Camry Rear Brakes

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supton

supton

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Few questions:

2011 Camry, 4cylinder/6spd manual/base

Just got done with the 50kmile service. Front brakes have "10" indicated (mm I'm guessing) but rear is at "5" and the tech note says uneven wear and/or uneven angle (two notes, different places). Am guessing we aren't braking hard enough to overcome the brake distribution (that prevents nose dive), not sure it's worth bothering, since brakes are cheap. I think, haven't priced Camry pads out yet...

Any reason to replace rotors at the same time, or if they aren't badly rusted to leave in place? My Jetta goes through rotors faster than pads, due to rust issues; the Camry does not have warped rotors so if they are ok I'm thinking of reusing. Anything complicated in rotor removal?

Also, do the pistons have to be turned in? Standard clockwise?

What is the grease required for the sliders? I'm thinking of buying that, and pulling the wheels one of these weekends to see what is noted. I've never had to lube sliders before, but I'm guessing now is the time to start.

Seems like short brake life to me, but the wife does lots of short trips. The tire life is what bothers me; 20k on Michelin Primacy's and they are at 5/32's left (supposedly, I didn't measure).
 
To my knowledge, the rear brakes use separate parking brake shoes in the rotor hat. So the rear caliper pistons should just press back in like front caliper pistons. I've used standard commercially-available slide pin lubricant before on brakes. I just buy the small packet of it for $1 at the parts store...I think the stuff I've used (and have been happy with) was a dark green.

Dumb question, but they are Primacy MXV4 and not Energy MXV4 S8, right? More than half worn after only 20k miles is not right for 60k mile Primacy MXV4s. Have the alignment checked.
 
For specific info to your car I would just check the Camry forums, unless someone here knows for sure. On my cars that I've had with rear disc, most of them have used the actual caliper piston for the E-brake so they require turning in with a special tool. (it is cheap)

As for the lube, I would recommend Sil Glyde more than anything else. I have had nothing but trouble with Permatex Green with rubber, the stuff is on my avoid at all costs list. Sil Glyde just works. I guess there is a reason it has been in the industry way longer than I have been alive.
 
The best brake rotors are the Centric Premium. They have a black coating on the rotor hat to deter rust, so that you will actually be able to take the wheels off in the future.

Also, OE tires generally suck (especially in regards to tread life). Good long-lasting tires include the Michelin Primacy MXV4 and Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum.
 
4 disc brake camry? or frnt disc/rear drum?

Even for something that is as heavy as Camry, rear brake pads/shoes service life shall be at least 3x longer to that of front, due to the weight distribution (typical FWD is around 70%frt/30% rear with heavy vehicles, close to 60%frt/40%rear for some lighter FWDs).

Yes, you will need to have that dice tool to turn the rear piston back.

Lastly: with such heavy vehicles, if you opt for ceramic fronts, typically they last around 3 yrs of avg driving before they need to be replaced. semi-metallic may fair a bit better/lasts a bit longer, at a cost of more aggressive action on the rotor(in terms of wear), squealing and/or dust issues (metallic pad dust will cause a lot of staining issues on mag wheels, wheel covers, etc.)

Lastly: tires that came stock with the brand new car purchase are designed to give you maybe a couple of yrs worth of service and nothing more. Mine Dunlop SP37a/s lasted 42k before they have to be replaced...



Q.
 
Primacy MXV4. I just measured, and the tires that were on the front were 6/32's on the very innermost edge; the rest of the tire was 5/32's. The two tires that had been on the rear were at 5/32's. I guess I'll see about an alignment next--wasn't expecting that so soon.

Am going to look at either getting a manual or think about some sort of online subscription service. After dealing with tdiclub.com for years I've been kinda let down by other forums for when it comes to detailed knowledge.

Edit: The Michelin's are the second set of tires on the car. I don't recall what were the first, other than not Michelin. Bridgestone? Almost to the wear bars at 30k. Dealer recommended the Michelins, as they were the same price but reputedly had a longer lifespan.

Edit: My Jetta also eats rear pads 2 or 3x the rate of the fronts, and it is maybe 400lb lighter, IIRC. The rear pads were basically toast at 168k, while the fronts were maybe quarter-worn. Light braking extends front brakes at the expense of the rears, if brake distribution is used, it seems.
 
Last edited:
4 wheel disc on the Camry.

I'm trying out Nokian enTyre on the Jetta right now. That car has never had tires last longer than 40k. Conti Pro Touring (?) were tread-free at 40k, Hakka 2 and Nordman 2 winter tires were half worn--but flat spotted a tire--after 40k. Nokian WRG2's were the worst, loud and badly worn at 30k. i3's might have been ok, but I didn't rotate and I think I was glad to get rid of after 40k-ish due to the noise (but they were were clearly well worn, maybe another 20k left). I just have bad luck with tires, and it appears my wife might too now.

OTOH the wife indicated she wants snow tires this year. The old tires, which made it a year, were ok for the winter, in her opinion; but these Primacy's have no business in the snow. Horrific traction, even new. If I could find a mildly aggressive all season she might be happy with those. That would get me out of buying a new set of rims, sensors and two sets of tires.

FWIW, we're one month from owning the car for 2 years.
 
been dealing with camrys (from the early 90s gen 2 all the way into gen 6, wifey's current one is gen5), from rear drums to rear disc types.

