Brake Rotors Replaced 0n 2005

First of all I hope you have a repudable place doing the work. Even if the rotors were corroeded I don't see why a light turning of the rotors wouldn't fix the problem. Some places just love to sell rotors. One time our Chevy venture needed brakes when i took it to our local tire store where I usually got my oil changes done. It had 52k on it and it was it's first brake job and it didn't wear out all the lining so the rotors weren't gouged or anything like that. Right away they said it needed new rotors. When I asked them why they couldn't turn the rotors they gave me a bunch of baloney so I told them to forget it and I would get it done elsewhere. I took it to the Chevy dealer i do business with. They said well the brakes could probably last for another year but even though it would pass as is they would put brakes on it if I wanted and the rotors were fine. turns out it cost me about half to have the brakes done at the Chevy dealer compared to what the tire store wanted.

 

Wth? $350 for rotors? Are they drilled/slotted gold platted? Rotors are like $40.

Unless there is something special about the ones on the prius that I dont know about.

 

aren't these just toyota echo rotors? They should cost 20 bucks each at the local parts store. You never use them anyway, take some sandpaper to them, shine them up and get reinspected.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(anj48 @ Jul 30 2007, 12:35 PM) [snapback]487470[/snapback]</div>

I had issues with rotors on my Honda Accord ('99). I believe I had to replace them at least twice, maybe three times. It was, in a word, ridiculous.

But back to your issue. I bring my Prius into the dealer for the regular servicing. I would expect that the service people, who are very meticulous in advising me of the my car's condition, would report a problem with the rotors since they see it every $100/5K miles. <_<

I would go ballistic if this was "sprung" on me at 47K miles. But then again, that's waaay better than my Honda ever did.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(anj48 @ Jul 30 2007, 01:50 PM) [snapback]487508[/snapback]</div>

After some checking it is not that bad, the rotors are 65 bucks each, $130, they have unsealed wheel bearings, so it is a major pain to change them, can anyone confirm that you have to swap and regrease the bearings? 295 is about right, they are going to charge about double for the parts then a parts store will. I would get a second opnion if you have the free time from someone that can see the condition they are in.

 

Chipping in as a non-Prii owner here:

Alot of shops don't like turning rotors. It's very simple:

If the rotor costs $40, and it costs $30 of labor to take off and machine, then they'd rather just give you a new rotor. Turned rotors don't tend to last as long (on normal cars, I can see this not being a problem on a Prius due to lack of use...). So alot of shops just don't want to turn them. Plus, with turning rotors you have a greater chance of brake vibration coming back to haunt the shop. Again, just easier to replace them.

No malice, just experience in their business.

On my wife's car, at 35k miles (Saturn Ion 5-spd) and 3 years of ownership, her rotors were actually cut fairly deep. The pads were pretty much worn down. I replaced them myself, no big deal. Why did they wear down so fast? Maybe the rotor material is too soft and the pad too hard; maybe they used a material in the pad that caused very little brake dust, and that grooved the rotor more...

Pennsylvania has some of the harshest roads in the country for corrosives. The long months of icy temperatures, with alot of fluctuations to above freezing, means constant use of Salt and Cinder, and it means those products are constantly dissolved in slush and then splattered on every inch of the car. They tend to eat non-stainless steel rustable metal pretty quickly.

For other prius owners, I'd say you need to do some 60-30 quick slow-downs, a few in a row, a couple times a week. That'll get your rotors nice and hot and help fight corrosion, as well as keep them working at their optimal.

Put another way: if your brakes are actually corroding, then in an emergency-stop they are obviously not at their peak. You should be braking regularly enough to get your braking components very hot.

Just my thoughts at least.

Joe

 

The brakes on a Prius have a 100k life expectancy, so my thought is the dealer needs a boat payment. Go else where, if the rotors have some corrosion on them just get up to about 60 mph (road must be clear) hit the brakes very hard to get the ABS working. This should clear the corrosion quite quickly. Or if you don't want to do that put the car up on some jack stands get some fine emory paper and sand them slightly, use some brake cleaner to get rid of the residue. Save you self a boat load of money.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FBear @ Jul 30 2007, 02:51 PM) [snapback]487545[/snapback]</div>

Didn't the OP mention that the corrosion was, according to the dealership, too deep for turning? The brakes might have a 100k expectancy on them, but that doesn't affect the life-altering effects of corrosion. If it's actually that deep, then no amount of sanding will take it out.

Also, OP, if it's that deep you should be able to look at the rotor (I guess with the wheel off) and see deep pitting on it. If you can see pitting, and you can get a pen-tip to "stick" on the pitting, then that's some hard-core corrosion you've got going on there.

For comparison, all new-car rotors will completely rust over about 1 hour after you hose them down (or in a downpour). In a few days of sitting, your brake pads will get "stuck" to your rotor from rust growing onto them.

I really don't know alot about how much Prii brake rotors are used, how hard, how often, etc...

but do you tend to let your car sit in damp conditions? Did you leave your car sit for a long time this past winter?

Alot of posters on this thread are knocking on the garage and saying they are probably full of it, which they might be. But no one is really commenting on what the garage said: They didn't say they wore out at 47k, they said they were too corroded.

That's a pretty significant difference. One you should be able to investigate yourself with a visual check. I assure you, all they did was look closely at them and maybe use a micrometer to measure their thickness (it's like a big caliper).

Joe

 

Car parked in a heated garage in winter? That plays havoc with corrosion. I think this winter I'm going to rinse off the wheels etc and underside each week when it's snowing. Only costs about $1 each time at the "self wash".

 

Salty PA winters are almost certainly the cause here. With the most road salt, Prius brakes need service on 'conventional car' intervals. At the other extreme, maybe on 100 to 300 k mile intervals.

Make sure that the wheel cylinders have not suffered the same fate.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(joefrompa @ Jul 30 2007, 12:17 PM) [snapback]487556[/snapback]</div>

I have seen this on my 05 front rotors after washing the car and also after rains. The brakes make a grinding sound for a little bit, and then it goes away. I am glad we do not need salt on the roads here in So Cal. Good luck with your brakes.

Since there is so much mystery and rumor surrounding the Prius, I would have to suspect that most shops would say anything to sell you something. Your car wasn't bought used somewhere near Louisiana after hurricane Katrina was it????

 

http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/brakerust.jpg

This is what the far north does to Prius brakes.

 

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Here is a 2004 from West Virginia at about 90k. It will probably need rotors soon, and maybe calipers. Anonymous because I have not asked the owner's permission to post a photo of the car undressed.