New brakes after 27k miles?

[rjfowler]

Having read the related forum posts, it seems like people are getting 50k, 60k, or even 70k miles before replacing the pads. My mileage has varied.

At 44,100 miles, Toyota recommended replacing the brakes. The invoice said the front pads had 10% remaining and the rear pads had 15% remaining. Thought that seemed like faster-than-usual wear, but went ahead and had the pads replaced and the rotors turned.

Fast forward to 71,280 miles (only ~27,000 miles from the last brake job), and Toyota tells me my brakes are worn and need to be replaced again. The invoice does not specify the amount of pad remaining, but a separate shop that installed my Icon UCAs 2,000 miles ago also said the pads needed to be replaced. Toyota said I could wait until the next service appointment for the rear brakes, so I went ahead and had both the front pads and the front rotors replaced (instead of just having the rotors turned).

I live in Washington, DC proper, so admittedly there is a lot of starting and stopping. The truck is also lifted with 265/70R18 tires, but this seems like ultra-fast wear. The Toyota service manager agreed, but said he gave the truck a thorough inspection and that nothing was wrong with the brake system.

Anyone had a similar issue? What am I / is Toyota missing?

 

[manofsteele2003]

Any idea if they're worn evenly or not? Those calipers have a reputation of seizing up which would cause uneven and premature pad wear.

 

[RonJR]

Your driving habits make a huge difference, easily 3:1 in brake wear from one driver to the next. If you drive a lot of stop lights and wait until the last second to brake from the speed limit to a stop, you'll eat up the brakes a lot more quickly. I'd look there first.

 

[1engineer]

Sounds like they didn't change them the first time.

 

[FrontRange4Runner]

Any idea if they're worn evenly or not? Those calipers have a reputation of seizing up which would cause uneven and premature pad wear.

The caliper issue is common on the 4th gen, but not on the 5th.

 

[Ryanmb21]

I have a 120k on my '06 4Runner, I replaced my front pads at about 70k, still on original rotors front and rear and original rear pads.

 

[philsey]

Having read the related forum posts, it seems like people are getting 50k, 60k, or even 70k miles before replacing the pads. My mileage has varied.

At 44,100 miles, Toyota recommended replacing the brakes. The invoice said the front pads had 10% remaining and the rear pads had 15% remaining. Thought that seemed like faster-than-usual wear, but went ahead and had the pads replaced and the rotors turned.

Fast forward to 71,280 miles (only ~27,000 miles from the last brake job), and Toyota tells me my brakes are worn and need to be replaced again. The invoice does not specify the amount of pad remaining, but a separate shop that installed my Icon UCAs 2,000 miles ago also said the pads needed to be replaced. Toyota said I could wait until the next service appointment for the rear brakes, so I went ahead and had both the front pads and the front rotors replaced (instead of just having the rotors turned).

I live in Washington, DC proper, so admittedly there is a lot of starting and stopping. The truck is also lifted with 265/70R18 tires, but this seems like ultra-fast wear. The Toyota service manager agreed, but said he gave the truck a thorough inspection and that nothing was wrong with the brake system.

Anyone had a similar issue? What am I / is Toyota missing?

No help, but I had the same experience. I complained the first time and my SM warrantied all labor + rotor turning, except cost of pads. The second time I had a reasoned, but very firm discussion with the SM, and he comped a complete new brake, new rotor job.

Obviously, he agreed my experience was not normal.

 

[catrains]

I just drove thru DC 2 days ago . yes 27K and the brakes need work/pads/rotor distortions I believe it.

the traffic flow is extremely bad. lots of sudden heavy braking .

my vehicles I get , 40K-70K on pads wearing to 40%. then I change them.
I do not cut /trim rotors. reason is this weakens the rotor then the distort.
when the rotors rust up I replace them up here 8-9years they are replaced in the cold rust belt.

this is all inspected every 10K-13K tire rotations.

 

[mnofpeace]

i live in the DC suburbs, work in the city...

still on the OEM pads front and rear at 57K...but they are looking low...and i will swap them out in the next month or so...as soon as it gets warm.

i would also look at driving habits/techniques first. im not sure if the wonderful street textures of the city would affect things (can you feel my sarcasm?), maybe somebody can chime in on that possibility.


maybe go for a longer lasting pad going forward. i know i am going to grab something more robust once i do my pad changeout.

 

[DMV4runner]

I live in the DMV also. I have some free time on the weekend of the 18th and don't mind giving up 2 hours to show you how to do your own brakes.
You will need to pick up front and rear pads before hand.

Pm me and let me know.
William

 

[jwkilgore]

My wife is the primary driver of our 4Runner, and she is typically either on the brake or gas. Very little coasting. They lasted about 45k miles. If she drove in rush-hour traffic it would have been a lot worse.

