The result of a thousand dollar brake job at 23K miles

[Dianna]

At 23k, the dealer claimed that the front and rear brakes needed replaced on my parents 2016 4R, with rotors, at a cost of over 1k. They said that it was due to them driving on a dirt road, funny for a vehicle advertised to "conquer the off-road." After having the brakes replaced, they began squeaking, dealer claimed the backing plate was rubbing, that was trip number two. Brakes were still squeaking, so it was taken back again for trip number 3. This is the result of three trips, and 1k paid to the dealership:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKuXg2wvsuQ&feature=youtu.be

They have another appointment in the morning, beyond frustrating.

 

[Dianna]

And forgot to mention that this same vehicle was taken to the same dealership at 8k miles and they charged $80 to grease the caliper pins!

 

[Bugser]

Kinda sounds like price gouging [MENTION=3098]Dianna[/MENTION]


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[Dillusion]

How the hell can brakes even cost $1k? They touched it last after trip 1. 2 & 3 should of at least been free.

And I don't see how the hell the backing plate is rubbing if they replaced it.

 

[El Dusty]

And forgot to mention that this same vehicle was taken to the same dealership at 8k miles and they charged $80 to grease the caliper pins!

Pretty shameful work they did there. My only advice is to make sure your parents properly break the new system in if the dealer didn’t. If it squeals that bad they likely didn’t drive/ break them in properly. BOL

 

[vipergrhd]

What changed?

And forgot to mention that this same vehicle was taken to the same dealership at 8k miles and they charged $80 to grease the caliper pins!

Did they move away from a fixed 4 piston caliper? Greasing a pin is part of any brake job. I almost want to pay this place a visit and ***** slap the advisor and the mechanic.

Sounds like you have a greedy advisor and an incompetent mechanic working on your parents car, file a complaint with the dealer or call Toyota.

 

[wcjeep]

$500 for the front or rear of the vehicle is about the going rate locally for brake work. It could be a one time expense. Could also be one or both of your parents drag the brakes?

I do not check my 4runner. On my Dodge towrig I occasionally the brakes/ hubs with an infrared temperature gun when at a rest stop. Expect the sun side of the vehicle to be 10deg warmer.

 

[Dianna]

My dad drives the 4Runner and definitely does not ride the brakes, a former police officer is all accelerator. 99% of their driving is done on open country roads with no traffic. Regardless, if you pay that much for a brake job, it should be done correctly without multiple return trips to the dealership.

 

[jmf_tracy]

At 23k, the dealer claimed that the front and rear brakes needed replaced on my parents 2016 4R, with rotors, at a cost of over 1k. They said that it was due to them driving on a dirt road, funny for a vehicle advertised to "conquer the off-road." After having the brakes replaced, they began squeaking, dealer claimed the backing plate was rubbing, that was trip number two. Brakes were still squeaking, so it was taken back again for trip number 3. This is the result of three trips, and 1k paid to the dealership:

IMG_1549.mov - Google Drive

They have another appointment in the morning, beyond frustrating.

that's BMW pricing right there, ouch.

 

[ryan87]

Once its straightened out I would never return there again

 

[97BlackAckCL]

I don't call it the stealership for nothing

And for what it's worth I'm just shy of 20K and my brakes are still perfectly fine

 

[Xtremluck]

At 23k, the dealer claimed that the front and rear brakes needed replaced on my parents 2016 4R, with rotors, at a cost of over 1k. They said that it was due to them driving on a dirt road, funny for a vehicle advertised to "conquer the off-road." After having the brakes replaced, they began squeaking, dealer claimed the backing plate was rubbing, that was trip number two. Brakes were still squeaking, so it was taken back again for trip number 3. This is the result of three trips, and 1k paid to the dealership:

IMG_1549.mov - Google Drive

They have another appointment in the morning, beyond frustrating.

Why don't you take the time to learn to do the job yourself? You can hammer a complete brake job out in 1.5 hrs. If you truly want to "conquer the off-road" you better know how to work on your own rig. When, not if your truck breaks on the trail only you will be able to fix it. There is no dealership service in middle of nowhere.

