Rusty front brake rotors

If those rotors can't be cleaned up, that'll mean replacing them, whether from Toyota or somewhere else.

But the key really seems to be to learn and do the Prius Brake Thing. That's where, whenever you notice the brakes sounding a little raspy as you drive off, shift into neutral for the next two or three stops you make, until they sound quiet again. Being in neutral forces the friction brakes to be used, they scrape off the light surface rust before it has a chance to become the gnarly stuff you're looking at now, and it gets to be so second-nature I hardly even notice myself doing it anymore when I do it. It's almost always after the car's been parked through a long rainy night. I'll get in in the morning, drive off, think "hmm, sounds a little noisy" making my first stop, use neutral for the next two or three, all fixed.

 

Nobody will ever be able to get long life out of the brakes and rotors in snow states that use salt.

 

Would it be worth getting them resurfaced, with an on-the-car lathe system, or does that exceed replacement cost these days?

 

Last I checked, resurfacing was still cheaper than Toyota's, but rarely cheaper than cheap aftermarkets.

 

Last time I changed the rotors on the Prius v wagon, I used zinc plated rotors. I forget the brand name.

Hi all, new Prius v owner | Page 3 | PriusChat

That was back in 2018. I was quite skeptical at the time...but they still look great! I liked them so much I put them on our 2010 liftback...and they look great as well. Going to do the rotors on our 2012 Sonata this year.