Pulsing during slow braking - pads and rotors only 18k miles old (1 Viewer)

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Title pretty much explains it. My wife's LX570 has what I would describe as a pulsing when braking to a stop. It really kicks in from like 20mph to when we come to a stop. It started maybe a month ago.

I bought front pads and rotors and planned to install them Saturday but then I remembered we had some brake work done a while back. I checked my records and the truck got new front and rear pads and rotors only 18k miles ago. The receipt indicates the rotors were model YH248 for the front and yh145 for the rear. Appears to be from autozone. No indication of what the pads were.

What else could this issue be if not rotors or pads? Could pads and rotors really get bad enough to cause this pulsing only 18k miles later? Any advice is appreciated!
 
Title pretty much explains it. My wife's LX570 has what I would describe as a pulsing when braking to a stop. It really kicks in from like 20mph to when we come to a stop. It started maybe a month ago.

I bought front pads and rotors and planned to install them Saturday but then I remembered we had some brake work done a while back. I checked my records and the truck got new front and rear pads and rotors only 18k miles ago. The receipt indicates the rotors were model YH248 for the front and yh145 for the rear. Appears to be from autozone. No indication of what the pads were.

What else could this issue be if not rotors or pads? Could pads and rotors really get bad enough to cause this pulsing only 18k miles later? Any advice is appreciated!
Sounds like the brakes.
 
Sounds like a simple resurfacing of the (most likely) front rotors should take care of your issue. I have seen rotors warp much quicker than 18k miles, so don't worry. It is usually a combination of driving habits, terrain driven, and quality of parts (not to mention quality of installation) used that can determine if brake vibrations or pulsations will be a recurring problem or not. Add in the fact that 200's are so heavy anyway. I know Sequoia's are really bad for warping rear rotors for whatever reason. Don't see it often on much else.
 
Try removing the wheels and manually tighten the lugs onto the wheel while it is completely centered on the hub. Make sure to get the lugs all the way down using just your hands. Then torque using a torque wrench and verify the lugs are all evenly tightened in a star pattern. For the last few years I thought the bakes were awful needing new discs often but I finally figured out that the wheel lugs not torqued evenly causes the sensation described above. For a quick check, just retightening the lugs on the car may make the pulsing less.
 
I second verifying torque, since it's free, but low odds that it may work.

Autozone rotors will be very poor quality. new OE front rotors are only about $60 each plus shipping from many of the discount toyota parts sites. I'd start there, personally. Resurfacing crap rotors will just have the problem return.

Alternately you can try to go out and get the brakes pretty hot, then cruise on the freeway being careful not to come to a complete stop for a good 10-15 minutes to let them cool. Usually brake pulsation is uneven pad deposits on the rotor surface and is something of a positive feedback loop.. the extra material in one spot causes increased friction there, and increased heat, which transfers even more pad material to that spot.. repeat. Resurfacing does remove this, but it also removes metal that helps act as a heat sink to absorb thermal energy from a sudden stop. The more mass in the rotor the less the temp will rise for a given stop event.

This could be a matter of how the vehicle is driven, on top of the quality of the parts. Common stops from freeway speed to stop lights for a rig this heavy can put a lot of heat into one spot on the rotor, leading to the uneven pad deposit situation I describe above. If possible make those stops more gradual, or try to stop a bit short so you can creep up and keep the pad moving on the rotor, even if it's slow.
 
@2008LX : Did you find a resolution to your problem?

I have a 1999 TLC (100 Series) with almost exactly the same issue. When I concentrate on the issue, I initially discounted brakes because the pulsing doesn't seem to happen with every rotation of the wheel, more like every 5-8 rotations. It also gets more pronounced as you slow to a stop.

Not knowing much about the mechanics of wheel assemblies. I'm hoping to learn what I can check (hopefully myself) so I can cross some of those possible causes off my list. The last thing I want to do is replace the brakes, but still have the problem... Thanks for any help you can provide!

