Have I gone to FAR - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

CorallaXRS · 02-14-2010, 04:19 PM

Ok I have a new 09 corolla, I do lots of high-way driving, My corolla had 66,000km on it and I have done all the little job on it but BRAKE PADS!!!!

NOW I HAVE NOT HEARD ANY noises coming from braking.. But I am guessing I am over my limit?

What should I do to makesure my rotors are still ok, I can get pads and do the work my self and sand paper if needed, but I would like a idea of how bad my brake may be? or rotors?

kmfdeviant530 · 02-14-2010, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CorallaXRS

Ok I have a new 09 corolla, I do lots of high-way driving, My corolla had 66,000km on it and I have done all the little job on it but BRAKE PADS!!!!

NOW I HAVE NOT HEARD ANY noises coming from braking.. But I am guessing I am over my limit?

What should I do to makesure my rotors are still ok, I can get pads and do the work my self and sand paper if needed, but I would like a idea of how bad my brake may be? or rotors?

I don't know about other people, but anytime I do brakes I do it right, sandpaper is usually only needed when your brakes are glazed, with time your pads and rotors build grooves together, when you slap on new pads it has a brand new surface that meets your grooved rotor, which means you don't get as much braking power since there's less surface contact and it wears your new brakes quicker trying to get into the new grooves, take your rotors off and have them resurfaced or machined, that way you get the best life out if your pads and rotors, oh and btw get ceramic pads, they're 100% better than semi metalic, they don't leave dust, they work better, especially when heated and last longer. Don't let the parts counter talk you into the oem semi metallics.

ZO6_Vette · 02-14-2010, 04:35 PM

I don't know about to far but maybe you went too far.
Only one way to tell is to inspect the pads and rotors.
It is possible that they are fine due to you driving mostly highway.
41000 miles is a good amount of mileage I would just change them.

corollale10 · 02-14-2010, 06:26 PM

I usually change my brake pads every 50K miles. Never ruined any rotors. All my cars have 60-70% highway miles.

CorallaXRS · 02-14-2010, 07:46 PM

Ok good, Who does thier own brake pads?

What pads brand do you get,

***HomeGrown*** · 02-14-2010, 08:01 PM

Too far? I doubt it. As you said, you:
A: do a lot of highway driving, and
B: Haven't heard any noise yet.

I'd say pull off one or both front wheels to have a look. Could be all you need is pads, but as kmfedviant mentioned, resurfacing is always a good idea. You will get more of that new-car braking feel as opposed to just swapping in new pads.
Pulling the rotors is not difficult, but just swapping in new pads if your rotors are ok is a super quick and cheap job.

kmfdeviant530 · 02-14-2010, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CorallaXRS

Ok good, Who does thier own brake pads?

What pads brand do you get,

Raybestos quiet stop cs

they're pricey but ultimate, you can go one step down with the raybestos supergrade cs. As long as it's raybestos and ceramic. And btw I dunno about your area but local shops only charge about 30 bucks to resurface a rotor, it's real cheap and you can usually get it done as you wait in the lobby

pwain · 02-14-2010, 08:55 PM

I smell a writeup coming.

I really need to get around to this, we have a 09 Corolla with 50k mi and a 08 Jetta with 80k

I need to learn to do this myself rather than spend the same amount of time sitting in a garage lobby.

Both are about 85% hwy, so I wouldn't really call either overdue.

***SuperchargedMR2*** · 02-15-2010, 02:22 AM

It's very simple to do.

Once you do it on just about any car you can do it on another car. I've always replaced my pads before they cause any rotor wear & I've never had to turn a rotor. It's no big deal to take the rotor off if needed though. Since I had no issues with the rotor, I never noticed any lack of braking power, but if you always wanted to do it by the book & do the very best job, than you would turn or resurface the rotor too.

BLiT · 02-15-2010, 03:18 AM

So, theoretically, what's the mileage range that one would need to replace the brake pads to avoid rotor damage, anyway?

(Again, 16 years old.) =O

tu_culo · 02-15-2010, 07:04 AM

I went over 100kms with my chevy pickup!! There is no magic number to change pads, it all depends on your driving habits!!

MiniPacou · 02-15-2010, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLiT

So, theoretically, what's the mileage range that one would need to replace the brake pads to avoid rotor damage, anyway?

(Again, 16 years old.) =O

take off the wheels and inspect the pads is the best way of knowing. it all depends of your driving habits.

CorallaXRS · 02-15-2010, 07:47 AM

Well, I am sure they are still good, But I am going to change them soon.

Anyways, I have not changed a set of pad since high-school days, Now I am not sure if there was speical tools to do this work?

Thanks, It wouldn't hurt if someone could send a site over to give me a re-fresher!

John Mo · 02-15-2010, 08:54 AM

Wow. Most of my cars go over 100k before needing front brake work. I look the pads over when I'm rotating tires and catch them before they ware completely out. I can't imagine needing brake work so early.

rolla-XRS · 02-15-2010, 10:01 AM

If you get your brakes serviced at regular intervals (ie: dealer removes pads, clean/lub calipers, etc) then you'll also get a report on how much pad is left - and prevent early wear of your pad.

I know mechanics that recommend doing this twice a season (overkill IMHO...maybe oce a year at best) - to prevent what sometimes happens on brakes where they stick "partially on. My old 95 Honda was a PITA for that & wearing down the pad prematurely