Pictures

Taking a measure of the rotor. Don't forget to consider the lip thickness vs the dipped area. At 55K there was barely a difference.

 

So today was time to do the rear pads.
Rear rotor was a solid 10mm thick, and this one is a solid disc unlike the fronts, so easy to keep track.

Rear was much cleaner and easy to simply pull off the pads with little dust. I had more life on the rear pads, but not much more than 2mm, so I tossed them and put in the new ones.

I need to check the manual to make sure I don't over tighten the lug nuts on the wheels, so that I need to redo.
Posted pictures:
Rear jack point, and the stands going under the rails.(I still don't like this).
Passenger side rear brakes
Driver side without pads
And how I sit on the floor and use my feet to align the wheels back on. Much easier than other methods I have tried. Put a top and bottom lug nut on, and then you can easily apply the rest.


OH, don't forget...particularly for the front! (yes....I DID forget). Busy worrying over jack stands I guess....
Loosen the lugs a bit before fully lifting off the floor so they don't turn freely.

The first time doing brakes on this car, and in general, its been a while.

 

Here are some parts and tools pictures....

Front pads (and the rubber piece that is useless unless you use a floor jack under the rails. SO you really don't need these.
Rotors in boxes, front and rear
Silicon lube
Some tools

 

Good information, thanks.

Remember that you could also use a micrometer to measure the rotors instead of calipers. The mics will easily measure the true thickness and will read the rotor away from and off the high ridge of the lip.

The thickness of the rotor to determine if it meets the requirement for remaining depth takes into consideration the air gap for cooling. In other words just measure the total thickness of the two outside surfaces. This will give you the total which in your first post is 28mm.

Using that you can compare to what is an allowable thickness to continue using the rotor. If you have it machined which is still done but not near as prevalent as it once was, you would measure the final thickness after machining and see if it still meets the requirement.

 

Good information, thanks.

Remember that you could also use a micrometer to measure the rotors instead of calipers. The mics will easily measure the true thickness and will read the rotor away from and off the high ridge of the lip.

The thickness of the rotor to determine if it meets the requirement for remaining depth takes into consideration the air gap for cooling. In other words just measure the total thickness of the two outside surfaces. This will give you the total which in your first post is 28mm.

Using that you can compare to what is an allowable thickness to continue using the rotor. If you have it machined which is still done but not near as prevalent as it once was, you would measure the final thickness after machining and see if it still meets the requirement.

Calipers have a space at the top that should clear that ridge if you use it.

 

Yes, a micrometer would do it.
I measured each disc face more so if there is a variance between rotors...and simple curiosity.

 

Here are some parts and tools pictures....

Front pads (and the rubber piece that is useless unless you use a floor jack under the rails. SO you really don't need these.
Rotors in boxes, front and rear
Silicon lube
Some tools

Phil, noted the rubber piece to fit the pinch welds for lifting. I swiped some old hockey pucks from my older son and made same by grinding out a narrow grove to fit the depth of the weld on my HL which came with the OEM "running boards". Could not get a floor jack in place without interference from the boards. Works fine now and doesn't interfere with the boards.

 

I just don't know when someone would use it. If using a floor jack you should use the lift points I show for front and rear, which are solid metal areas taht a grooved rubber is not any help. Once lifted, you can use something like this for the jack stands under the pinch welds
http://a.co/gKr3NxQ

 

For some related info here is a link:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/3...tion-2014/1549530-3-ton-jack-lift-point-3rd-gen-brake-service.html#post13035042

Also, here is the prices I got for doing brake jobs.
Posting prices I got from Dealer vs DIY...


I wanted to know how much it cost to replace all 4 rotors and pads.
ALL OEM.
Keep in mind that a number of sellers I came across sell the 2014-16 pads with METALLIC pads as OEM. 3rd Gen HL OEM is a Ceramic based pad. Not the standard metallic. So look out for that.
$679+tax for front
$695+tax for rear
About the tune of $1497.66 with tax !!!! PLUS either a drop off back to where ever, or wait for hours at the dealership, and HOPE they didn't take any shortcuts. Most dealerships here are overbooked most of the time, so they rush things.

