Trying to buy brake and rotors for RX350 at Toyota

[The Critic]

Is yours a Japan Build or a North American build? They use different front rotors, but some brands have tried to consolidate by suggesting the Japan rotor on North American builds as well. The hat design is different.

I work on a lot of RX's. They tend to be quite hard on brakes as whole. The OE pads and rotors work fairly well, but the pads do not last long. I usually replace with OE from the dealer (the pink ones) because they stop well, are quiet and do not leave heavy pad deposits (like the Akebono proact's do). If you no longer have the factory shim kit, going OE may not be a cost effective option since the shim kits are expensive and are sold separately from the pads.

For rotors, the factory rotors or the Advics rotors from Rockauto or WP are a great choice. Akebono Rotors are ok as well if you have access to WP. The Centric Premiums are decent as well.

 

[Tom777]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Is yours a Japan Build or a North American build? They use different front rotors, but some brands have tried to consolidate by suggesting the Japan rotor on North American builds as well. The hat design is different.

I work on a lot of RX's. They tend to be quite hard on brakes as whole. The OE pads and rotors work fairly well, but the pads do not last long. I usually replace with OE from the dealer (the pink ones) because they stop well, are quiet and do not leave heavy pad deposits (like the Akebono proact's do). If you no longer have the factory shim kit, going OE may not be a cost effective option since the shim kits are expensive and are sold separately from the pads.

For rotors, the factory rotors or the Advics rotors from Rockauto or WP are a great choice. Akebono Rotors are ok as well if you have access to WP. The Centric Premiums are decent as well.


Thank you for the suggestion! I have not work on it yet and just started to gather some information on the parts. Parts number I found was 43512-0E021(pad) and 04465-48100(rotor).

The factory shim kit should still be there since brake had not been changed before. Can it be reused? As far as the country of origin I assume its made in Canada? VIN starts with "2T2" please correct me I am wrong.

 

[Rolla07]

Changing pads and rotors is fun to learn and easy. If you arent comfortable there are many vids online. If you are worried, find an independent mechanic to do it for you.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted By: Tom777

The factory shim kit should still be there since brake had not been changed before. Can it be reused? As far as the country of origin I assume its made in Canada? VIN starts with "2T2" please correct me I am wrong.


New pads usually come with shims

 

[dubber09]

Lexus IS Toyota for those who like to BRAG of having and SPENDING money.
In general - Japanese had no idea what Lexus was until a few years back...

I've gone to Japan a few times.

 

[NASTI]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Is yours a Japan Build or a North American build? They use different front rotors, but some brands have tried to consolidate by suggesting the Japan rotor on North American builds as well. The hat design is different.

I work on a lot of RX's. They tend to be quite hard on brakes as whole. The OE pads and rotors work fairly well, but the pads do not last long. I usually replace with OE from the dealer (the pink ones) because they stop well, are quiet and do not leave heavy pad deposits (like the Akebono proact's do). If you no longer have the factory shim kit, going OE may not be a cost effective option since the shim kits are expensive and are sold separately from the pads.

For rotors, the factory rotors or the Advics rotors from Rockauto or WP are a great choice. Akebono Rotors are ok as well if you have access to WP. The Centric Premiums are decent as well.


Very well said. I have the same car, North American version with the holes in the rotor hats. I replaced the front brake pads with OEM pads and cut OEM rotors at about 40-45K. Recently did a change again at about 75K again and went with Akebono Pro-Act pads and Advics Rotors.

While I definitely recommend the Advics rotors, I was a little disappointed in the Akebono Pro-Act pads. They are not as "dustless" as I expected them to be. I wish I went with another brand of front pads or OEM pads again, as they seem like they bite better and the dust level is not too far off from the Akebonos.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Tom777
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Is yours a Japan Build or a North American build? They use different front rotors, but some brands have tried to consolidate by suggesting the Japan rotor on North American builds as well. The hat design is different.

I work on a lot of RX's. They tend to be quite hard on brakes as whole. The OE pads and rotors work fairly well, but the pads do not last long. I usually replace with OE from the dealer (the pink ones) because they stop well, are quiet and do not leave heavy pad deposits (like the Akebono proact's do). If you no longer have the factory shim kit, going OE may not be a cost effective option since the shim kits are expensive and are sold separately from the pads.

For rotors, the factory rotors or the Advics rotors from Rockauto or WP are a great choice. Akebono Rotors are ok as well if you have access to WP. The Centric Premiums are decent as well.


Thank you for the suggestion! I have not work on it yet and just started to gather some information on the parts. Parts number I found was 43512-0E021(pad) and 04465-48100(rotor).

The factory shim kit should still be there since brake had not been changed before. Can it be reused? As far as the country of origin I assume its made in Canada? VIN starts with "2T2" please correct me I am wrong.


The factory shim kit can usually be reused once, sometimes twice if you are lucky. Of course this is also dependent on the climate; if you live in an area where things get rusty, then all bets are off. When you remove the shim kit, inspect the back of the outward shim for any peeling. Usually this will become an issue by the second or third brake job.

If your VIN starts with 2, then it's a North American build. Unfortunately this is the build with the rotors that are less common in the aftermarket; most of the aftermarket rotors do not have the correct hat design for the North American builds. I think the Advics do have the correct design though. Check Rockauto.

 

[Tom777]

I would like to thank everyone again for all the great information and tips. I really appreciate it. The vehicle belongs to a family member who is a firm believer on OEM parts so eventually bought it from dealer cost 356 in total for front pad and rotors. However, when I was replacing the pads the old ones are all after aftermarket parts from NAPA (lol much?). I was then been told the vehicle have done a brake job a while ago at a tire store which claim OEM parts were used for the brake job. Not saying NAPA parts sucks but the tire shop should have been honest.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: Tom777
I would like to thank everyone again for all the great information and tips. I really appreciate it. The vehicle belongs to a family member who is a firm believer on OEM parts so eventually bought it from dealer cost 356 in total for front pad and rotors. However, when I was replacing the pads the old ones are all after aftermarket parts from NAPA (lol much?). I was then been told the vehicle have done a brake job a while ago at a tire store which claim OEM parts were used for the brake job. Not saying NAPA parts sucks but the tire shop should have been honest.


OEM spec, OEM grade, OEM quality, most brake parts claim that. Not saying the tire shop was honest, but maybe something got lost in translation.

 

[SatinSilver]

A tire shop using Napa brake parts is pretty good. They could have done much worse. Hopefully a fair amount of miles were put on it to get some value out of their work.