3rd set of brake pads at 80k?

Switch back to regular rotors and brake pads. The slotted rotors are for performance and will wear your brake pads down quicker than normal rotors due to the holes pressing against the brake pads and wearing them down.

The Toyota Prius brake pads don’t wear down like your conventional vehicle due to the regen. Brake system. My brake pads are still original since 2011-2012, so for the service writer to tell you that, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about and you should find another person more knowledgeable about the Toyota Prius.

If I were you, swap out your rotors and pads and go back to stock if you want it to last longer than 30k miles. My vehicles at 160k and pads still looking good. The last time I checked, it was barely on the half mark and it was at 110k miles or so.

 

what are the minimum thicknesses vs the 5 and 8m he quoted you?

dealers are notorious liars when it comes to brakes. since you have the qualifications, take a look yourself.

 

Rusted rotors WILL eat pads. But if you are driving the car, that surface rust is not a problem.
And brake wear will depend on how you brake. If you drive like an F1 driver does, they won't last long at all,
even on a Prius. I recently replaced my front pads, 138,745 miles. I put 22,xxx miles on them.
Rear still had about 1/2 the pad left so I didn't change them, yet.
How do you mean "unevenly worn"?
And they are very easy to change yourself.

 

I have 184 k miles on our 2010 with the original brake pads on every corner.

I lube the pins and perform an inspection every other year or so .

There is about 7mm on the fronts and at least 6mm on the rears. If they are wearing out fast particularly in the winter regions, check the slide pins if they are stuck.

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

New pad depth front is 10 mm and rear 9.5, and service limit is 1 mm. If I had them off and they were anything less than 4, I think I'd replace them, not worth the hassle of putting them back on. I think too: near-new, thicker pads, are going to absorb heat better, perform better.

@Liz M : Just my 2 cents: I never replaced rotors. One of the first things I bought way back when was a micrometer and dial indicator (with magnetic base). With those two items you can check the thickness and runout. It seems to me machining and/or replacement of rotors is way overdone. Maybe the rotor replacement was warranted, if they were severely rusted, but I'm sceptical.

My bugbear, for DIY 3rd gen rear brake jobs: were you aware of the need to reasemble with a specific piston face orientation? It should be like a letter X, like this:



There's a pin on the back of the inner pad that must lock solidly between the spokes on the piston face, top prevent it rotating when you apply the parking brake. If it manages to rotate and a spoke rides up on the pin, you'll get excessive/constant rear brake drag, uneven brake pad pressure on the the rotor, especially the inside face, beveled brake pad wear, hotdog fingers and possession by the devil.

I'm actually kidding, those last two...

A good check is to chock the front tires, raise the rear, and (with parking brake released) see that the wheels spin semi-freely, at least a revolution or two when you let go.

I'll attach info from the repair manual.

 

That's not normal, I'm on original pads at 160k. 5mm is nowhere near replacement, replace at 2mm.