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What does brake pad wear indicator sound like?

39K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Smoglaaswer 
#1 ·
My 07 Sienna has 41K miles. I'm wondering if the front brakes need replacement. The owners manual says it comes with brake pad wear indicators that give off a "squealing or scraping noise while driving." I've noticed a soft, pulsating scraping-like sound when the brakes are applied, especially when 1st driven and am wondering if that sound is the wear indicator. Don't hear it all the time. On other cars I've heard, the wear indicators generated a loud, high-pitched scrapping sound. That's not the case on my Sienna. I pulled the tires and the pads look okay to me, but there is only an eight or 3/16 inch clearance between the rotor and the caliper bracket.

Anyone have any experience with this. I'm guessing I ought to have them checked.
 
#2 ·
When in doubt get them checked. The wear indicator on the front pads is on the inside pad. So if you did not take the caliper off you will not know the condition of the inside pad. IF they are sticky in the holders maybe one pad was wearing slightly more than the other(drag). The indicator is 90 degrees to the rotor surface. Think of fingers down the chalk board. From my past experience the noise is when driving and goes away with the brakes applied.

How long do pads last? depends on your driving habits. Have them checked.
 
#3 ·
Try here....

2004 Sienna **DISC** Brake Repair / Replacement Instructions
http://siennachat.com/forum/index.php/topic,267.0.html

Page 32-34 (page #3 of 6) of the FRONT BRAKES *.pdf file states:
17. INSPECT PAD LINING THICKNESS
(a) Using a ruler, measure the pad lining thickness.
Standard thickness: 12.0 mm (0.472 in.)
Minimum thickness: 1.0 mm (0.039 in.)

Page 32-38 (page #2 of 5) of the REAR DISC BRAKES *.pdf file states:
18. INSPECT PAD LINING THICKNESS
(a) Using a ruler, measure the pad lining thickness.
Standard thickness: 11.0mm (0.433 in.)
Minimum thickness: 1.0 mm (0.039 in.)

AFAIK, the specs have not changed for the 2ndGen Sienna. You may wish to verify and correlate it to your model.
Generally, many wear indicators start squealing at approx 2-3mm remaining. I've read a few member's stories that some "never squealed" resulting in metal-to-metal grinding. This may have been caused by uneven pad wear (inside vs outside).

YMMV.
Good Luck!! 8)
 
#4 ·
I have an 07 LE and changed them out at 48k mi. I still had about 1/16 to 1/8 in. thickness left on the pads but the indicator noise bothered me and I knew they had to be changed. I always like to use Ceramic pads to replace the factory pads. Also when I replaced mine I discovered that one of the slider pins in the passenger caliper assy was stuck. It apparently was never greased at the factory... ???
Are you going to do this yourself?
 
#5 ·
robo5 said:
... So if you did not take the caliper off you will not know the condition of the inside pad...
Perhaps it's a misinterpretation of your comment, but you can inspect the remaining pad lining thickness of the inside pad without removing the caliper: there is a large slot in the center of the caliper that allows you to see the edge of the rotor and the inside pad - although it would be hard to measure with a ruler (as the intructions topspy referenced indicate), you can easily estimate the remaining pad thickness.
 
#6 ·
TRUE zero260. I see your point. But from my experience on my van the inside pad wears a little more and uneven than the outside. The hole you are refering to is in the middle. If the inside pad was wearing uneven you would have to guess how much is left at the indicator as you can not really see the end of the pad unless you take the caliper off and inspect the pad itself. I try to inspect my brakes often as my wife drives like a rock-star. ;D
 
#7 ·
The pad lining thickness - both inner and outer - is visible through the caliper, once the wheel is removed. Two factors will cause underestimates of the remaining thickness: there is usually superficial rust on the rotor edge, and the pad wears its way into the rotor. This led the service tech at my dealership to declare that there was no lining thickness left on my Sienna's front pads (I assume he meant the inners), when they were approximately at the 1 mm minimum.

Unfortunately (for both me and the dealership) he recorded this as "metal-on-metal", which was clearly not the case, as he would have realized in even the most brief test drive. The ensuing battle with the service department was the key reason that I no longer give them my business.

More directly to the original question, at the minimum thickness I did not hear anything from the wear indicators. When I replaced the pads I confirmed that the original wear indicators were still in place.
 
#8 ·
I had the "stealership" tell me my brakes were done... 20,000 km after purchasing it from them as a toyota certified vehicle. I promptly questioned them about it... The story changed to "a recommended brake job" all of a sudden. To make a long story short I drove the van for 40,000 more km's before I replaced the pads and rotors. The van had 130,000 ish km's when I did the complete brake job (rotors and pads). While changing summer and winter tires over I had the opportunity to keep an eye on everything. There was no doubt that the pads were worn when the stealership suggested replacing... but far from being worn out. I feel sorry for people that are at the dealerships' mercy. I recently got burned for a $50+ cabin air filter. The old trick of pulling it out, showing the wife AND charging $15 to reinstall it. Something they would have had to do anyway if she had said no. I reminded her not to let them change ANYTHING unless it is a safety risk and to keep the old part for me to see if work is done. Too bad it has to be this way... On the bright side I recently got the 55+ point inspection free with an oil change and they didn't make up any stories of problems that needed to be fixed other than the ones that did (parking brake cable adjustment). It kinda restored my faith in the dealership... at least a little bit...

cheers,

shineysideup
 
#9 ·
It all depends upon the service advisor & tech and their personal philosophy/character.....and what bills they have to pay or toys they want to buy that week/month. ;D ::) :mad: :eek: 8) ??? ??? ???
 
#10 ·
Try as I might, I could not figure out what the problem was, so I took the van in to the shop. The mechanic could not hear the same noise as I described and said the brake linings were fine. However he felt the rear brakes were dirty and needed adjusting. So I had him do that. He also scuffed the front brake rotors in case they had a light glaze.

That was 3 days ago. Quiet as a church mouse since. :)
 
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