[EHinthe604]

I had a big scare yesterday while driving home along I-5 back to Vancouver, BC from Seattle. Some idiot nearly ran me off the freeway as he cut me off in Skagit County. Fortunately, I was able to react in time and SLAM the brakes. i was going 70 MPH at the time, and I was able to slow down to avoid a colision.

I thanked my lucky stars for awesome RAV4 brakes! :lol: No, we aren't to slam on the brakes without ABS, but heck, the road was dry anyway, and I was going at at freeway speed.

BTW, later on, the same guy almost did the same thing to one or two other drivers. What a moron. :roll:

 

[Alien18]

wow wat a moron. at least your ok and thats wat matters

 

[JW]

Not only are they awesome,

I had my RAV with 55,000 miles brakes looked at during a tire rotation, and the dealer said I still have over 50% pad left!

 

[EHinthe604]

Re: Not only are they awesome,

I had my RAV with 55,000 miles brakes looked at during a tire rotation, and the dealer said I still have over 50% pad left!

My old 1995 Tercel, with well over 126000 KM (just over 78000 miles), still had its original pads and shoes when I traded it in. They were just starting to slightly queak a little (in the morning only, when there is some moisture) when I traded it in, but they still worked well.

 

[Marcutio]

Just changed my front brakes. Rotors and pads. The rotors were extremely warped but the pads were only about 50%. 74,000 Kms. 50,000 Miles for those of you south of here.

I agree the brakes on the Rav are great. But like anything when they start to go bad with warping ..... They're really bad. It was like trying to stop a 747 on a short runway. I think I have a few loose fillings from the vibration!

The back brakes however are original and still in good shape! My tires now need to be replaced for next spring. I will be putting on the winter tires in late October so I can wait untill April before I have to fork over a Tonne for new rubber.

The brakes on a DYI job total $$$ was 214.00. Cheaper than I was expecting but still an expense I hate to pay. At the dealer it would have been a whole lot more.

On an easy scale of 1-5 I would give it a 2. Recommend replacing yourself if at all possible.

Later. M.

 

[EHinthe604]

Just changed my front brakes. Rotors and pads. The rotors were extremely warped but the pads were only about 50%. 74,000 Kms. 50,000 Miles for those of you south of here.

I agree the brakes on the RAV are great. But like anything when they start to go bad with warping ..... They're really bad. It was like trying to stop a 747 on a short runway. I think I have a few loose fillings from the vibration!

The back brakes however are original and still in good shape! My tires now need to be replaced for next spring. I will be putting on the winter tires in late October so I can wait untill April before I have to fork over a Tonne for new rubber.

The brakes on a DYI job total $$$ was 214.00. Cheaper than I was expecting but still an expense I hate to pay. At the dealer it would have been a whole lot more.

On an easy scale of 1-5 I would give it a 2. Recommend replacing yourself if at all possible.

Later. M.

Yikes... warping, eh? It seems like Japanese trucks have a reputation for warping... I don't know why.

DIY at around $200 CAD... not too bad, actually. Did you change the rotors only, or both the pads and rotors?

I'm sure that changing the pads alone at the dealer would cost me around $350-400 CAD... $200 for the pads, another $100 for machining the rotors, and taxes.

A friend of mine just had her front brake pads changed on her Corolla, which costed just a little over $300 extra (taxes included), in addition to her maintenance bill.

 

[Jeff]

It's better to replace the rotors instead of having them machined if they are warped. If you machine them, it reduces the thickness, causing them to warp even faster. You really don't even need to machine them if they are in good shape (i.e. not warped, no grooves, adequate thickness) when you replace the pads. When I replaced my pads, I didn't do anything with the rotors, and everything has worked fine. Some people say you need to replace rotors when you replace the pads because they are a matched set, however in my experience you don't need to. When I replaced my pads, I just did a bunch of break-in stops to heat up the rotors and set the pads.

 

[EHinthe604]

It's better to replace the rotors instead of having them machined if they are warped. If you machine them, it reduces the thickness, causing them to warp even faster. You really don't even need to machine them if they are in good shape (i.e. not warped, no grooves, adequate thickness) when you replace the pads. When I replaced my pads, I didn't do anything with the rotors, and everything has worked fine. Some people say you need to replace rotors when you replace the pads because they are a matched set, however in my experience you don't need to. When I replaced my pads, I just did a bunch of break-in stops to heat up the rotors and set the pads.

True... warped rotors need to be replaced since machining them is frankly a waste of money! I remember that my dad's old 1990 Mazda MPV had its rotors replaced after only two years... don't remember how many KM or miles (I assume around 40000-50000 mi, given the number of road trips that we took with it).

Personally, I never heard that the rotors have to be changed together with the pads.

Just curious... Under what circumstances would one be more likely to warp the rotors?

 

[Jeff]

Most people attribute warped rotors to excessive heat buildup, which is caused by dragging or incorrectly adjusted pads, or people who constantly ride their brakes when driving.

However, I've also heard that in many cases, warped rotors are caused by overtorqued lug nuts instead of heat. This happens more often than you would think, because most people don't know that lug nuts can be overtorqued easily.

Overtorqued lug nuts or crooked wheels also cause vibration, which many people mistake for out-of balance wheels or warped rotors. I've learned over the years that many times, a vibration felt either through the steering or brakes can be solved simply by removing and reattaching a wheel and properly torqueing the lug nuts.

 

[Marcutio]

True!

I stated above that I replaced both pads and rotors. $200

I suspect that my rotors became warped due to over tightening. The first time I had my wheels removed after I bought it last year the guys had a very hard time to remove the wheels.

They were last installed at TOYOTA. You would think they would know better. 76 foot-lbs is all the torque is on all Toyota. Thats not very tight concidering some manufactures recomend 100-120 on comperable vehicles. But it is like anything else--it all depends on the way it's engineered.

Anyway, don't over tighten your wheels. Check your air presure often. Respect the vehicle. M.

 

[EHinthe604]

Most people attribute warped rotors to excessive heat buildup, which is caused by dragging or incorrectly adjusted pads, or people who constantly ride their brakes when driving.

However, I've also heard that in many cases, warped rotors are caused by overtorqued lug nuts instead of heat. This happens more often than you would think, because most people don't know that lug nuts can be overtorqued easily.

Overtorqued lug nuts or crooked wheels also cause vibration, which many people mistake for out-of balance wheels or warped rotors. I've learned over the years that many times, a vibration felt either through the steering or brakes can be solved simply by removing and reattaching a wheel and properly torqueing the lug nuts.

Thanks for the explanation. I knew that brake-riding would cause excessive heat, but I never knew that overtorquing your lug nuts could be a cause as well. :shock:

 

[EHinthe604]

They were last installed at TOYOTA. You would think they would know better. 76 foot-lbs is all the torque is on all Toyota. Thats not very tight concidering some manufactures recomend 100-120 on comperable vehicles. But it is like anything else--it all depends on the way it's engineered.

Anyway, don't over tighten your wheels. Check your air presure often. Respect the vehicle. M.

Another concern about overtightening your lug nuts is that you might warp your alloy wheels.