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Brake Pads- Hard to believe!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Mike Mc, May 1, 2012.

  1. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    This weekend I replaced the front pads on the "06 Prius with helpful suggestions from seilerts and others and I successfully avoided any pitfalls. Everything went smoothly...thank you all!
    The car has 160K+ and has never had "any" brake work whatsoever done to it. Even the dealer has constantly said they were good. I did not want to chance it so I found the best ceramic replacement pads I could and put them on. My father who has done hundreds of brake jobs was lending me a hand. Neither he or I could believe the original pads when we took them off...just unbelievable! I have attached a pic. :rockon:
     

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  2. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    Oh,
    Should you decide to do your own brake job...i suggest leaving the hatchback open after disconnecting the battery terminal, and save your back.
     
  3. errantneuron

    errantneuron New Member

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    What is remarkable about those brake pads?
     
  4. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    That they have 6-7 mm of pad left and they have 160k on them.
     
  5. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Yep, regenerative braking is awesome isn't it. Mine are only about 20% worn (80% remaining) after 90000 miles.

    You could have just measured them instead of changing them, that's what I did. :D
     
  6. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    I ordered them at the same time I ordered pads for my truck because they were on sale and there was a $15 rebate on each set, which made the pads $11. It was hard to pass up.
     
  7. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Amazing!!!!!!!
     
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yep. Most people forget about that wear & tear item. Ours has 170,000km and still has over 50% life left.
     
  9. justlurkin

    justlurkin Señor Member

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    Reduced brake wear is one of the main reasons why I bought a Prius!

    That's because I was coming from a Land Rover Discovery II. That sucker costs $500 for changing a set of brake pads, and they last only 10,000 miles because it's such a heavy car. And every 20,000 miles requires rotor machining or replacement-- $1000.

    And I owned that car for 60,000 miles. That's $4500 on brakes alone. Unbefreakinlievable. :p
     
  10. SquallLHeart

    SquallLHeart The Techie Guy

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    yeah.. regen braking is pretty much why brake pads last so long...

    shoot... if you do nothing but regen braking... your pads can essentially last... um... well.. forever.
     
  11. cnschult

    cnschult Active Member

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    we've almost all learned that the hard way, and the Prius is so reliable you disconnect the battery so rarely that in 4 years time you'll make the same mistake again. i'm guilty of that.

    ceramic pads for $26? where? I bought wagner thermoquiet for my corolla and even with the best coupon it was still $33, I was expecting a $20 rebate but only got $10 from Federal ( I guess $20 was for 2 axles, not one.) My Prius started making noises when the rust climbed over to make contact with the pads, so I changed the rotors with cheap aftermarket ones then put sandpaper on blocks of wood to sand the pads smooth which allowed me to reuse the old pads w/o having to fear that they wouldn't make good contact with the new rotors.

    I hope fuel economy was the other main reason
     
  12. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    I got them from rockauto, I ordered them in early April and I just checked the site and the price is not the same but the rebate is still available until the end of May. The Raybestos premium ceramics are $31.79 and the Raybestos advanced ceramics are $37.79. Still after rebate $17 or $23 is still good for ceramic pads. I know people prefer brake parts from different manufacturers but Raybestos is what I grew up using with good success (street and racing) so I guess I will continue to do so.
    Part of the reason I had decided to do the brakes (other than my wife not getting stranded somewhere) was we had begun to hear squealing that sounded like the feelers/sensors hitting the rotors so I naturally assumed it was time. After replacing the pads I pulled the rear drums and found the likely source of the squeal...very dirty drums. The shoes had very little wear and I just gave them a thorough cleaning and inspection.
     
  13. sambojoho

    sambojoho Proud conservative

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    Just curious, why are you disconnecting the battery to change brake pads?
     
  14. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Because you do not want the brake actuator pump to power up while a caliper is removed, thus causing the caliper piston to shoot out of the caliper. If that happens you will need to have the car towed to a Toyota dealer to have the brake lines bled.
     
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  15. Jeff N

    Jeff N The answer is 0042

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    Speaking of brake fluid, did you replace it? I vaguely recall that Toyota doesn't recommend periodic replacement but does suggest replacing it during any brake maintenance. Lexus, Nissan, and probably some other brands suggest replacing brake fluid every 2-3 years.
     
  16. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Fwiw, I'm following Hobbit's advice to check the fluid with a stick, and leave well enough alone if it passes. I think the stick checks for water, but I am not sure.
     
  17. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    fyi Lexus does require it every 3/30k on your ct200H.
     
  18. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I'm afraid I am going to disappoint my Lexus dealership. Many times over.
     
  19. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    I did not change the brake fluid. I did note that they recommend changing it during brake service, but I kinda figure if the brakes didn't really need service then the fluid shouldn't. I will probably have it changed here in the near future, but the extra funds to hand over to Toyota just aren't there right now.
     
  20. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    In that case I would say that a brake fluid change is a very low-priority item. You could easily go 8 years/150K miles before starting to worry about that.