Lexus RX450h brake calipers

[MeLex]

Hi all

After a bit of feedback/ideas

Got a 2010 RX450h, FDSH, just had the bigger service it requires every 2 years.

Had a loud piercing ringing sound from the front wheels intermittently for a while. Dealership said it was stuck brake caliper on passenger side.

Quoted me nearly £600 to fix it. I said I didnt require King Charles to do the work, just a normal mechanic would be fine.

I know its a Lexus blah blah blah. But £600 ??? For one silly brake caliper replacement? That would make the car worth over £100k to rebuild. Utterly insane.

Lexus also appear to keep the market VERY tight on parts so your local garage cant get any.

Want to avoid funding this nonsense but am hitting a brick wall.

Any pointers/help/suggestion greatly appreciated.

Edited by MeLex on Tuesday 15th October 12:32

Edited by MeLex on Tuesday 15th October 12:34

Edited by MeLex on Tuesday 15th October 16:58

[ARHarh]

surely any garage can fit a new caliper, OEM spec is easy to find.

https://brakeparts.co.uk/shop/LEXUS/RX450/09-15/RX...

After all its a 14 year old car.

[Smint]

They've done well to last this long.
Pattern parts as above will do just the same job as a set from the dealer parts desk would have at a fraction fo the price.

Don't forget to get the rear calipers serviced properly at the same time.

[MeLex]

I agree they have lasted well. The hunt continues.

Thanks for the reply and advice.

[MeLex]

One garage actually said they wont touch battery powered car with regnerative braking, something to do with shock risk and the lack of properly trained mechanics.

Thanks for the reply too and the link, very helpful.

[Matt_T]

Are the brake calipers specific to a regen braking system? I wonder if you can buy them from a Toyota parts dealer...
https://toyotadirectparts.co.uk/

[MeLex]

Good question thanks. Hadnt thought to challenge that assumption. Will do.


No way I could do it for sure.



2010-2015 Lexus RX350 RX450h Front Brake Pads And Rotors Replacement Instructions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMVKAQxoxhc

Not specifically calipers but still....

Edited by MeLex on Tuesday 15th October 15:17

Edited by MeLex on Tuesday 15th October 15:18

[eth2190]

A screeching sound from the front could just be the brake backing plate is slightly bent and contacting the rotor. Have you driven through any deep puddles recently? I've had the same thing with both GS450h and IS250 and you just need to bend the dust shield back or remove it entirely if it's rusty.

If it is a bad caliper then replacing it on this car should be no problem for any competent mechanic.

[ARHarh]

The pads also have the little metal clip wear thingy which makes a screeching noise when the pads are worn, so could just be worn out pads. Although they could well be worn out due to a sticking caliper.

[MeLex]

eth2190 said:

A screeching sound from the front could just be the brake backing plate is slightly bent and contacting the rotor. Have you driven through any deep puddles recently? I've had the same thing with both GS450h and IS250 and you just need to bend the dust shield back or remove it entirely if it's rusty.

If it is a bad caliper then replacing it on this car should be no problem for any competent mechanic.

Yep that's what I thought. Just been a bit tricky finding one. As mentioned above they are now talking about shock risk with cars which have regenerative breaking. Needs special training etc or I guess they don't get insured.

[MeLex]

.

[MeLex]

[quote=MeLex]

The last bit there seems to be what's happening

Much thicker one side than the other that might be sticking

[ARHarh]

There is no high voltage stuff anywhere near the brakes. So they are just scared. Hybrid cars are common these days and if they aren't setup to handle them just go to the next garage.

[eth2190]

For what it's worth, the brake calipers, pads and discs are identical to the RX350 non-hybrid. You'd think mechanics would be clued up by now, Toyota hybrids have only been around for 20+ years...

[Phunk]

Take it to a normal garage, Lexus are ripping the pee.

Lexus tried similar with my dad’s RX450h, quoted a mental price for something trivial. Local garage sorted it for 10% of the price

[MeLex]

eth2190 said:

For what it's worth, the brake calipers, pads and discs are identical to the RX350 non-hybrid. You'd think mechanics would be clued up by now, Toyota hybrids have only been around for 20+ years...

Interesting thank you.

[MeLex]

Phunk said:

Take it to a normal garage, Lexus are ripping the pee.

Lexus tried similar with my dad’s RX450h, quoted a mental price for something trivial. Local garage sorted it for 10% of the price

Yep thats my thoughts exactly

[MeLex]

ARHarh said:

There is no high voltage stuff anywhere near the brakes. So they are just scared. Hybrid cars are common these days and if they aren't setup to handle them just go to the next garage.

I suspected that was the case but had no technical knowledge to back it up with.

I also think the insurance companies might be behind some of it too.

[Matt_T]

eth2190 said:

For what it's worth, the brake calipers, pads and discs are identical to the RX350 non-hybrid. You'd think mechanics would be clued up by now, Toyota hybrids have only been around for 20+ years...

OK, that's good to know - so the regen system doesn't use different calipers. So I think you can just go to a genuine Toyota / Lexus parts website, put in your Reg and this will give you the part number / code. Then you can see if you can find them cheaper somewhere else.

I would avoid anything that could be a non-genuine part, such as from ebay, Amazon etc.

[E-bmw]

Matt_T said:

eth2190 said:

For what it's worth, the brake calipers, pads and discs are identical to the RX350 non-hybrid. You'd think mechanics would be clued up by now, Toyota hybrids have only been around for 20+ years...

OK, that's good to know - so the regen system doesn't use different calipers. So I think you can just go to a genuine Toyota / Lexus parts website, put in your Reg and this will give you the part number / code. Then you can see if you can find them cheaper somewhere else.

I would avoid anything that could be a non-genuine part, such as from ebay, Amazon etc.

Did you know that you CAN get genuine parts from ebay also?

On top of that "non-genuine parts" can, and are frequently made by BRAKE specialist manufacturers the like of Brembo/AP/Lucas/TRW/ATE & can be as good as "genuine parts".