Typically speaking, with 70% city, 30% highway, I service brake pads at an interval (front/rear) as 4 to 1; for drum rears, the duration is 6 to 1 (meaning 6x servicing front before the rear needs to be serviced once). Camry's is quite front-heavy (esp. gen5 and 6) so front rotors and pads seldom lasts more than 3.4 yrs before they need to be replaced.

Good luck on your tire shopping. Bought some Turazana with serenity for my wifey's camry last May, and it's been doing well (we have separate set of snows for winter).

Q.
 
We live in a rural area, so
Maybe that weight distribution is why her Camry does ok in the snow and my Jetta... doesn't. Never thought about that aspect before.
 
Originally Posted By: Quest
4 disc brake camry? or frnt disc/rear drum?

Even for something that is as heavy as Camry, rear brake pads/shoes service life shall be at least 3x longer to that of front, due to the weight distribution (typical FWD is around 70%frt/30% rear with heavy vehicles, close to 60%frt/40%rear for some lighter FWDs).

Yes, you will need to have that dice tool to turn the rear piston back.

Lastly: with such heavy vehicles, if you opt for ceramic fronts, typically they last around 3 yrs of avg driving before they need to be replaced. semi-metallic may fair a bit better/lasts a bit longer, at a cost of more aggressive action on the rotor(in terms of wear), squealing and/or dust issues (metallic pad dust will cause a lot of staining issues on mag wheels, wheel covers, etc.)

Lastly: tires that came stock with the brand new car purchase are designed to give you maybe a couple of yrs worth of service and nothing more. Mine Dunlop SP37a/s lasted 42k before they have to be replaced...



Q.
+1 I've got almost 300K on a set of OEM Camry rear shoes. Of course the FRONTS were upgraded to Avalon parts some years ago and that may have shifted the bias even more to the front.
 
Originally Posted By: default
Uneven wear is sticky sliders.


+2 and you aren't hitting the brakes hard enough. Once a week do a good pull from 50-20 then coast up to the next traffic light when there's noone behind you.

Co-incidentally, was this from a VIP? They like doing the brake lining check.
 
No, Toyota dealer. I pre-bought service, hoping the wife would take the hint and take it in herself. Was a good idea. At the time...

Does using the brakes harder do something for bedding? I can see Italian tune-ups doing something good (blowing out the carbon); but I'm not sure what deliberately standing on the brakes is good for. Removing rust? Making the sliders move all the more?
 
Interesting that your base Camry doesn't have rear drum brakes but, it is what it is!

All of my 4 whl disk cars go thorugh their rear pads faster than their fronts. My 2004 Altima infact goes through the rear, 2 to 1 compared to the fronts. It's just the brake bias!

My wifes 2001 Lexus RX rear pads wear faster than the fronts as well but, close enough to replace both front/rear at the same time and it's quite easy on it's brakes and tires.
 
Oh--just dawned on me--why it would be good to periodically do brake stands. To find any pads that are rusting off! Don't know why I didn't think of that, jeepers, I wasn't very happy when it did happen to me, so avoiding that would make sense.
 
Dug into it today.

The sliders felt a bit sticky, but after working them, not bad. [Like a moron, I neglected to buy Sil-Glide or anything while last in town, so this was mostly to see what was going on.] Although the dealer had marked both sides as being 3mm of pad left, turns out, only one side had 3mm on one pad.

The problem? Pad not sliding at all. Had to pry it out. Pad material actually is worn at an angle. I filed down the metal tabs, mostly to get rid of corrosion; I cleaned the stainless steel shims that the pads slide on too. I guess now I need to get a new set of pads and shims. [For some reason there was this tab on the pad, almost like it held some wiring; this was rubbing very badly. Popped it off and now it slides properly. Will have to check the other sides for this.]

Seems kinda ridiculous to have to deal with this so soon, but I guess it's the nature of the beast (2 years / 50kmiles), living in New England. On the good side, while I didn't measure I'd guess the other pads still had 10mm of material left.

Other things found:
-turns out, the rear pistons just press back in, no provisions whatsoever for winding them up. Parking brake is inside the disc, apparently.
-Despite having the tires rotated this week I had to loosen the lugnuts and then drop the car down--it is practically a press fit in the center of the wheel. Next time I'll sand the rust off and apply anti-sieze.
-I haven't a clue where to put jack stands on this car. I took one look at the provided jack location and picked someplace else. Haven't found another spot yet for the stand.
-I have to admit, after dealing with my VW for years, it was nice to deal with lugnuts...
 
Your brake caliper pistons sounds typical of a Toyota. Just press them backe in, no turning them in like on my daughter's Mazda3 rear calipers. I do like the parking brake setup on the Mazda better as there is no extra set of P-Brake shoes to fuss with. The Mazda P-Brake setup(and other mfgs) would be my 4 wheel disk brakes of choice, using the rear pad as the P-Brakes.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
For some reason there was this tab on the pad, almost like it held some wiring; this was rubbing very badly. Popped it off and now it slides properly. Will have to check the other sides for this.


Toyota still uses clip on wear indicators. It may have been one of those you removed. A wear indicator shouldn't cause binding unless it was installed in the wrong position.
 
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