Anyway...I don't mean to talk about brakes...but I wanted to give an example I know about in price differences.I will be saving $1100 doing it myself! I can also take it to an indie shop, and that labor is about $150 for each axle.

 

I'm actually impressed that you had to replace pads and rotors at 55k miles......I drive like a idiot and I still am on factory rotors at 175k...not sure how you managed that :lol:

 

Yeah this is something that I myself noticed with my 2015 Highlander, that my front break pads were replaced at 50k miles, and now it's time for the rear pad at 61k. I remember my Corolla and Camry would go up to 100K on an OEM pads and still have some life left on the pads, but these new models and disappointing when it comes to general wear and tear. Quality of Toyota products I think is going down. What's funny is most of my driving is highway with very less breaking in use :-(

 

SweeneyP!!
I thought I was going to replace the rotors as well, but not so...maybe need to make that more obvious above, but No..just the pads.

Great to see you online...And your 2nd gen brake job write up gave me some reassurance! Next round I will be putting it in to more use as I will need to replace fluid and bleed it, so that should be interesting to do, as I rely on your write up..

Didn't mean to disappoint you on my driving..lol! But I get pretty idiotic time to time

 

My experience has been front rotors last for 3-4 pad changes before they become thinner than spec. So if the driver is a gentle braker the rotors will last the life of the vehicle (or 400,000+ miles).

 

I noticed that the rotors were made in USA. OEMs are the only ones that I know of where this is still true or at least is for Honda too.
I assume that the pads are USA as well?

 

The Rotors are on the package stamped USA, the pads are on the package stamped Japan.
"Madie In..." used to actually mean the product was made and sourced in that country. This does not mean much these days. It could be as little as 50% assembled in a country and they can call it "Made in" that country.
The opposite is true, the materials can come from X country and if it is made someplace else, it can still be marked as the material source dictating the country it is made. Legally it is supposed to be 50% or more...at least close to something like this, I have not looked into deep, and I know companies in the garment/Fashion industry, and many other lie all the time.

But I have no reason to think the parts are not accurate. In fact I think the US forces imports such as Toyota to use a certain percent of parts from US in order to allow their presence. Of course not so much publicly, but I'm pretty sure there are agreements made.

 

Just curious where you purchased your pads & rotors? Local dealer, or online? My wife is brutal on her brakes, so it is time for pads & rotors at 45k miles.

 

I found the pads and rotors on Amazon and Ebay. For some reason the pads, If I remeber it right were less on ebay, and rotors less on Amazon. Just be sure the pads are ceramic 3rd gen.

 

Strongly advise to buy brake parts From reliable sources. Using parts From Unknown sources may put drivers and passengers life in danger. There are such parts found on the internet that quality cannot be distinguished just by looking at the pictures.

Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk

 

Check Rockauto for Power Stop kits.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for those thicknesses!
I’m nearing the end of my 60s and need a little help with lifting wheels into place. I find a shovel (spade) helps a lot. Better with a shorter handle.

 

I used a 2x4 as a lever to help get the wheels onto the lugs. Boy, are those heavy (versus my Miata which I can easliy put back on).

 

I thought for sure we had this info in 3rd Gen, Then I figured it would be in the manual, but NOOOOooo!

I hope this thread will be helpful. There is always more than one way to do something, so don't take it as some rule. This is how I approached the work. If you learn something from the info here, great! If not, feel free to add how you do things so we can all learn.

So since I have the brand new rotors sitting here, I better log it!
the OEM Rotors brand new are:
28mm thickness and Weight is 21lbs (the entire disc thikness), and 7mm thickness of each surface disc. (The rotor is not solid, so it is 2 discs sandwiched together with air vents between the 2 sides. *You only need the first measure I refer to/28mm).
The rear pads are 10mm thick.
The front pads I forgot to measure before I put them on.

