Service - Full -80'000

[crustyclam]

Ok, so had a 80'000 mile - full service. Following points notified:-

Front pads - 20% worn ( recently replaced - need to check exact date, but cannot believe such wear)

Front disks corroded - look fine to me, no lip, rusty on top edge, but not the face) replacement recommended. What determines if they should be replaced. AA seem to suggest that maybe I should be ok:-

Corrosion

Cast iron is an ideal material for brake components, but can corrode easily.

With most of the braking force done by the front brakes, any surface rust is quickly cleaned off by the action of the pads on the discs.

Braking effort is much lower on the rear, especially on a small, light vehicle and may not be sufficient to clean corrosion from the surface of rear discs, particularly if the vehicle is used only infrequently and for local trips.

Corrosion is generally not a problem with rear drum brakes.

Initial, light corrosion can be cleaned off under reasonably heavy braking, but if left, this light corrosion gets worse and can lead to surface pitting which is acceptable as long as it does not seriously weaken the discs.

Rear pads 20% worn - again not replaced long ago. How do they measure % worn. Seems very excessive. My average milage is 9000 per annum

Rear and front diff oils recommended to be changed, understandable as at 40'000 miles x 2 it should be. Yet service schedule says inspection. I had this done less than 2 years ago. When I mentioned this they said not required as done after checking history. So on viously report not based on inspection. What am I paying for!!

Checked key fob Battery to see if it looked any different, but looks exactly the same. (Saying that not a lot of info on them) I should tell soon though as the battery's I bought of eBay only last 3-4 months, prior to the service it was misbehaving. The report shows a tick for checked , R for replaced....just has a tick. Fixed priced servicing on website says it should be replaced.

Full service bill shows shows air filter replacement and cost - schedule just shows as checked.....need to check in daylight if replaced. Should be able to tell as I replaced mid year with a filter from eurocarparts.

Anyway a few things not quite sure/happy with, pretty much for the first time.

[Big Kev]

When ye get a chance, Lee, have a wee look under at inside faces of all four discs. As explained to me by Mountain Man, they exist in a very hostile environment and get even more crud flung at them than the outside faces. This was borne out by photos I took of wife's fronts and backs (naw.....her BRAKE DISCS ffs.....), the outers of which looked kinda ok........but the inner faces were like Coco Pops.

WORTH A WEE LOOK AT THAT MILEAGE, albeit I doubt if the discs were not done before......?

[gjnorthall]

It would of course be possible to measure the amount of brake pad friction material and report the % wear accurately but most garages would estimate the wear in fair size chunks usually 20, 40, 60 and 80% - essentially there's nothing to worry about at 20 and 40% wear. They should also indicate excessive wear on a pad compared to the others (indicative of a something seized). The disc rusting aspect is a bit subjective and is invariably overplayed. On an MOT test - the criteria for fail would be corrosion / wear likely to affect structural integrity. As already pointed out - the inside face of the disc can suffer more corrosion and wear than the outer face. Discs should be changed if diagnosis points to warpage/ rust/ wear being the cause of judder or wear beyond the minimum specified thickness or significant pitting / laminating corrosion / scoring.

The Toyota service schedule is fairly generic and needs to be used with the supplementary operations sheet for the Rav4. The supplementary sheet shows that the air filter should be replaced each 4yrs / 40000 miles. Again on the Rav, the transfer box and rear diff oils should be changed at 2yrs / 20000 miles but this attracts an additional charge on the fixed price service. To be fair, if you've had something like this done outside of the schedule - it's unlikely that a technician would spot this in the service history and would simply follow the schedule.

I think one of the biggest issues is the service sheet being completed slapdash or filled in from memory after the work is done! There should be a schedule of quality control in any workshop to ensure that the check sheet cross reference with the parts use list and there are no omissions or obvious errors. If you're not happy, require clarification or further detail - ask to talk to the technician and don't be fobbed by service reception. Many customers also ask for the replaced parts / new parts packaging. Ask for this when you present the car - there shouldn't be an issue!

[bothwell_buyer]

Discs tend to be a favourite replacement suggestion. However on the inside of the bell of the disc is stamped the minimum thickness I believe.

On number 2 RAV, I had the discs skimmed very recently by the garages' new disc skimming toy which does it in situ. They previously did it to number 1 which had been off the road for many months. The discs will rust on the face quickly, but that comes off just as quickly with a days use.

