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Prius V -- Rear Brakes Down to Metal at 66K Miles?

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Leroy105, May 29, 2018.

  1. Leroy105

    Leroy105 New Member

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    I've got a 2014 Prius V, with 66k miles. I would say it is an equal mix of highway and suburban driving.

    I was under the impression that I could go 100k miles with the OEM Toyota brake pads and rotors.

    My dealer who changes the oil did call out the rear pads at 60k, and I told him to pound sand. Guys were being totally honest!

    I was pulling out of work, and heard metal grinding on the rear brakes. I drove to the dealership and picked up some OEM Toytota rear pads. I put up the car to change the pads. I was shocked.

    WOW. The one pad was completely down to the metal at 66K. The other pad was pretty close (maybe 1.5mm left).

    I didn't pull apart the front pads, because I wanted to order them online and save whatever money I can. I am going to replace the fronts I guess this weekend (I ordered them from some dealer on Amazon).

    Have other folks seen that much wear to OEM rear brake pads on a Prius V?

    I didn't replace the rotors, and after a day of driving the rotors and pads seem to be okay and not making any noises or anything. I was assuming I'd replace the rotors at 120k now if the rear pads only go ~60k miles.

    Any Prius V owners see similar wear?

    Thanks,
     
  2. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Welcome to Prius Chat (y).

    Some questions:

    • Have you done a brake inspection in the past?
    • How often were the brakes checked?
    • Any history of slide pins being stuck?

    I’ve got 180 k miles on our 2010 with the original pads at ~7mm thickness remaining :).

    I check our slide pins frequently and ensure they are lubed up;).

    In an area woth winter conditions, keep an we on those pins and you’ll be good te next time. Keep us posted (y).
     
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  3. Leroy105

    Leroy105 New Member

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    I haven't wrenched on a car in 15 years, because we usually just lease or drive expensive sports cars (I haven't had the nerve to wrench on my 2014 Porsche Boxster S....) -- this Prius V is the dog car -- I traded in a Ford Expedition I bought from the forest police. Love the gas mileage. I live up in Chicago so definitely winter conditions on the caliper pins.

    This Prius V I am hoping to take to 200k miles, so I bought an electric impact wrench and some new jack stands, and did the brakes this go around. I'd bet I could do most easy front end stuff (struts, shocks, cv axle, ball joints) with Youtube and the forum here. I want to to at least babysit the brakes so I don't seize up the calipers.

    I've taken the car into the Toyota dealership for oil changes & tire rotations, so hopefully they inspected something. I'm the dealer coupon warrior for oil changes and tire rotations -- I'm not that much of a masochist to save $10 and have to dispose of a hot pan of oil.

    I haven't done any inspections myself. No history though of stuck slide pins -- is that a common issue with the Prius V?

    I was in a half-emergency with it being the holiday weekend, so I didn't go out and buy any caliper lube (or shim lube!). I needed the car for the weekend to drive my dogs around. The pins were freely moving around when I put the caliper back on, and the caliper pin boots looked fine.

    The caliper pins weren't seized, but you could definitely see pretty uneven pad wear on the other rear side. My guess would be like 2mm or 3mm of uneven wear on one side.

    I'm not driving this car like a taxi or just beating the crap out of the brakes.

    Out of curiosity, do you know what the Toyota OEM rotor starting and minimum thicknesses are? I am going to put a caliper to my front rotors and just measure them for giggles. I didn't replace the rear rotor/s because I didn't think it needs replacing, and I'd order it online in any case. No pulsing or something crazy going on there.

    Trust me, the $70 I paid for OEM rear pads vs. $40 on Amazon still stings. I was chuckling to myself, I told my mom who has a Prius C I'll do her brakes for her now that I bought the impact wrench. I went to Rock Auto and priced out the absolute bottom crap parts for a Prius brake job (ie. what you'd get at your local quickie-lube) -- $130 for all 4 pads and new rotors. Holy crap, I think that's like a $600 or $700 job around Chicago! My local Toyota dealer is offering $210/axle for new pads and turning rotors -- my guess is they get your car apart and strong arm you into new rotors which are $100/each at the dealership. I'm ready to open a brake shop.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it is an issue with all gen 3 prius in road salt areas, the rear brakes don't get enough use.
     
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  5. Leroy105

    Leroy105 New Member

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    Well, 60k isn't horrific for a $40/set of pads. I can live with that. Yes, you hear from folks in the south quoting off 100K miles on their brake pads! My sister has a 2012 Prius, my mom bought a 2014 C, I've got a 2014 Prius V. All of us have been told we needed brakes. I'll laugh if it is the rear for both my mom and sister.

    I ordered some 3M silicone lube that is caliper friendly, and some Permatex anti-seize for the shims -- since I'll do their brakes too. I'll at least just lube those pins for my own mental sanity -- lube is cheap, OEM calipers not so much...
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Third gen Prius specs are in the attachment, fwiw. Rear brakes on the v are a little different for sure: having incorporated drum brake for parking brake function.
     

    Attached Files:

  7. Leroy105

    Leroy105 New Member

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    Thank you sir!
     
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  8. magnumrtawd

    magnumrtawd Member

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    My 2010 was down to the wear indicators at 65000 also. Fronts were still 80%
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I was just putting on the snows today, and eyeballing the fronts, would say they're around 5 mm remaining. We're at 84K kms.

    Rears have more, maybe 7~8, but I needed to replace them some years back, screwed up the reassembly. :oops:
     
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  10. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Experience is the best teacher sometimes;).

    Sharing helps others not have to relive the experience:).

    Egr circuit cleanse is mine to share in a similar fashion (y).
     
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  11. Ronald Doles

    Ronald Doles Active Member

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    With the regenerative braking doing the lion's share of braking on the front's and 4 wheel braking on every stop, it stands to reason that the rear's will wear faster.

    If you run in EV mode you would probably see the biggest discrepancy between front and rear wear because the most regenerative braking is applied.

    This brake wear is still the reverse of any previous car that I have ever owned. I always replaced about 3 sets of front brakes to one set of rears.
     
    #11 Ronald Doles, Nov 2, 2019
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2019
  12. dyun1dyun1

    dyun1dyun1 Member

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    I think the pads thinkness is heavily dependent on how you drive. I have about 90k in two years and about 30% of my pads left. I’ll probably replace them when it gets warmer. I have started to notice a little vibration. My rotors looks good

    Anyway, 66k doesn’t sound bad to me.


    2017 Prius V Five | 2010 Volvo XC 90 3.2