machining front rotors vs. back?

[tlblegen]

I bought my 2007 4Runner Limited about 5 months ago (love it!) from a small private car lot. I then had the Toyota dealership run their 150/160 point inspection and it passed with flying colors - the only thing they mentioned that should be done was to machine/resurface the rotors. At the time they said it would be normally about $300 ($150 for the front/$150 for the back) - but they had a special for $169 each. I couldn't do that at the time......
jump forward, now I'm going to take it in for this service - they are running a special for $149. I called and talked to the first person that answered in "service" to ask if this price was per set (front/back) or total. They have my car in the system and I assume they were looking at that when I asked, this person said that I should only have to machine/resurface the front since the back are "disc" brakes...... DOES THIS MAKE SENSE? Aren't there rotors in front and back?
Help - thanks!
Tania

 

[bergs]

Only time(s) you "need" to resurface rotors is if they are pitted, scored and/ or warped.

If the vehicle was sitting in poor conditions for a while, your rotors might be pitted.
If there is or was a pebble (for example) stuck in the brake pad, the rotor might be scored.
If you feel pulsing during braking then you have warped rotors.

One thing to note is that the braking surfaces of the rotors are both sides and not just the outside which can be viewed through the wheel spokes.

You may want to consider just keeping the money in your pocket and replace the rotors when it's time. Just my opinion.

 

[tlblegen]

thanks for your reply and advice.

 

[TUZ04SR5]

i agree with saving the money and putting it towards new rotors if you need them. I recently replaced my front pads and rotors, but I did a lot of shopping around for the best price for the parts. If you want to stick to OEM parts, there are a few wholesale toyota websites that offered the front rotors for, if I remember correctly, $215, which definitley comes in cheaper than the resurfacing. You can just buy whatever you need and if you aren't confident with doing the work yourself, bring it to a toyota/shop and have them do it.

 

[MikeInNH]

You can BUY BRAND NEW ROTORS far cheaper then that.

 

[whiskywizard]

this person said that I should only have to machine/resurface the front since the back are "disc" brakes

Disc brakes have rotors, and drum brakes have drums.

I don't know the 2007 details, but a quick check says you have 4-wheel discs. That means you have 1 rotor (disc) for each wheel.

The service writer you're talking to is a dolt.

Here's a simple overview of disc brakes

 

[blkexp98]

Thats way too high to just turn the discs. With that said i would look into just replacing them and if you really want to have them turned to keep as a spare. Im pretty sure ive been quoted about $25 to turn one disc. So that would only be $100 for all four.

 

[galactic_04]

The discs are in front and back, but you only have to resurface/replace in pairs. The front do most of the work and will wear faster. You can do the back, but it may be a waste of effort as they probably aren't near as worn down as the front are. Heck, a lot of cars have drilled or slotted rotors up front and regular discs in back. They don't have to be the same, but you do want the fronts the same and the backs the same so the car won't pull side to side.

 

[MICA4R]

Buy Wagner Brake Rotor BD126089 at Advance Auto Parts


I don't know if that link will come through, but I've been very happy with Wagner Brake products. They are well crafted and Advance Auto essentially will stand behind those pads indefinitely.