*But I didn't need to change the rotors in the front or rear as they were still at about 28mm. Also they barely had any indent on the surface.

But, at 55K miles my front pads were well worn!
I had about 2mm of pad left on a couple while other 2 had 1mm of life!
Good timing!
I looked over the brake calipers and pins and gave them a bit of a dusting, and just replaced the pads.
I will check the rears tomorrow and see what they need.

Some added helpful info/via @MikeInNH and @Is973800 :

Lug nuts 76 ft lbs
Front bracket bolts are 77 ft lbs, (76ft.lb. 2nd Gen)
Front caliper slide pin bolts are 25 ft lbs.
Front flex hose to caliper is 22 ft lbs with new union bolt and gasket.
Rear bracket bolts are 70 ft lbs (2nd Gen 57ft.lb.
Rear caliper slide pin bolts are 20 ft lbs.
Rear flex hose to caliper is 16 ft lbs with new union bolt and gasket.

Specs listed for 2014-2016

Thanks, especially for picture #4. I was looking at that on my HL yesterday, but I wasn't sure that was the jack point.

 

No Prob. Glad it was helpful!

FYI: Each post has a "thank you" (this was the case before the redesign)
button as well, this help see which posts have been ....helpful

Thanks for the direct note!

Cheers!

 

I tackled the fronts as they were shot at 41K and I mean almost down to the metal. The one thing I didn't see mentioned was the bolt used to pull off the rotors. I smacked the old rotor just about as hard as I could with a rubber mallet and even a small sledge, all to no avail. It wouldn't budge. I found a #8 bolt and gave it a shot in one of the holes and within a few turns with a ratchet, the rotor popped right off. I still have no clue why it wouldn't budge with a hammer, yet a few simple and easy turns broke it free.
Anyway, please keep that in mind when you're pulling your rotors. It'll save you a bunch of energy and time.

Great post Phil!

 

2019 highlander limited 5000 miles rotors warped, vibration in floor when lightly applying brakes at 60 mph. I am very easy on brakes. All the dealer would do Is surface rotors, even after I found service bulletin with exact symptom. It was for 2017-2018,which said replace rotors and pads. Poor design even worse customer service, sorry I bought this vehicle. Last Toyota for me. After living with this car for awhile I find its very cheap, had 2002 Highlander that had quality. Sorry Toyota you are greedy at best.

 

Cannot argue with you on that Costantino...But, I'll take it over the other options for now. Greed is not innate, it is taught.

 

So do new pads improve the mushiness sensation of HL brakes? I find HL brakes to not be very confidence inpiring in general and it seems it takes a long time to actually stop...Is it just me getting used to the HL or do others here feel the same regarding the brakes? I don't expect it to stop like a BMW, but the HL seems to be at the other end of the spectrum.

 

Mine stops on a dime. Just like during the test drive...

 

Q: Have you ever driven a BMW? Not trying to be snide, just wondering if it's my HL or if all of them are similar in this regard.

 

Great info on this post, Phil Indeblanc!

For anyone that cares, I found this combo to be solid (not necessarily cheap) for Toyota and other mfgs, including Chevy trucks, and severe towing duty.

Ultra-Premium Ceramic Brake Pads by Advics®
EBC RK Series Premium Rotors

Saw that someone above recommended Power Stop @ Rock Auto. Not impressed. Used that brand (matched) on a 2010 Chevy Malibu LT. Never experienced a set of rotors go south so fast in my life! Power Stops felt good when new but within 2,500 miles on a daily driver, everything was bad. Car was driven normally, not auto-crossed or anything funky.

Looked into Centric too, many people use them, but found their quality to be inconsistent overall. You can beat the EBC rotors up and they stay true, no vibration or hot spotting. The Advics (Aisin) Ultra-Premium Ceramic pads 'feel' like OE on initial cold bite and they are very linear, but they give a slight boost in overall feel and performance.