Hi all, I have a 2009 Toyota Venza V6 AWD with 60,000 miles. A few months ago I had the front rotors and pads replaced by Sullivan Tire and Auto in Massachusetts. Since that time, the brakes have started causing a grinding or vibration. It ONLY occurs at very low speeds, especially in stop-and-go traffic on the highway and only after the car has warmed up with perhaps 20-30 minutes of driving with braking. You can feel it in the steering wheel and even in the seats. Sullivan has been AWESOME in trying to solve it, already replacing the rotors and pads once and having taken them apart two other times. They seem stumped and I can’t find anything related on the internet. Several techs have taken it for a ride both with and without me and every one of them confirms the same strange grind/vibration/rub and under only the conditions noted above. ANY IDEAS ANYONE? Many thanks.
I have observed that–for reasons I can’t fathom–Japanese cars seem to wind up with noisy brakes if pads other than the mfr’s own-spec brake pads are used.
I agree with @VDCdriver. The brand they are using is probably to blame. Using OEM spec from Toyota will likely solve this.
Concur w/above posts, the pads are not properly seating for some reason. This problem might go away over time, esp if the pad surfaces and rotor surfaces are appropriately roughed-up with some sandpaper. It might take several repeat sandpaper treatments though. Using Toyota’s pads and rotors is a safe bet, but my experience w/my Corolla, and my prior VW Rabbit, aftermarket pads and rotors are usually ok provided neither the most expensive nor the least expensive are selected. If they offer a “good”, “better”, and “best”, choose the “better”. The mid-grade ones seem to work the best.
I agree with all of the others.
I have had several Toyotas over the years, and my relatives have all had several Toyotas over the years.
ALL of them had noise issues when using anything other than genuine Toyota brakes
What’s worse, some of the other brake pads even CAUSED deep grooves in the rotors.
IMO . . . the best solution is also the most expensive one. Replace the brake pads and rotors with genuine Toyota pads and rotors. Make sure you replace the brake hardware also (shims, pins, etc), and use the appropriate lubricant on the sliders and the backing plates. Also make sure the calipers aren’t binding.
There are many manufacturers of rotors and many manufacturers of brake pads. Also, brake pads come in many varieties of hardness. I have a car that after a brake job always squeals when I apply the brakes in reverse - no problems when braking going forward so I’ve put up with it.
If you are feed up with experimenting with different brake pads and rotors from Sullivan, then get the brakes done at a Toyota dealer and the parts they use should be closer to OEM parts and not make noise.