 

[Lester Lugnut]

The $1K rip is the result of the dealerships inflated parts and labor pricing + dealers are notorious for pitching the "worn rotor" story. Up goes the price. More often than not, new pads are all that's required, especially at the mileage the OP stated. I've seen dealer brake jobs that indicated new rotors on the work order, but the rotors were anything but new. This happens more than some realize. Not saying this is what happened to the OP, but it would not surprise me.

Car dealership service depts. LOVE brake jobs. The skill level required to perform this work is just above that of a lube tech, so his cut is less than an ASE tech. Not saying ASE techs at dealers never do brake work, just saying dealers like to give this work to a lower paid novice. More $$$ stay in the dealers wallet.

It's an easy sell to unknowing people. Dealer plays the fear factor..."your brakes could fail at any time".

In the future, find a good independent repair shop if you're not up to doing the work yourself. It won't be cheap - good work never is, but you'll likely avoid all of these return visits.

 

[KP Texan]

Sounds like you have a greedy advisor and an incompetent mechanic working on your parents car, file a complaint with the dealer or call Toyota.

Sadly this. It's infuriating to hear about dealers taking advantage of people and doing sub-par work - they do it all the time!

 

[Inv4drZm]

1K for brakes? Does that include the cost of new calipers?

 

[jhguth]

cut your losses at this dealership and go to an independent shop you trust or another dealership

 

[Dianna]

Why don't you take the time to learn to do the job yourself? You can hammer a complete brake job out in 1.5 hrs. If you truly want to "conquer the off-road" you better know how to work on your own rig. When, not if your truck breaks on the trail only you will be able to fix it. There is no dealership service in middle of nowhere.

Xtremluck, I'm sure you were attempting to make a contribution to a post about an issue with the dealer, but not sure what that has to do with fixing your own rig. In fact, I do EVERYTHING to my own vehicles, including brakes, so I know what a scam this price gouging was, and I also know that it's not that difficult to do a brake job correctly. Believe it or not, many people don't care to do their own repairs, nor do most people even have the tools to do their own repairs. Would you tell your mom/grandma/sister to go do her own brake job? Doubt it. And besides all that, I can't imagine driving around next to a bunch of people that learned how to do their own brake job in an hour and a half.
My quote to "conquer the off-road" is from Toyota's advertising for the 4Runner, and Toyota's BS reason for it needing brakes is because it's driven a short distance on a dirt road. I think most people understood this from my post My parents, like 99% of the people that own 4Runners, are not driving it off-road. Nobody deserves to be flamed for taking their car to the dealership for repairs.

 

[Dianna]

1K for brakes? Does that include the cost of new calipers?

Nope, pads and rotors.

 

[That_Titanium_4RNR]

Did they not give a price quote before they started the work??? $1000 for pads and rotors is insane!

 

[Jetboy]

You got screwed by your dealer. I'm sorry to hear that. I think it is worth a call to Toyota corporate to at least complain about the dealer.

Normally the brakes should last out to about 50-75k miles. And typical brake prices for either axles with a re-surface of the rotors is around $200-300 depending on dealer. It's very unlikely that you had worn out the pads or rotors unless you were out actively racing the 4Runner or driving similar to that. I use mine very hard and the pads lasted to 50k miles. Probably could have lasted a bit longer.

What is also frustrating is that Toyota has two different sets of brake pads. The OEM ones that they come with are semi metalic pads that are usually both long lasting and very quiet. The "customer pay" replacement pads that toyota puts on are ceramic pads. And they make noise. I have them on mine and have been back in twice so far. And will keep going back until the dealer fixes them. I'm guessing I'll eventually make the dealer put the original type of pad back on. 04465AZ100 is the part number for the cheap ceramic pads most dealers throw on. 0446560320 is the part number for the pads it came with.

You're dealer needs to fix your brakes. For everyone else - also be careful of counterfeit brake pads. Chinese import pads are often asbestos and they'll sell them as OEM pads. There's a warning from Toyota that has details on how to identify counterfeit pads. Basically the rivets look different and the pad surface visually looks a bit different. Boxes are practically identical.