2018 LC w/ Warped Rotors: Advice on replacement

[mydmolly]

Second owner of this 2018 LC and assumed ownership with the warped (bouncing brake pedal) rotors. For good measure, I plan to replace front and rear rotors and pads . . . and would appreciate recommendations on both rotors and pads from this community.

This LC is 100% stock with 44k miles and I believe the factory original rotors and pads. Primarily our road trip vacation vehicle. We do not tow and will typically load-out with my wife, our dog, the approx. 400 lbs. of gear . . . relatively speaking a pretty light load.

Appreciate all your advice!

 

[iwashmycar]

That mileage is nothing - just have them turned IF you are needing new pads. I kind of find that hard to believe, but I dont know LCs super well.

Warped rotors are not physically warped...the brake pad deposits are just uneven on them.

You could try going out and bedding them just for the sake of it.

Find you some back roads, and do like 60-10mph 4 or 5 times....HARD stops but not kicking ABS on....key is to NOT stop the truck, so you need a nice route. And secure your personal items / no pets to fly around lol - you need to really work them.

Then right after that do like 4 more from 45 to 5 mph....after the first round you should be smelling brakes as they should be nice and hot.

Keep driving around a few miles, with NO stops so that they can cool down....that should more evenly distribute the pad material.


Many people "warp" them by having brakes really warm and them coming to a stop where the hot pad just smashes to the hot rotor.

 

[mydmolly]

That mileage is nothing - just have them turned IF you are needing new pads. I kind of find that hard to believe, but I dont know LCs super well.

Warped rotors are not physically warped...the brake pad deposits are just uneven on them.

You could try going out and bedding them just for the sake of it.

Find you some back roads, and do like 60-10mph 4 or 5 times....HARD stops but not kicking ABS on....key is to NOT stop the truck, so you need a nice route. And secure your personal items / no pets to fly around lol - you need to really work them.

Then right after that do like 4 more from 45 to 5 mph....after the first round you should be smelling brakes as they should be nice and hot.

Keep driving around a few miles, with NO stops so that they can cool down....that should more evenly distribute the pad material.


Many people "warp" them by having brakes really warm and them coming to a stop where the hot pad just smashes to the hot rotor.

Sound advice . . . based on the pedal feel i assumed warped.

Thanks

 

[TeCKis300]

In the grand scheme of things, rotors are cheap and easy to replace. Disposable. Not many shops will turn rotors any longer.

 

[mydmolly]

In the grand scheme of things, rotors are cheap and easy to replace. Disposable. Not many shops will turn rotors any longer.

Any recommendations on a manufacture of 'rotors' and 'pads' ? Are folks using 'Genuine Toyota' replacement parts? Or is there a better option?

Thanks

 

[iwashmycar]

OEM, Centric, Napa Gold, Stoptech.

You basically get what you pay for. Some of the best I ever bought were some Brembo blanks I found on Rock Auto back in the day. Only downside was they were not coated so rust...

 

[TeCKis300]

Any recommendations on a manufacture of 'rotors' and 'pads' ? Are folks using 'Genuine Toyota' replacement parts? Or is there a better option?

Thanks

Personally, I prefer OEM parts for rotors. More consistent and likely higher quality. High quality blanks are better than typical aesthetic drilled or slotted rotors in the aftermarket.

This is coming from having run many different brakes, track days, and experience over different cars.

Unless the third party brake is from a first tier brand, for which you'll pay for, it's more likely a generic rebrand.

 

[mydmolly]

Questions asked and answered . . . great community and forum . . . thanks again

 

[bloc]

Personally, I prefer OEM parts for rotors. More consistent and likely higher quality. High quality blanks are better than typical aesthetic drilled or slotted rotors in the aftermarket.

This is coming from having run many different brakes, track days, and experience over different cars.

Unless the third party brake is from a first tier brand, for which you'll pay for, it's more likely a generic rebrand.

This. Even brembo has their aftermarket rotors for the US market built in Mexico these days.

OEM front rotors are about $60 each at the good dealer discount sites.

Also @mydmolly to avoid the pulsating brakes issue in the first place, try and avoid hard stops to zero. I’ll often leave room to creep forward if I have to slow from highway speeds for a traffic light. If I didn’t plan ahead and leave room I’ll put the transmission in neutral so that I can reduce brake pedal pressure to hold the vehicle still. This isn’t nearly as effective as keeping the brake pad moving on the rotor surface but should reduce pad material transfer somewhat.

 

[CharlieS]

Genuine Toyota rotors, Toyota pads. Stoptech Sport pads are nice, but a bit grabby.

