How To Change Brake Pads On 2008 Toyota Highlander

Toyota / By

swap out the brake

You might need to have your brake rotors “turned” (also known as resurfaced) or

any location where there is metal to metal contact with high temperature brake caliper lubrication grease.

such as the back of the new pads and the caliper piston’s outer lip. Do not lubricate the brake components.

How much does a 2008 Toyota Highlander’s front brake replacement cost?

price of the Toyota Highlander front brake pads Typically, the cost of parts ranges from $100 to $200 per axle, while the cost of labor can range from $80 to $100. Consult your service advisor as costs can regularly fluctuate based on the availability of parts.

How are Toyota brake pads installed?

How to Replace Brake Pads in a Car:

  • Step 1: Lift your vehicle. Before changing the brake pads, you must lift your automobile off the ground and remove the tires.
  • Remove the caliper assembly in Step 2.
  • 3. Replace the brake pads.
  • 4th step: swap out the caliper assembly.
  • The Finishing Touches, step 5.

How are brake pads checked on a Toyota Highlander?

Give your brake pads the eyeball testreally it’s that easy. The eyeball test entails physically checking the brake pads to determine their level of wear after removing the wheels.

Should all four brake pads be changed at once?

You are staring at a brake pad that has worn out completely. But should you replace all four brake pads at once?

First things first, you should replace either the front or the rear brake pads simultaneously. One should be wearing out roughly at the same rate as the other unless there is a serious problem. But not all four brake pads necessarily follow that rule.

Front Pads Wear Faster

The front brakes of most cars provide 70% of the stopping power. Some of that is a result of physics, some of it is intentional and can be linked to the way the vehicle maker designed the braking system. To prevent the back wheels from locking up, the braking system is biased toward the front by the manufacturers. As a result, the front brakes are required to do more of the work of stopping the car.

The physics component? Ever notice what occurs in most cars when you use the brakes? Some drooping of the nose occurs. Weight transfer is that. Additionally, the weight of the vehicle is shifting to the front, where it is exerting more force on the front wheels and, consequently, the front brakes. More wear is the result. Therefore, it is much more likely that you will need to change the front brake pads before the rear ones.

Your Mileage May Vary

I am aware that we are discussing brakes rather than fuel. However, some vehicles with particular braking assistance may see greater wear on the rear brake pads than other vehicles. A function known as electronic brake force distribution is available on some contemporary autos (EBD). Although it increases vehicle stability, it also causes higher rear brake pad wear than vehicles without it since it employs a processor to safely apply more braking force to the back wheels.

Anti-lock braking is a more established and widespread feature (ABS). It alternately applies and removes brake pressure to the rear as well as the front. Moreover, this accelerates the wear of the rear brake pads.

Style Matters

That is, your driving mannerisms. Driving aggressively typically results in aggressive braking, which accelerates the wear on your brake pads. Every time you step on the brake, even lightly, the brake pads begin to wear a little. The difference between little and a lot of wear and how frequently you need change your brake pads depends on how you drive and stop. Your brake pads will also deteriorate more quickly if you drive frequently in mountainous areas or in busy cities.

Time for a Check-Up

Checking your brakes is the greatest recommendation. By all means, replace the brake pads on all four wheels if necessary. However, most drivers discover that they’ll change the front tires at least twice before they need to change the back.

Visit NAPA Online to see the complete selection of braking system items or visit one of our 17,000 NAPA AutoCare stores for regular maintenance and repairs. Visit your neighborhood NAPA AUTO PARTS store to speak with a trained specialist for further details on how frequently you should replace your brakes.

How much ought a complete brake job to run?

There may be a significant price difference depending on the car you drive. According on the materials used in your vehicle’s brake pads, the cost to replace brake pads might range from $150 to $300 per axle on average. The cheapest brake pads are made of organic material.

How do I know when to change my rotors?

  • Brake pad quality: Contact with cheap, harsh brake pads or improperly placed brake pads will result in damage.
  • Driving style and Environment: Driving in cities, mountains, or in harsh settings (like the scorching heat of the desert or the bitter cold of the winter) results in faster rotor wear rates.
  • Car weight: Rotors and pads deteriorate more quickly the heavier the car or the more upgrades or alterations a vehicle has received.
  • Axle position: With forward bias proportioning, the front axle normally carries more weight than the back. The front often wears rotors and brake pads more quickly than the rear because it carries a greater “load” when braking.

In its most basic form, stopping and slowing down a car involves braking rotors being pressed by brake pads, but it’s actually more complicated than that. Let’s examine the sequential operation of the entire system.

  • The driver presses the brake pedal in an effort to bring the vehicle to a stop.
  • Brake fluid is forced out of the reservoir by a plunger in the master cylinder.
  • The fluid travels to the wheels via stiff brake lines.
  • The fluid is then transported into calipers by flexible brake lines.
  • The brake pistons in the calipers are forced out by the fluid pressure.
  • The backing plate of the brake pads is compressed by the pistons.
  • Brake rotors and pads begin to rub against one another, with the pad linings pressing on the rotor surface from both the inside and the outside.
  • The car slows down or comes to a stop as a result of the friction.
  • The brake rotors and pads heat up to a high degree as a lot of heat is produced.

The ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System), ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation), and ESP (Electronic Stability Program) systems in contemporary vehicles regulate the pressure of the brake fluid.

