# Prius Brake Pads **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** prius, toyota\ **Created:** [June 21, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097 "2020-06-21T03:28:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kroewrite\_168405](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/35a633/32.png) [@kroewrite\_168405](https://community.cartalk.com/u/kroewrite_168405)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/1 "2020-06-21T03:28:58Z")
Bought a 2010 Prius at 55,000 mi. Brake pads were at 6mm front and 5mm rear. Car is now at 98,000 mi. Recent dealer maintenance showed brake pads at 3mm front and 4mm rear. Dealer service was pushing me to replace them, but considering I keep driving the same way, could I put off replacing them for another 20,000 mi., when front should be at about 1.5mm and rear 3.5mm? ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2020, 4:18am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/2 "2020-06-21T04:18:44Z")
With some cars, brake pad thickness of 3 mm won’t last until the next service (5,000 miles) so replacement is recommended. Prius brakes wear slowly, you should be fine for a while, the brake pads might still measure 3 mm at the next two service visits. ---
**Author:** ![glasspilot](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/glasspilot/32/27886_2.png) [@glasspilot](https://community.cartalk.com/u/glasspilot)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2020, 11:48am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/3 "2020-06-21T11:48:31Z")
Brake pads usually have a groove in them. When the pads get thin enough that this groove starts to disappear it’s time to replace. It sounds to me like you’re trying to get every last mile out of these pads. If the pads go to metal then you’ll be costing yourself more money replacing the rotors too. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/4 "2020-06-21T12:03:48Z")
> [@kroewrite\_168405](#): > > could I put off replacing them for another 20,000 mi., when front should be at about 1.5mm That would be a very good example of false economy. As glasspilot stated… > [@glasspilot](#): > > It sounds to me like you’re trying to get every last mile out of these pads. If the pads go to metal then you’ll be costing yourself more money replacing the rotors too. ---
**Author:** ![COROLLAGUY1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/corollaguy1/32/7575_2.png) [@COROLLAGUY1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/COROLLAGUY1)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2020, 12:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/5 "2020-06-21T12:49:55Z")
> [@kroewrite\_168405](#): > > Dealer service was pushing me to replace them How many miles until your next service? Maybe the dealer is telling you that the pads won’t last until the next service.Usually,the rotors will be replaced at the same time adding extra cost to you. I would consider finding a good independant mechanic for this job because dealers are usually more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/6 "2020-06-21T13:10:35Z")
I’ve seen minimum brake pad thicknesses from 1 to 4 mm. FWIW, the minimum legal pad thickness in the UK is 1.5 mm. You lost 3 mm in 33,000 miles on the front brake pads. At this rate, you could go another 5500 miles before the wear indicator starts squealing, and 11,000 miles before dropping to 2 mm. This assumes that the brake thickness was measured at its low point and not the average wear. If you don’t need the car as much just now, it’s a good time to replace them. You could go a little longer, but not much. ---
**Author:** ![JoeMario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JoeMario](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JoeMario)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 11:36am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/7 "2020-06-22T11:36:30Z")
If your pads have a wear indicator, or if you will also be replacing the rotors when you do the pads, then I would not worry about replacing the pads now. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/8 "2020-06-22T13:49:21Z")
I see some assumptions the wear rate is linear, is it? Not from the limited experience I have witnessed but I have no scientific basis for it (just to head off the inevitable). My thoughts are as the pad gets thinner, it’s ability to absorb and transmit heat is diminished, resulting in faster wear. For people I know that try to eeek out every last bit of life, they seem to go from OK to gone really fast. And then, you’re potentially damaging the rotors as well. I change pads earlier rather than later and do far less rotor changes than most. Changing only pads is very easy, especially if the rotors are wearing evenly… ---
**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/9 "2020-06-22T14:17:22Z")
> [@TwinTurbo](#): > > My thoughts are as the pad gets thinner, it’s ability to absorb and transmit heat is diminished, resulting in faster wear. My thought is with thinner pad the heat conductive path is shorter from pad surface to backing plate, improving heat transfer. However, the pad material that’s left gets older and older, and the binding material gets weakened by the heat over time. And so the pad wears away faster because it’s old and “baked”. A experiment would be to shave down a new set of pads to ~5mm and see how quickly they wear. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/10 "2020-06-22T14:26:04Z")
The OP should check the owners manual and see if there are pad wear indicators on the Prius. If there are, I’d trust them to tell me when to replace the pads. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/11 "2020-06-22T14:57:39Z")
I worded it poorly. Replace absorb with withstand. The path is shorter but the material has changed so it’s not equal to when it was new. > [@circuitsmith](#): > > A experiment would be to shave down a new set of pads to ~5mm and see how quickly they wear It might be interesting but it may not reflect real world exposure. As you noted, time and heat alter the material. All the while it is in service, it doing work and degrading, but if you purposely shave it down, you have virgin material to start with. Periodic inspection and recording thickness should reveal if it is linear but I don’t have the willpower to do that. I’m betting the manufacturer knows… ---
**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/12 "2020-06-22T15:16:11Z")
> [@TwinTurbo](#): > > It might be interesting but it may not reflect real world exposure That’s often the nature of research. > [@TwinTurbo](#): > > if you purposely shave it down, you have virgin material to start with That’s the point of the experiment: separate the effects of pad age vs thickness. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/13 "2020-06-22T17:19:12Z")
> [@circuitsmith](#): > > That’s the point of the experiment: separate the effects of pad age vs thickness. Unfortunately, it will not be definitive as there are multiple variables to consider. The risk is using the results as definitive conclusion. Multiple experiments would be needed and probably end up taking longer and with more uncertainty than just measuring pads as they age. > [@circuitsmith](#): > > That’s often the nature of research. And why it often results in uncertain conclusions. Here, all that is needed is testing under real world conditions but I doubt anyone has enough desire to do it just to satisfy curiosity… ---
**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/14 "2020-06-22T17:36:01Z")
This is a casual automotive discussion, not a formal research proposal. Perhaps the point of all the above is just to have the last word… ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/prius-brake-pads/166097/15 "2020-06-22T18:16:36Z")
The brake pad wear indicators will make contact at the minimum recommended brake pad thickness, 1 mm. Brake pads on the Prius and most hybrid vehicles wear very slowly, these brake pads could last two more years.