Fight with Monro Muffler or just learn a $200 lesson?

If this is the lifetime replacement deal, I'd try to get Monro to replace the pads. If not, walk away and learn your lesson. Brake pad replacement is one of the easiest to do, maybe even easier than an oil change. Spend $200 and get OEM next time and do the job yourself. Plus, you get a good feeling from doing the work yourself.

 

Yeah I would just carry on. Get OEM pads from dealership parts department. Pads and shims are something like $100, in the 'States?

Something like Permatex Anti-Seize compound is good, applied thinly between pad backs and shims, and caliper contact points. Lube the caliper pins too, Sil-Glyde brake lubricant is a product that'll work, or the parts dept may have the Toyota caliper pin grease.

To push back the piston, say with a C-clamp, put an old pad or some plywood across the piston face: it may be plastic (gen 3 is, not sure about gen 2), might crack if you just apply point load.

Disconnect negative battery cable at the outset, and when done pressurize the brake pedal multiple times before reconnecting.

 

I wouldn't be surprised they didn't do anything and just have you back your car. Charged you the total for work never done. Maybe you can see if it's oem Toyota parts on there?

 

I think there would be some sort of part identification number stamped somewhere on the rotor, either on the outside or the inside. If you had them replaced in October, I'm not sure if 1 winter would make those look really old? I live in CA and our weather here is so mild that after 10 years, my rotors still look really good.

 

It's looking like Prius owners are forced to use OEM parts such as break pads, KYB Struts, coolant and other maintenance items. The 3rd party parts seems to have very low margins for re-sellers and Chinese parts foundries don't make it easy for quality situation.

 

Brakes are once in a lifetime for me to replace as they last more than 150k miles. I'll gladly spend for oem parts if I only have to replace once

 

Its always wise to document and take pictures before taking something to a shop. Then you will know if the job was actually done. I simply don't trust stealer ships these days as a lot of them are just parts throwers which is why I became my own Technician as a DIYer. For brake pads I recommend Akebono. They are made of very high quality materials and don't make noises. In fact Akebono brakes widely used by major OEM.

 

My first rotor and pad change was at 183,000. Now I'm using the cheapest ebay rotors(drilled and slotted), I hated the brake dust that came from the eBay pads that came with the rotors, so I bought black ceramic pads from AutoZone and I'm very happy with how much cleaner my front wheels look. These items a have been on my vehicle well over 100,000 miles. I'm at 317,000 miles now.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Yeah front disc brakes are straightforward. If you done them on other vehicles it's pretty much the same, just be mindful of the battery disconnect, and when you're done, do the brake pedal tromp before reconnecting battery. What you want to avoid:

1. The piston popping out while the caliper's off the car, when the system decides to pressurize. Usually triggered by opening driver's door on 2nd gen too?

2. The system detecting excess brake pedal travel when you're done.

The caliper slide pins you pop out, clean, lube with Sil-Glyde or similar. When reinstalling clean and apply light amount of Sil-Glyde to the boots.

Push the piston back in fully with C-clamp or similar, and again, put some sorta shim, plywood or whatever, so that you're putting pressure on the whole rim. Inspect the rubber boot around the piston, apply a light amount of Sil-Glyde into the folds, run it around with a slim blade screwdriver.

The pads and shims: lay them out, then as you assemble each shim, put a thin coating of Anti-seize on the inside of the shim, then install. Also apply anti-seize (again very sparingly) to the caliper piston rim, and the caliper fingers (for want of a better word) where they contact the pad back.

Goes without saying, clean everything as you go, as much as possible, before applying fresh lube. And keep greasy fingers of the rotor and the pad working surface.

FWIW, the caliper mounting bolts (they screw into the caliper pins) are torque spec: 25 ft/lb.

 

Those rotors look ALOT older than 9 months. I cant see all that pitting corrosion being possible after just 9 months. They look like the cars original rotors.

 

A couple of toys worth getting, for rotor inspection: a dial indicator (with magnetic base) and a micrometer (say 0-25 mm range). This attachment describes rotor check on 3rd gen, might be similar enough to be applicable on 2nd gen.

Still: was there any issue with the rotors, the originals?? If they're above spec'd mininum thickness, not pulsing or anything, there's really no reason to replace them.

 

Sounds like the aftermarket pad is not fitting correctly or the hardware bits underlined in the diagram below was not installed correctly. They are known to pop off when removing pads.

 

As well as checking that the No 1 & 2 Front Disc Brake Pad Support Plates are installed correctly in the calliper frame, they should have a light film of Toyota Brake Caliper Grease* (part # 08887-80609) applied, as well as a light film on the fingers of the brake pad that sits in them at the touch points.

* Toyota Brake Caliper Grease is a grease that is white and has the consistency of thick toothpaste that tolerates high temperatures. The only information on the enclosed info sheet is that the grease contains silicone oil and PTFE. It is quite different in appearance from copper grease and the like.