 

[cboyd]

I encountered the same thing on a 70k CPO. Dealer turned all the rotors. The warping returned on the rear within 3k, suspected to be over-tourqued wheel nuts - so make sure you or they follow torque specs.

Dealer ate all the rotors under CPO and all has been fine for 20k. So good evidence that OEM rotors are Perfectly acceptable. I also tow a horse trailer quite often.

Ben contemplating going with something a bit more grabby, maybe TRD pads? I run TerrainTamer rotors and pads on my 100 series and they’ve been really great, but looks like there is no US distributor currently…

 

[AnyMal]

Same exact problem warped CPO rotors. Have no clue if it was a poor bedding or if it was actually warped.
Ive been told it can happen with extreme temp shocks but i dont know if that is true.

I had the dealer replace rotors and pads and fluid and buttery smooth again. They are supposed to check for that in CPO list but never do.

 

[Noah Miller]

I did my Wife's GX in the driveway due to brake pedal pulsing at 50K. Turning the rotors was the same as new rotors in terms of price, but with taking them off and travel more aggravation. With a proper jack and stands I did all for wheels in under two hours not rushing and cleaning & lubing all parts. Used OEM during a 25% off EBAY sale that came from a lexus dealer. Proper bedding is done after install and no issues since.

I always keep a spare set for each car, usually bought duing OEM sale at either Lexus site or EBAY.

Noah

 

[bloc]

I did my Wife's GX in the driveway due to brake pedal pulsing at 50K. Turning the rotors was the same as new rotors in terms of price, but with taking them off and travel more aggravation. With a proper jack and stands I did all for wheels in under two hours not rushing and cleaning & lubing all parts. Used OEM during a 25% off EBAY sale that came from a lexus dealer. Proper bedding is done after install and no issues since.

I always keep a spare set for each car, usually bought duing OEM sale at either Lexus site or EBAY.

Noah

Plus, turning rotors removes metal which acts as a heat sink.

With the low cost of new rotors there really is no use having them turned.

 

[scott johnson]

I upgraded to the Power Stop rotors and ceramic brake pads on my ‘08. The ones that came on it were warped and I pull my 40 on a trailer. They perform way better than stock.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

My OEM brakes were pulsating unbearably by a mere 40k km. I replaced the OEM stuff with slotted & drilled rotors from Stoptech, and Tunda TRD pads. The new setup worked well, but the pulsation again got very strong by about 85k km. I just replaced the fronts with OEM rotors and the same Tundra TRD pads. Parts ran me $360 CAD (taxes in) at the local Toyota dealer, and the installation was trivial. OEM parts are cheap; $360 CAD every few years is nothing. For what it's worth, the Lexus dealer wanted $1200 CAD just to turn the rotors.

 

[c4xplsv]

Had the same issue with our ‘14. Seemed to get warped rotors every 20-25k miles. Ended up going with stock rotors but instead used the Akenbono performance (yellow) pads. Problem solved - brake dust gone, great bite, no more shuddering or warped rotors.

Summary - factory rotors are fine, pads appear to be the issue.

 

[AnyMal]

Had the same issue with our ‘14. Seemed to get warped rotors every 20-25k miles. Ended up going with stock rotors but instead used the Akenbono performance (yellow) pads. Problem solved - brake dust gone, great bite, no more shuddering or warped rotors.

Summary - factory rotors are fine, pads appear to be the issue.

While dusty the oem pads are fine for me. I do have a bit of squeal developing though with plenty of pad left. Not sure why that is. Maybe just dirty.

 

[c4xplsv]

While dusty the oem pads are fine for me. I do have a bit of squeal developing though with plenty of pad left. Not sure why that is. Maybe just dirty.

In my experience that is just the nature of metallic pads (specifically from Toyota and Lexus). My IS350 had squealing front brakes with several sets of OE pads to confirm it wasn’t just a bad set. The IS forums recommended the Akenbono pads from numerous users. That change solved the issue for me. Tried those pads for the dust related reason on the LC and discovered the warped/shuddering issue stopped happening as well.

 

[bloc]

In my experience that is just the nature of metallic pads (specifically from Toyota and Lexus). My IS350 had squealing front brakes with several sets of OE pads to confirm it wasn’t just a bad set. The IS forums recommended the Akenbono pads from numerous users. That change solved the issue for me. Tried those pads for the dust related reason on the LC and discovered the warped/shuddering issue stopped happening as well.

I have akebono ceramics in my beater and for normal driving, noise, and dust, they are great. But even moderate braking from very high speeds, they aren't happy.. which makes me think they won't handle high heat from a hard stop in a heavy vehicle like a cruiser very well.