[CharlieFarlie]

The discs on My T180 (Front) looked perfect from the outside faces. Pads were also good on the outsides as well.. Then literally two days before we were to move house 370 miles the car started making horrible noises under braking..

Had to unpack tools and swap the front discs and pads as the corrosion on the inside faces was un %$(inbelievable ! I actually posted a picture of them on here such was my disbelief at how bad they were " Mileage at the time was around 68/70K...

local Dealers had a set of genuine discs and pads and did a pretty good deal on them so popped them on..

It really is worth removing them for a proper inspection cos the condition of the outside faces is no indicator of the insides..

Keyfob batteries are ten a penny on eBay...

[crustyclam]

Blimey....just checked previous paperwork and brakes were done a year ago (9000 miles), so 20% ish prob ok anyway

Diff oils - done 18 months ago - so would be due soon anyway ( every 2 years - thank you for correction).

Seems like I am starting to lose track of time...really though the work was done much later!

Thank you on comments regarding back of disk...I will have look at them later today. (Marked as Amber on checklist - so not critical...but I like things to be tip top so if they are due some work then I will have it done as soon as I get chance.

[Big Kev]

This started some debate when I posted it before, Lee, but I would think that if the discs are original at 80k, that is astonishing and they must surely be getting a bit gubbered by noo.......? Check them inside faces, as wife's had only done 35k before those Coco Pop sized bits fell off them.

[gjnorthall]

On the 4.3 the front disc thickness is 25mm - minimum allowable is 23mm. On the rears it's 9mm with a minimum allowable of 8mm. Front and rear pads should last from 50000miles upwards (with Toyota pads) which means that for most owners - they're in place for many years. You'll probably find when you come to change them that they're solid in the calliper and at this stage it's not uncommon for the inside pad to be far more worn than the outside. In order to maintain optimum braking performance and accurately establish the condition of discs and pads - you might think about a clean and lubrication at say 30000 miles. This would involve removing the pads, cleaning the callipers, applying Ceratec to the sliding surfaces and cleaning / lubricating the slide pins.

[Big Kev]

On the 4.3 the front disc thickness is 25mm - minimum allowable is 23mm. On the rears it's 9mm with a minimum allowable of 8mm. Front and rear pads should last from 50000miles upwards (with Toyota pads) which means that for most owners - they're in place for many years. You'll probably find when you come to change them that they're solid in the calliper and at this stage it's not uncommon for the inside pad to be far more worn than the outside. In order to maintain optimum braking performance and accurately establish the condition of discs and pads - you might think about a clean and lubrication at say 30000 miles. This would involve removing the pads, cleaning the callipers, applying Ceratec to the sliding surfaces and cleaning / lubricating the slide pins.

Gjn min..........when you say 25mm thick for the 4.3 disc, that's not the actual swept area thickness, is it......? Don't remember them being that thick.......but maybe it be me that is.

Also thought the 4.3 didn't have slide pins, but moved on "ears" located on stainless steel top and bottom guides......?

Mr. Koodbe Rong.......far away place.

[anchorman]

Kev.

The disc thickness is indeed 25mm;

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/109888-service-data-sheets/?hl=%2Bservice+%2Bdata+%2Bsheets

The pads are located in the caliper by ears but the caliper does slide on pins (remember the wee rubber gaiters?).

[crustyclam]

Just checked the front disks on the other side, could only see a small area though. I could see a fair amount of rust.

Of the small bit of the disk showing I managed to run my finger along it, definitely seems to be more wear than the inside face, the edge was raised slightly, so a bit of a lip. The surface area also did not look quite as smooth as the other side. Applies to both front disks.

I have looked through all the past service paperwork, and no mention of them being replaced, so if they are originals I guess they have done pretty well.

[crustyclam]

Just checked the front disks on the other side, could only see a small area though. I could see a fair amount of rust.

Of the small bit of the disk showing I managed to run my finger along it, definitely seems to be more wear than the inside face, the edge was raised slightly, so a bit of a lip. The surface area also did not look quite as smooth as the other side. Applies to both front disks.

I have looked through all the past service paperwork, and no mention of them being replaced, so if they are originals I guess they have done pretty well.

Meant to more wear on inside, compared to outside!