Price for front brake shims? (1 Viewer)

[pfran42]

I took my truck in to the dealer after having them turn my front rotors and replace my brake pads. Ever since I got the truck back from the brake job, it has made a clicking sound on the front driver side at slow speeds when coasting and accelerating.


I dropped it off Friday specifically describing the sound as "mechanical" and "synced to wheel rotation". They gibbered a bunch of yes sirs and we'll take good care of you sirs...and reported back to me that the sound was an exhaust manifold leak. I was too angry to properly address them and since it was the weekend, I told them I would return on Monday or Tuesday.

Today I ask to speak to the service manager and he gives me the whole "I can't believe they told you it was an exhaust manifold...Who looked at your vehicle?...We want your business... Lets set this straight...can I get you a loaner?"

I call back a few hours later and the guy in charge of my service visit tells me that they are going to take care of labor but that the shims would be around $70

HOLY CR@P!!! I AM ABOUT TO GO OVER THERE WITH A BASEBALL BAT

HOW THE H3LL ARE SHIMS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN BRAKE PADS???

They bent the shim in the first place when they turned my rotors and installed new brake pads. Now I am out of a vehicle for half a day and they want $70 on top of it?

This is the same Toyota service center that quoted me $1400 on a new exhaust manifold for a seized O2 sensor. All it took was one squirt of PB Blaster, 15 minutes and the thing came out almost by hand.

Should I raise h3ll with them or pay the $70 and just never go back there?

NOTE: They are right next door to where I am doing some contract work and it is extremely convenient for me to get oil changes there.

 

[MidTex]

I would raise hell and get them to pay the $70. In the future I would only go there for oil changes, if that.

 

[jgray]

I'd be pissed too... I got raped on a brake job once on my 100 and I vowed to never let it happen to me again... I've done several brake jobs myself since then including a full disc brake conversion on my old FJ40... It really isn't that hard to do brakes yourself... That said i don't see how the "experts" could screw up something so routine for a dealership service center. $70 for shims doesn't seem right to me either... I don't know Toyota normal stealership pricing off the top of my head but you know Cdan or Beno will give you a good fair price. It might be worthwhile to take a minute and give those guys a call. You might want to just take your ride to the ACC guys for everything you don't want to tackle yourself in the future; especially since you have worked with them some now.

Oh yeah and continue to raise hell w the dealership manager... It wasn't like that when you dropped it off... The customer is always right! If he doesn't think so ask for his boss!

 

[2000UZJ]

Take it to SS Toyota! They charge you and don't change your oil!

 

[2000UZJ]

and my shims were more than the pads. That is why I returned them when I found out I could reuse mine with a little cleanup and re-greasing.

 

[lexi4darin]

Paul,

Shims are that expensive from Toyota. I buy mine from Sewell and there's very lil discount for these parts. Typically, I'll get anywhere from 30-60% off other items but I get 5% on brakes.

 

[pfran42]

They comped the whole visit. I let them know rather sternly in front of a full waiting room that had I been a 30-something year old woman, I would have already shelled out over $3000.00 for exhaust manifolds when in reality the first issue was a $200 repair and the second a $70 repair.

I also told the service manager that I was going to make it my goal to tell 20 Toyota owners all about my negative experience in such detail that they would tremble at the thought of all the $ being stolen from them at the very mention of the words Marietta Toyota Service Center.

 

[9toys]

a shim kit for a lexus sc 430 is about $70.00 from sewell lexus. when i changed the rotors and pads on my 99LC they were real brittle and a couple of the tabs broke off. I used them anyway with no ill effects. maybe the mechanic did the same and it just didn't work out as well.

 

[Griffin]

I'm glad to read this thread. I live in Carrollton, with Marietta being one of the closer towns to me with a Toyota dealership. Guess I'll find another, more distant, dealership to have my LC serviced. Any suggestions?

 

[2000UZJ]

I'm glad to read this thread. I live in Carrollton, with Marietta being one of the closer towns to me with a Toyota dealership. Guess I'll find another, more distant, dealership to have my LC serviced. Any suggestions?

ACC. Worth the drive, worth the money.

Or find a mud member nearby that knows how to wrench. Avoid the above stealership and Sandy Springs. they mis-routed my cam sensor harness and refuse to fix, they put my drive shaft on backwards and created a huge vibration, denied it. This is the ultimate, f up on there part. Giving them my 100 for a oil change. Them NOT changing the oil, and them CHARGING me and not telling me anything about it. Discovered it on a thread on TacomaWorld. A guy recently quit and told the story of a "silver Lexus with 4 offside lights" coming in for service and they just flipped it around and drove it back out. they didn't even change the filter. Just really stole money from me.

GA dealerships are really something.

 

[lexi4darin]

Independent shops people. Independent.

The dealers don't have to ride on their reputation of high quality. They get enough traffic from having big name out there, the most visible shop (both physically and from a marketing perspective), and they make plenty of bank from just the selling of cars.

An Indi shop has to make it on rep. Find a good one and stick with them.

