Front Brake Problem.. am i getting screwed

ozzy4355

ozzy4355

Member
So I took my 04 in to the dealership to get the 60,0000 mile maintenence done, and my front brake pads and rotors replaced. I received a call a few hours later from toyota informing me that a piston on the front passenger side brake will not retract which is grinding my pads down, so much so that they could not get a new pad installed. They informed me that i needed new a new caliper which they quoted me around 400 dollars, he then tells me that If i replace one caliper i need to replace the other side because it will grab when i press the brakes and pull me off the road, this sounds like complete BS to me, has anyone ever heared of this. I just told them to put the originals on and give me my car back.

I am thinking of just doing the job myself, does anyone have any reccomendations on good brands of brake pads, rotors, and possibley caliper. I want quality but i dont want to pay too much.
 
Register to hide this ad
ozzy4355 said:
So I took my 04 in to the dealership to get the 60,0000 mile maintenence done, and my front brake pads and rotors replaced. I received a call a few hours later from toyota informing me that a piston on the front passenger side brake will not retract which is grinding my pads down, so much so that they could not get a new pad installed. They informed me that i needed new a new caliper which they quoted me around 400 dollars, he then tells me that If i replace one caliper i need to replace the other side because it will grab when i press the brakes and pull me off the road, this sounds like complete BS to me, has anyone ever heared of this. I just told them to put the originals on and give me my car back.

I am thinking of just doing the job myself, does anyone have any reccomendations on good brands of brake pads, rotors, and possibley caliper. I want quality but i dont want to pay too much.
Click to expand...
B.S. do it yourself or have a trustworthy shop look at it for you
 
ozzy4355 said:
... a new caliper which they quoted me around 400 dollars, he then tells me that If i replace one caliper i need to replace the other side because it will grab when i press the brakes and pull me off the road, this sounds like complete BS to me, has anyone ever heared of this. I just told them to put the originals on and give me my car back...
Click to expand...

Good call. Yes, BS.
Check the thread in the link in my signature for my writeup on a reman caliper replacement for the infamous frozen lower inner piston. You can do both yourself for less than they want for one. Compress the pistons at each tire rotation to try and avoid the freezing.
 
I have gotten calipers at Carquest for a decent price. BS on needing two when only one is defective.
 
I never noticed anything wrong with the brakes, i just noticed that the front brakes were worn the last time i rotated my tires so i scheduled the brake job to replace them. I dont understand how the dealership couldnt decompress the piston
 
ozzy4355 said:
I never noticed anything wrong with the brakes, i just noticed that the front brakes were worn the last time i rotated my tires so i scheduled the brake job to replace them. I dont understand how the dealership couldnt decompress the piston
Click to expand...

Same as my experience. Just visually noticed uneven wear.
I wasn't able to compress the frozen piston even with a big vise after doing the replacement. It was solid.
 
V8Limited4wd said:
did you notice anything wrong with your brakes? ie pulling to one side, etc
Click to expand...

With a 4 piston caliper system, one piston stuck will not usually cause any symptoms that can be felt when driving, until the pad on that side hits metal to metal. This is why it is so important to visually check your pads, rotors, and calipers often, to catch a problem before it gets too out of hand.
 
Kmvreter said:
Same as my experience. Just visually noticed uneven wear.
I wasn't able to compress the frozen piston even with a big vise after doing the replacement. It was solid.
Click to expand...

what brand replacement did you use, i was looking at the A1 Cardone calipers
 
Thanks

Thanks for everyone's help, i replaced the passenger side pads and caliper with the help of the awesome write up. I then went to replace the driver side pads and what did i find, another frozen caliper, so i went back up to advanced auto and got a new one and replaced the driver side. Hopefully the reman's dont have the same problem.
 
ozzy4355 said:
Thanks for everyone's help, i replaced the passenger side pads and caliper with the help of the awesome write up. I then went to replace the driver side pads and what did i find, another frozen caliper, so i went back up to advanced auto and got a new one and replaced the driver side. Hopefully the reman's dont have the same problem.
Click to expand...

IMO it would have been a good time to upgrade to stoptech or Baer calipers... Maybe I should have mine inspected on my 05 V8 SE? If they're bad it gives mean excuse to upgrade!
 
Last edited:
Here are some of the pics of the bad caliper, i can not believe how corroded it was.

DSC_0058.jpg~original


DSC_0059.jpg~original


DSC_0060.jpg~original


The hardest part of this project was getting the rusted bolts loose that were holding the old calipers on. Its amazing how much this saved me. The stealership wanted almost 1500 for everything i needed done and i replaced everything including both front calipers and pads, serpantine belt, and cabin air filter for what the dealership would have charged for one caliper
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 372 (members: 4, guests: 368)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,307
Messages
3,554,056
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top