Hello:
I own a Toyota Corolla 2007 with 15,961 miles on it. Bought brand new. Just 4 days ago, I have been noticing a odor from the front part of the vehicle, Like hot asbestos or brake dust. I thought that my pads were getting thinner , but I continued driving because the brake sensor has not made its screeching noise yet. The car was fine except for the odor and that you can feel it hot when you get out of the car.
Yesterday, I drove a small distance end the check engine light went on. I stopped the car until today and went to a local mechanic to check the brakes and scan the code., but to my surprise, the engine light went off and everything appeared normal. went to the mechanic, he did a code (computer) scan and all went ok. He inspected the front and rear brakes and said that the pads have around one month drive worth left and that the rear brakes were ok, that they just needed adjustment, which he did. I plan to replace the front brake pads tomorrow, but all these symptoms has kept me wondering if I am doing the right thing and if the problems is in the brakes or somewhere else. This car gets all its maintenance on time since its practically new and I really love this car.
Hope anybody can help me. Thanks!
What kind of driving do you do? You live in very hilly country? 16k miles on a set of brakes is kind of quick.
The burning smell is probably the caliper. It’s not letting go.
Yeah, I do mostly highway driving, and my original brakes on a Toyota Sienna were replaced at 85,000 miles, because the safety check during maintenance work said they were thin. They weren’t and I might well have gone 100,000 on those pads. Around town would be a lot sooner.
Since your car is still under warranty, I am questioning why you are taking it to a local mechanic, rather than the dealership. Having the check engine light illuminated is a symptom that could likely be linked to something that is covered under warranty. If the brake caliper is bad, that is also a warranty item (brake pads would not be be covered by warranty, however).
It is possible that you only need front brake pads, but the possibility also exists that there is another, deeper-seated problem. Unless your local mechanic is a philanthropist who works on your car free-of-charge, you are very possibly going to pay him for repairs that would cost nothing if they were performed at the dealership, under the terms of your various warranties.