And for what it's worth, in my experience most shops love to pre-sell brakes. Pads start at about 12mm (~1/2") thick and the indicator strip starts squealing at about 2.5mm (~3/32"). Federal minimum thickness is 1mm, but that's really pushing it.

Shops like to call the 2.5mm the "you're going to die" thickness, and say 3mm is the minimum. They divide the 12mm to 3mm wear zone into three zones, green, yellow, and red. The actual break points between zones varies by shop, but the "yellow zone" can be hit with as much as 6mm of pad left. This is when shops start hard-selling brake jobs.

 

[manofsteele2003]

The caliper issue is common on the 4th gen, but not on the 5th.

What's different on the 5th gen brakes? They all appear to be the same design.

 

[rjfowler]

Your driving habits make a huge difference, easily 3:1 in brake wear from one driver to the next. If you drive a lot of stop lights and wait until the last second to brake from the speed limit to a stop, you'll eat up the brakes a lot more quickly. I'd look there first.

Agree that my driving habits probably have a lot to do with the fast wear, but my driving habits (and location) didn't change the whole time, so I'm mostly concerned with why the second time around I only got 27k instead of 44k, like the first time. It's very strange.

 

[rjfowler]

Sounds like they didn't change them the first time.

That was the first thing that came to mind, but unfortunately I can't prove it.

 

[rjfowler]

Any idea if they're worn evenly or not? Those calipers have a reputation of seizing up which would cause uneven and premature pad wear.

They seem to be wearing slightly faster in the front than in the back, which I understand to be normal. No indication one side (left vs. right) is wearing faster.

 

[Ron4RNevada]

70,000 miles on original brakes - very little city driving - no city driving generally. Still more than 50% pad thickness remaining.

 

[Toffees]

Having read the related forum posts, it seems like people are getting 50k, 60k, or even 70k miles before replacing the pads. My mileage has varied.

At 44,100 miles, Toyota recommended replacing the brakes. The invoice said the front pads had 10% remaining and the rear pads had 15% remaining. Thought that seemed like faster-than-usual wear, but went ahead and had the pads replaced and the rotors turned.

Fast forward to 71,280 miles (only ~27,000 miles from the last brake job), and Toyota tells me my brakes are worn and need to be replaced again. The invoice does not specify the amount of pad remaining, but a separate shop that installed my Icon UCAs 2,000 miles ago also said the pads needed to be replaced. Toyota said I could wait until the next service appointment for the rear brakes, so I went ahead and had both the front pads and the front rotors replaced (instead of just having the rotors turned).

I live in Washington, DC proper, so admittedly there is a lot of starting and stopping. The truck is also lifted with 265/70R18 tires, but this seems like ultra-fast wear. The Toyota service manager agreed, but said he gave the truck a thorough inspection and that nothing was wrong with the brake system.

Anyone had a similar issue? What am I / is Toyota missing?

This is my first Toyota in ages (and she's still new), but in the Honda's I've owned they all had the same "squeaking" or "squealing" sound when they needed to be replaced. Did your (does the) 4Runner give the same death rattle for brakes? Seems like this is pretty easy to tell.

 

[jspagna1]

Had my pads changed at 38,000 rotors in great shape. The key is also to make sure they are replaced with good OEM pads. The cheaper aftermarket pads don't last long at all and as an example Nissan aftermarket pads start squealing in 6 months.

 

[cutty01]

Mine has 45k miles and I was told that there was 3mm on the front and 4mm on the rear. Very low miles for so much wear when compared to all of you. I bought the 4Runner used so the wear could have been from the prior owner's commute.

Dealer quoted $840 for pad replacement and machining the rotors. I even called a local shop and the cheapest I could get was $720 (California prices?). I wanted to just buy $110 worth of OEM pads on Amazon and take the 5 minutes per wheel to do them myself since you only have to remove 2 retaining clips and push the caliper pistons back. Was told by others that its best to resurface anyway.

Funny thing is you can get new OEM rotors for $65/each. That's $370 in brand new OEM pads and rotors. Can't believe they want so much to replace pads and resurface existing rotors.

 

[catrains]

They seem to be wearing slightly faster in the front than in the back, which I understand to be normal. No indication one side (left vs. right) is wearing faster.

the weather in your area may have had more snow and cold than the time you had the first set of pads.

as the calipers age they do rust up. the 2nd set may have set tighter due to the rust and snow conditions with all the melting crap on them. this will cause the pads to stick. then more wear.

when I install pads I like a loose type of fit. fit so that I do not need any tool to set the pads inplace. sometimes I have to file the steel backing plate so they set properly with little force in the caliper .. then check for the caliper to slide easy.. the pins do require a silicone brake grease. also this is put over the piston boot to keep out water.. these can freeze ...then bind.