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2015 Prius V 100k miles, first front brake replacement

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by fixitman, Jun 1, 2024.

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  1. fixitman

    fixitman Junior Member

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    My dealer started nudging about front brakes *way* before they were necessary. It has lived its life in the northern tier if states, so no stranger to salt. I'm interested in feedback about the longevity of the rotors in the salty north, and of the calipers. I discovered that Toyota can supply the dealers with caliper rebuild kits. I wonder how often they get rebuilt, rather than replaced. Do rebuilds ever happen? Is it normal for calipers to last 150k or more? If not, i will lean toward replacing them.

    Thanks in advance to any wisdom you can pass along!
     
    #1 fixitman, Jun 1, 2024
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Toyota USA recommends a more in-depth brake inspection (compared to the usual "viusal" inspection, every 30K miles or tri-yearly, whichever comes first (in the Warranty and Maintenance Booklet). Have you been keeping up with those?
     
    #2 Mendel Leisk, Jun 1, 2024
  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    My southern experience won’t help much but rotors, pads and calipers can last more than 300,000 on a Prius v.
    My car was in for a brake fluid flush yesterday and the factory front pads had 6 mm on the scale along with original four rotors, calipers and rear parking shoes.

    With that said the brake booster went out years ago.
     
    #3 rjparker, Jun 1, 2024
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2024
  4. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Northern driving with salt in winter mandates checking and lubricating the slider pins. That said, the pads should last a very long time. We are at twelve years and 60,000 miles, even wear, with lots of meat left on the pads.
     
    #4 Air_Boss, Jun 1, 2024
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  5. fixitman

    fixitman Junior Member

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    #5 fixitman, Jun 1, 2024
  6. fixitman

    fixitman Junior Member

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    I bought it from a Toyota dealer as a Certified Used Car. I don't remember discussing that particular inspection, but it was supposed to be a part of the extended service plan. When I
    I bought the car, with 26k on it, as a Certified Used Car, from a Toyota dealer. I followed the service plan I was given with the, car at the time. All inspections were supposed to be free, as were oil changes. I don't remember having specific discussions about those particular inspections, but they may well have happened. All the entreaties I had from them centered around "worn brake pads". In fact, at 60k, during a month when was away from home, the dealer told my better half that the *rear* brake pads were worn. She called me up and asked whether to go ahead with the work. I told her,"yes, and be sure to get the removed parts." Which she did. When I looked at them, it was clear that there was a lot of life left in those pads. I worked as a foreign car mechanic for the entire decade of the 70's. Those pads were replaced prematurely. And they were trying to run the same scam again. My maintenance contract has run its course. I have no intention to go back to that dealer. I will do the work myself, or use an independent garage.
     
    #6 fixitman, Jun 1, 2024
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  7. fixitman

    fixitman Junior Member

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    Thanks for sharing your helpful experience, RJ.
     
    #7 fixitman, Jun 1, 2024
  8. fixitman

    fixitman Junior Member

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    Thanks for sharing your experience, Boss. Helpful.
     
    #8 fixitman, Jun 1, 2024
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  9. vand8

    vand8 Junior Member

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    I think it depends. I do a fair amount of around town driving, and occasional highway driving. The first few years I owned my Prius v I tried to go easy on braking to allow the regenerative braking do most of the work for better fuel economy while having no real effect on travel time. Well, it backfired. After 3 years and about 30k miles I had significant rust issues on my rotors and they had to be replaced (checked the calipers they worked just fine), blowing away any gas savings I may have seen. I live in upstate NY where we see a fair amount of salt usage (varies by year though), and my work place uses a LOT of salt in the parking lots.

    Since then, I brake much heavier to ensure the actual pads/rotors are getting a workout and to keep the rust from forming and eating into the rotors.
     
    #9 vand8, Jun 3, 2024
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    We've got just over 100K kms (say 63K miles) on our 2010, and the front pads are are around 6 mm remaining. Once they get down to around 3mm I get motivated to replace them. Spec says they're ok to 1mm, but my feeling is that's too low for comfort, at least for me.
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Jun 3, 2024
  11. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    You can knock the rust off rotors with a few light stabs. No need to constantly drive it and brake like you stole it, unless that's your thing.
     
    #11 Air_Boss, Jun 3, 2024
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