---
Sorry, wasn't sure whether to create a new topic under the 100 Series thread or post a reply here.
 
FYI - I ended up doing new pads and rotors and it solved the issue. Pads had tons of life left. Rotors didn't look awful so idk what the issue really was.
 
FYI - I ended up doing new pads and rotors and it solved the issue. Pads had tons of life left. Rotors didn't look awful so idk what the issue really was.
Thanks for the update!

While I'm not very mechanical, I'm not scared of trying to fix some things. I'm not sure I want to tackle something so critical to staying alive.

Based on what I've been reading here in the forums, I have a few questions.
1. While this can be annoying, it doesn't really feel unsafe. If I continue to drive it like it is, could I damage something else?
2. If I take it someplace, is a dealership the only place that will use OEM level parts? I normally go to a local Les Schwab or equivalent for some of my other vehicles. I'm fine paying a little more for good quality, but don't want to give up my first-born.

I appreciate your insight!
 
Thanks for the update!

While I'm not very mechanical, I'm not scared of trying to fix some things. I'm not sure I want to tackle something so critical to staying alive.

Based on what I've been reading here in the forums, I have a few questions.
1. While this can be annoying, it doesn't really feel unsafe. If I continue to drive it like it is, could I damage something else?
2. If I take it someplace, is a dealership the only place that will use OEM level parts? I normally go to a local Les Schwab or equivalent for some of my other vehicles. I'm fine paying a little more for good quality, but don't want to give up my first-born.

I appreciate your insight!
Find your parts on one of the discount OEM toyota parts sites. You'll end up paying less for parts than the brake shop would charge you for their cheapest-possible-production chinese-sourced junk. Granted it was a sale but I just paid $45 each for brand new toyota OEM front rotors. Non-sale pricing is closer to $60. Still a very good deal for that level of quality.
 
Try bedding the brakes first before you do anything else, a lot of times the brakes were not properly bedded after install. Worse case scenario find a shop that has an on car brake lathe.

 
I would do whatever I could to avoid removing metal from the rotors. The more mass is there the less they heat up for a given stopping event. And heat buildup is what leads to this problem in the first place
 
Resurfacing brake rotors normally removes a negligible amount of metal (depending on who is doing the resurfacing...haha). More times than not, insufficient heat dissipation is cause by worn pads, not thin rotors. As long as the rotors are thicker than minimum specification, they will operate as designed. I replace rotors usually due to excessive rust more often than being past minimum thickness. But that is just my experience.
 
My point stands. I still want there to be as much mass as possible, and with how cheap OE rotors are from the online parts suppliers you can often spend not much more for brand new hardware with no need to trust a shop to perform a machining operation correctly.
 
If you do end up going the resurfacing route, I would take them to a larger shop preferably one that works on fleet vehicles. We, per most contracts, would turn rotors several times until min. thickness has been reached, then replace. We never had a failure due to rotor thickness.

When I was a mechanic, turning rotors was an oddly satisfying process.
 
If you do end up going the resurfacing route, I would take them to a larger shop preferably one that works on fleet vehicles. We, per most contracts, would turn rotors several times until min. thickness has been reached, then replace. We never had a failure due to rotor thickness.
When I was a mechanic, turning rotors was an oddly satisfying process.
I've never had to purchase rotors. I have a guy who turns them for the local NAPA chain. He is a true craftsman. Last September he did my "new" '97 LX450, those were likely on the last go round. Oddly for me, the first vehicle I've ever had pulsing brakes. Thanks to the post above re: bedding, I did that yesterday. And, bye bye pulsing problem. Even at my age, still learning new tricks.
The argument for turning is if the rotors are "good" then you have a known quantity, so to speak. Turning them - while in spec should be a non issue to returning in spec braking performance. My "guy" can tell by the quality of the cuts OEM Toyota, from knock offs.
My 2 Penny's
 
I suspect the trick for some people may be finding a shop that even does rotor turning, much less one with a salty old hand that does it "right".
 

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