One of the most noticeable components of the entire brake system are the brake rotors. They are those metal discs attached on the wheel hubs that resemble a flying saucer and are seen just beyond the hub cap. They are often created by casting solid “blanks” made of special metal alloys, which must be resistant to wear and high temperatures, in molds; typically, cast iron and cast steel are used for this process. They are molded with internal cooling vanes in addition to the holes for the bolts that secure them to the axle. Depending on the vehicle and end usage they are intended for, they may then be specially machined to include slots and/or drilled holes.

The friction that results from the compression of brake pads against rotors generates heat and fumes that may become trapped inside the system. The least expensive alternative, solid rotors have a propensity to overheat. Comparatively, higher-quality rotors have a number of venting methods to reduce that heat. In addition to facilitating faster heat dissipation, drilling holes and milling slots into the surface that comes into contact with the brake pads prevents gasses and debris from being trapped, hence increasing the rotor’s wear life and maintaining the braking system’s durability. Slotted-only rotors have internal ventilation channels that conduct heat away from the front of the car and toward the rear.

Custom brake rotors constructed of ceramic or carbon materials are very expensive but seldom overheat; they are utilized in high-end and racing cars.

Brake rotors should be inspected at every maintenance and service your automobile receives even though they typically last longer than brake pads, typically at a rate of two to one. Measuring their physical thickness to see whether they are too thin is the most reliable approach to tell if they are nearing the end of their lives. The vehicle’s service manual specifies the minimum thickness, and some brake rotor manufacturers even etch it on the surface of the rotor.

Additionally, if any of the following symptoms occur, brake rotors may also need to be replaced:

  • The driver feels a vibration in the steering wheel and/or the brake pedal after depressing the brake pedal.
  • Reason: Pad deposits. On the face of the rotor, brake pad material can accumulate and produce high spots. Usually, a brake system that is overheated or underheated causes this. As the caliper piston is moved in and out of the caliper, these deposits often manifest more as pedal feedback.
  • Pad deposits can be avoided by selecting the proper brake pad compound formulation for your vehicle. Nevertheless, if the deposits are not eliminated by repeating the bed-in procedure, turning or replacing the rotors may be required.
  • Although severe steering wheel vibration can occur, it usually occurs as a result of a failing suspension component and not a braking component, despite the possibility of steering wheel shudder and/or feedback.
  • When braking, the brakes make a lot of noise.
  • Corrosion or worn-out components are the causes. The tight tolerances between brake parts might be impacted by heavily corroded brake components, leading to dragging or grinding effects. In order to warn drivers that their brakes need to be replaced, many brake pads are available with “mechanical wear sensors,” which are metal clips that are intended to scrape against the rotor when the brake pad thickness gets too low and produce an audible noise. These systems serve as a helpful reminder to check your rotors as well, even though their primary purpose is to draw attention to worn brake pads.
  • Surface cracks have appeared on the brake rotor.
  • Extreme heat is the cause. It’s crucial to realize that there are two separate kinds of rotor “cracks” that relate to the rotor’s expansion and compression as it cools and heats, but signify different problems.
  • Heat checking: As depicted in the image below, this condition causes tiny hairline fractures to form on the rotor’s friction surface. This heat checking is quite normal and expected when operating at high temperatures, such as in a racing setting, and rotors exhibiting this are not always thought to need replacement.
  • In contrast, if a fracture spreads and touches either the outer or inner edge of the rotor, as in the illustration below, the rotor has reached the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced right away.
  • Note: It is important to understand that heat checking is not a result of subpar materials, and that cracks do not appear when run at extremely high temperatures. The greater the quality of the rotor, the longer the rotor will endure before either types of cracks occur.
  • The functioning surface of the brake rotor has been scratched or damaged.
  • Worn component or debris is the cause. If the metal backing plate of heavily worn brake pads comes into touch with the rotor, the rotor may be harmed. Additionally, road debris like stones and rust can get in between the brake pad and the rotor, causing the friction surface to groove.
  • Contrary to what many people think, brake rotors almost rarely “warp.” This is a very uncommon occurrence because bending, or “warping,” a rotor requires enormous amounts of physical and thermal energy. Any unevenness, however, is solely the effect of pad deposits.

Whatever the reason of the wear, it is advisable to replace the entire assembly at once, including the front and rear brake rotors AND the front and rear brake pads, if even one rotor is worn out.

Brake rotors have a significant impact on driving safety, thus they must be changed with new ones as soon as damage is discovered. According to the automobile manufacturer’s recommendations, brake rotors must be chosen, and it is recommended to select branded items, ideally cross-drilled and vented types, made from high-quality materials. As some aftermarket manufacturers have recognized rotor weight and technical shortcomings and addressed these in their product offerings, researching known difficulties with your make and model of car may also provide insight into better-than-OEM remedies.

You are the best person to describe how safe braking feels in your own car. A rotor can sustain certain damage that will immediately modify its ability to brake, and that change needs rapid and urgent attention. However, since brake rotor deterioration can occur gradually over time, it’s equally crucial to inspect them at every service and record their thickness, degree of corrosion, and surface condition. Additionally, it’s time to replace the brake system components if you’ve made any modifications to your car or truck that alter the weight of the wheels or the overall vehicle, how the vehicle is utilized, or if you’ve added towing or increased payload.

The greatest approach to ensure your safety while driving is to replace your old, low-performance brake pads and rotors with new, high-performance ones!