Avensis - Badly worn front discs and pads

[Kelvin]

A question on behalf of my Father-in-Law, which I wonder if anyone can help with.

His 1999 Avensis 5 dr SE Liftback has just been through its 27,000 mile service and the engineer (Toyota dealer from where he bought the car as new) has said that the front discs and pads are very badly worn and will need replacing within 6 months, cost £250.

Prior to 1999, he ran a Carina for 8 years and the brakes never needed changing (the same garage serviced it regularly). The mechanic has suggested that the problem could be that his British built Avensis is made of inferior quality parts when compared with the Japanese built Carina.

He is all the more annoyed because he is an 'Advanced Motorist' and pays careful attention to how he drives the car.

Does anybody have any comments or suggestions or should he just accept what the garage says and pay the £250?

Thanks, Kelv.

[devilock]

the brake discs on the avensis require regular changing, your father-in-law is lucky that his brake discs/pads lasted till 27k mine have only lasted 19,500 before they have cracked and need replacing.

but mine have been changed under warranty. as for "inferior" quality parts due to the avensis being built in the UK that is complete rubbish. they aren't the same spec discs / pads as the carina. so it is impossible to compare the wear and tear usage I don't mean to be rude but you can't expect wear and tear items to last forever. anyway the brakes are bought from the same supplier as TMC use just the european distributor not the japanese one. the price for having them fitted is fair though as front discs cost £79 +VAT each and a new set of pads cost £40+VAT then a mornings labour £??? + VAT so £250 is not really too bad

[Ken]

i did not have to change mine until 80,000 and then it was jap import discs which cost £120 for both and the pads was £30 so my advice is look for import parts!

[johnny840]

I have had 2 Avensis both of which needed the pads replacing after only 17000 miles. Both were auto's though.

Dealer wanted £80 to change the pads.

[ballygally]

I have 36.000-odd miles on my car and still on original pads and discs! I would ask for a second opinion if I were you. I don't understand why anyone would change discs so frequently and surely Toyota wouldn't put rubbish discs on their cars????

[dawesy]

no this can be a problem if you do a lot of high speed braking then your pads/discs wont last long

[sjrainsford]

Yep, i agree the brakes are pretty awful on the avensis. Disks especially. Anyone had the vibrating when high speed braking problem? Let the disks cool and put the dti on them - straight as a die! I know quite a few people who have had this prob...

[bigmark]

What's the dti - and where can I get one? (pressumably not the dept of trade and industry)

Mark

[sjrainsford]

Dial Test Indicator. It's a dial with a linear rod that comes out of it, and when you push on it the dial turns. Any decent engineering supplies will sell them. Or grab a tool maker!