Brake Smell - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

yli5 · 05-11-2005, 07:02 AM

hey everyone. I just got my front brake pads replaced a few days ago at a local dealership (03 Camry LE 4cyl). I noticed it smells burnt after I drive the car. Is that normal for new brakes on a camry, I never had that smell in my previous car after brake replacement. Also, just in case it's a sticky caliper, is the caliper covered under warranty, I know pads and rotor are normal wear and tear. I still have all the warranties since the car has about 32K on it. Thanks!

camlex · 05-11-2005, 07:20 AM

new pads, wait and see

skewe · 05-11-2005, 08:33 AM

usually, there is no smell.

are you a street racer? cos if ur, then you would tend to smell the burnt smell, along with the smell of burnt tires/rubber

TheMajesticking · 05-11-2005, 08:38 AM

Yeah....I have smelled new brakes if you do a lot of heavy stops.

Mike Gerber · 05-11-2005, 03:15 PM

It is not normal for new brake pads to smell. In all probability the tech got some greasey fingers on the pads or the rotors. Many techs will spray the pads and rotors down with brake-clean before buttoning everything up, to insure this type of thing doesn't happen. It should probably burn off in a little while, but I would at least call the dealer and make them aware of the problem and that you are willing to give it a few hundred miles to see if the smell goes away. That way you are covered if it doesn't.

Mike

xpeed · 05-11-2005, 05:40 PM

That's normal. It's just the pads getting to be breaked in. It'll go away after a couple of miles. My new pads smelled after I installed them on my van a year ago. It went away after the first 100 miles.

yli5 · 05-11-2005, 06:02 PM

thanks for all you who have replied. The smell is gone for now (50 miles later). but the car started to shake once I get up to 75mph, the steering wheel shakes, the passenger seat shakes, everything shakes. Also there's this loud humming sound (like a bee) while the car is shaking, sounds like coming from underneath the car. None of these was there before the brakes pads were replaced. And the car doesn't feel as peppy as it used to, I think something is up with these new brakes. The tires are properly inflated, aligned and balanced. Any suggestions on what it might be, I will go to the dealer tomorrow, but I don't want them to make some stuff up and rip me off. Thanks!

skewe · 05-11-2005, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xpeed

That's normal. It's just the pads getting to be breaked in. It'll go away after a couple of miles. My new pads smelled after I installed them on my van a year ago. It went away after the first 100 miles.

i installed brakes pads on my gen3 and there was no smell @ all.
IMO either way, 100 miles for the smell to go away is quite a lot of miles to eliminate the smell

xpeed · 05-11-2005, 06:05 PM

Iono. It was a crappy van. So I don't care about it anymore.

Mike Gerber · 05-12-2005, 01:01 AM

Before driving any further, check the tightness of the lug nuts on the front wheels. It could be they simply forgot to tighten them down. Correct torque should be 76 foot pounds. Check this before driving any further.

Another possibility is that a wheel balancing weight fell off while they were handling the wheels, throwing off the balancing. Check both sides of each wheel for dirt marks where a wheel weight could have recently fallen off.

Mike