 

[re_guderian]

An aftermarket shim kit for both wheels is about $30. More importantly, did you click go away? I'm not seeing how a brake pad shim is causing a clicking timed with wheel rotatation.

 

[9toys]

Maybe not enough grease in the CV boot?

 

[bamachem]

The "CLICK" noise you describe is usually caused by the springs and clips ($2.55 brake fitting kit above) being missing and not the shims.

When you don't have shims, you get brake squeal (caused by vibration). The shims have a thin application of "anti-squeal" -which is basically high-temp grease- to absorb vibration between the pad and caliper piston face.

When the clips are missing, the pads fit loose in the caliper and "CLICK" when the rotational direction changes, etc. When the springs are missing, the pads can "ride" against the rotor while under way and cause excessive wear and heat because they dont' retract. Also, w/o the springs, the pads can fit somewhat loosely if the clips are worn/bent or missing.

In other words, the "CLICK" is caused by a sloppy brake job.

It's a $2.55 kit, and NOT the $68+ shims that fixed your "CLICK".

 

[LCHardriver_02]

I have the same click... need to order that kit and learn how to do my own breaks! pfran - The more I visit various mechanics, the more I want to learn how to fix stuff myself. I agree with you that it is VERY frustrating to hand over hard earned cash only to have the problem come back within a short period, or the "fix" not fix anything.

 

[re_guderian]

Still not convinced that "synched to wheel rotation" when "coasting and accelerating" = brake pad shims or springs. I took this to mean one click per rotation? I can see how if you have slotted rotors, you'd get multiple clicks per rev if the springs and/or shims were missing. I know for a fact that if your SO runs the rear pads down to metal on slotted rotors that they click and squeal like the world's about to end. Or, "so I've heard" Regardless, if it's gone, good. I still wouldn't go back to the dealer - ever. But there are a myriad of causes of rotationally synched "clicks", from bent dust covers hitting wheel weights, rocks in weird places, CV issues, etc. etc.

 

[pfran42]

An aftermarket shim kit for both wheels is about $30. More importantly, did you click go away? I'm not seeing how a brake pad shim is causing a clicking timed with wheel rotatation.

The click did go away. Maybe a burr on the rotor from when they turned them?

Maybe not enough grease in the CV boot?

Nope...My suspension in unmodified with 85K on the clock. Boots look brand new.

The "CLICK" noise you describe is usually caused by the springs and clips ($2.55 brake fitting kit above) being missing and not the shims.

When you don't have shims, you get brake squeal (caused by vibration). The shims have a thin application of "anti-squeal" -which is basically high-temp grease- to absorb vibration between the pad and caliper piston face.

When the clips are missing, the pads fit loose in the caliper and "CLICK" when the rotational direction changes, etc. When the springs are missing, the pads can "ride" against the rotor while under way and cause excessive wear and heat because they dont' retract. Also, w/o the springs, the pads can fit somewhat loosely if the clips are worn/bent or missing.

In other words, the "CLICK" is caused by a sloppy brake job.

It's a $2.55 kit, and NOT the $68+ shims that fixed your "CLICK".

Andy, you should have a TV show. The invoice for work performed lists shims, fitting kit and anti-rattle spring.

Still not convinced that "synched to wheel rotation" when "coasting and accelerating" = brake pad shims or springs. I took this to mean one click per rotation? I can see how if you have slotted rotors, you'd get multiple clicks per rev if the springs and/or shims were missing. I know for a fact that if your SO runs the rear pads down to metal on slotted rotors that they click and squeal like the world's about to end. Or, "so I've heard" Regardless, if it's gone, good. I still wouldn't go back to the dealer - ever. But there are a myriad of causes of rotationally synched "clicks", from bent dust covers hitting wheel weights, rocks in weird places, CV issues, etc. etc.

Life I said earlier, I think it had something to do with a burr on the rotor. It sort of sounded like I had a rock stuck in my front driver's side tire.

 

[bamachem]

Ahhhhh, so it was a continuous "click - ... - click - ... - click" as the tire rolled? Odd.

The "CLICK" I refer to is when you change direction and apply the brakes for the first time. Back up and apply brakes after parking and you get a "CLICK" at the front wheels. THAT is what happens when you're missing the clips in the $2.55 kit.

Sounds to me like you indeed had something funky going on w/ the rotor.

 

[highonpottery]

i had a mysterious clicking coming from the wheels of our hundy once after some brake work was done. my clicking was happening during slow speeds and while turning - when i took it back they said it was a "pin" somehow associated with the calipers, but i'm guessing it was this clip that y'all are referring to. this would be my guess.

i know dealerships have a reputation to sometimes be shady or price gouge, but sounds like you guys have it much worse.

 

[re_guderian]

Ahhhhh, so it was a continuous "click - ... - click - ... - click" as the tire rolled? Odd.

The "CLICK" I refer to is when you change direction and apply the brakes for the first time. Back up and apply brakes after parking and you get a "CLICK" at the front wheels. THAT is what happens when you're missing the clips in the $2.55 kit.

Sounds to me like you indeed had something funky going on w/ the rotor.

That's a "clunk"...