a normal car, there is no alternator, the 12V battery is in the hatch, you cannot rock the Prius out of snow when you are stuck, there is a giant inverter next to the engine, you shouldn't jump start other cars, and good luck filling the transaxle after you've drained it w/o this forum . . . just to name a few differences.

 

Yes, there is no regeneration in Neutral, and thus the only way of stopping is through the friction brakes. One should never drive in Neutral. If previous owners did that a lot it could explain the worn pads. Large amounts of low-speed driving would also explain it becasue there is no regeneration under 7 MPH. Taxi drivers for example sometimes report faster-than-usual pad wear.

This is not inconsistent with rust on the rotors because in normal use they can get a visible coating in mere days. In this scenario the previous owners ground away the pads, and now you, driving sensibly and correctly, have needed the friction brakes very little, which allowed a harmless coating of rust to develop. A couple of hard stops will wipe that away.

By the way, heed the advice above about brake work on a Prius. There are dangerous pitfalls in it such as ejecting calipers and tricky bleeding. Don't assume you can safely tackle it blind no matter how many conventional brake jobs you have done. Read the manual first.

 

Hey Brit,
I really appreciate the insight you gave us on the brakes. I learned something new today!!!!

 

Yes that is the best way. A long downhill run in neutral applying the brakes if you have one near you or going to 50 mph and doing a number of quick stops, but do not go much over 50mph and into neutral as this could over speed MG1 (motor/generator) and damage it. Another Prius quirk, this can only happen in neutral.

 

So it's not clear to me if the pads are worn out or not. Most pads these days have noise makers on them that signal that there is only a minimal amount of material left. If that doesn't work, the sound of metal on metal will certainly get your attention.

If the brakes work OK, I don't see any reason to service them. If the pads are visually too thin, then it makes sense to replace them. If the car pulls to one side or chatters when you put on the brakes, then the rotors at least need resurfacing. Short of a problem, this just smells like a con job.

 

A lot of times, there's only one pad on an axle or or one pad per caliper with the noisemaker on it. If the pads wear unevenly (for example, if the hidden side of the rotor is rough with rust) you can wear down one pad without the noisemaker pad being the wiser. As for pulling and chattering, I really haven't seen that from rust buildup. Just higher pedal forces to stop.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, environment plays a big part. I notice that California and Texas seem to make up a big part of the PriusChat community (more than proportionately to their respective census counts). It may be difficult for you folks to believe the effect of road salt on everything under the car. PBBlaster is my number one tool for brake and suspension work.

 

Does it imply that one should do this? No. New pads don't need to be de-glazed. I never bother, and have never had any problem.

New pads = 11mm. Must replace at 1mm (2mm is prudent). If you have more than 2mm of pad left they do not need to be replaced.

 

There are noise makers on the Prius set at about 1mm, but there is only one fitted on each side at the front making it possible with a sticky calliper to wear the other pad down to the metal. The rears (UK version gen2 with discs) have noise makers on all four pads.