UK '07 Prius, 32K miles, Squeaking Brakes - Intermediate or Full Service?

I believe resurfacing the disc will solve your problem. It shouldn't need replacement

SM-N900P ?

 

Normally, any reasonable mechanic would be able to do this. However in the case of the Prius, it is necessary to disconnect the 12V battery first to avoid having the skid control ECU log DTC. So if you are going to have a non-Toyota dealer shop work on this, ask them to be sure to disconnect the battery before they start this work.

 

Rust on a low mileage Prius is a common problem in the UK . A full service brake shop might be able to resurface the disks.

 

The others are right, I bought my Gen2 from Scotland with only 57k miles and all discs and pads had been changed by the garage prior to putting on forecourt.

Maybe purchase genuine discs and get an Indy mechanic to fit them. I would do them myself, but I am nt sure hw handy you are.

 

Yes. they should be able to resurface the disks.

 

If you have a search on Ebay you will find you can buy new front and rear discs at very good prices.
If your discs have a lip they will need skimming to below that level on both sides of the disc. The minimum thickness for the discs is 19 mm and they are only 22 mm thick to start with. So skimming close to 19 mm gives you no safety ware margin and the discs will ware out below the limit and you will the have to replace them again anyway. Discs below the limit will fail the MOT.

Any mechanic will be able to fit the new discs as there is nothing special about them other than the 12 volt battery must be disconnected before changing. I bought front discs at £30 for the pair and rears at £16 for the pair both sets branded British makes that seem to be more rust resistant than the OEM Toyota.
Make sure if you go this route that the discs are 5 stud for the gen2 Prius and not 4 stud for gen1 Prius. Also read the add carefully as a number of sellers give the price for one disc making it look a good deal hiding the fact deep somewhere in the add, when you think your buying two discs.
See Ebay item number 330920650085 Prius front discs £15 each £30 pair delivered $45 US

John (Britprius)

 

A further point. If you have the discs skimmed you will also need to replace the pads or alternatively if there is sufficient life left in them they also will need resurfacing to make them flat and bed in to the resurfaced discs.
Not doing this will case the discs to rust as the pads will only contact the discs on the high spots.
The Prius uses the discs so little they will take an age to bed in. While they are bedding in emergency braking will be severely compromised. Normal braking will appear ok as this is done by regeneration.
If you check on Toyota's web site and look at the difference between the intermediate service and the full service you will find the difference is a load of safety checks that are all covered in much greater depth in an MOT.
I only ever have the intermediate service at 10,000 mile intervals that for me coincides with one year. I have the MOT done first then the service. This gives me a full set of stamps in the book. All other work I do myself.
Also note that in the intermediate service according to Toyota the wheels should be removed.
Finally any mechanic should be able to replace both discs in an hour. Once the wheels are off there is only two bolts holding on the caliper and once removed the discs just pull off.

John (Britprius)

 

If they're squealing then it was known in my old trade as 'taxi brakes'. You'll have over heated them, probably because the discs are rusty or worn out.

Get them replaced. You can't really use the pads again by the sound of it. There's no point skimming the discs for the reasons given about but also because it's almost as expensive as putting new discs on instead.

A rough guide to prices via a main dealer;

Pads £100 for the front or rear
Discs about £150 fitted front.

Or £250 total.

Sure you can get them fitted cheaper but just make sure they know what they're doing with Prius brakes.

 

GC front discs and pads on gen2 at dealer "Toyota fixed price" is £220. Rears are £210. Now that's what I call expensive. Bearing in mind if your changing pads the discs only take another
5 minutes maximum "to get them out of the box" to change.

John (Britprius)

 

I was giving a worse case. £500 aint that bad all done for peace of mind.

 

I agree your price was just about spot on, but the work involved and parts should really be half that. In my opinion there is absolutely nothing special about the Toyota OEM discs. In fact I would go so far as to say they are poor compared with the NBD discs I fitted 30,000 miles ago. These seem to have mirrored up and show no signs of ware, rusting, or grooving like the OEM's did.

John (Britprius)