Lr4 Brakes

[Quijote]

I just had my "11 with 42,000 miles in for some service yesterday and during the inspection they indicated that my front pads were down to 4mm and quoted $964 for performing replacement. The rears are at 7mm and will be good for a while now. I am not going to perform the service myself but that sure is a lot.

This is the longest (3 years) I have owned any daily driver and the first time I have had to replace tires or brakes on a vehicle. Ouch!!!!

Wait, $964 for front pads?! That better be for pads and rotors. Still outrageous, IMO.

 

[CaptainSpalding]

What's going on with these url's? This one didn't work for me (as well as other links in other threads).

The proprietors of this website don't like competition. If you put a link to another automobile related website in one of your posts, the forum software will modify the url to make it unreadable.

That link you referenced is a very worthwhile illustrated write up on LR 3/4 brake service procedures. Here is a link:
http://tinyurl.com/Bodsys-Brake-Bible

 

[still-one]

Wait, $964 for front pads?! That better be for pads and rotors. Still outrageous, IMO.

Yes, it was for pads and rotors. I am going to call the other two LR dealers in the area to see what their price is.

 

[Quijote]

Yes, it was for pads and rotors. I am going to call the other two LR dealers in the area to see what their price is.

Well, by now I am used to hearing exorbitant pricing, so that $1k may well be in line with most dealers. I just think that brake jobs have to be the single biggest money makers in the car industry.

I'm a handy guy, and an engineer, but I have never done very involved car work. Every time I've done a brake job it has been on a different car (so no benefit from a repeat job), and it has been done in cramped spaces with floor jacks and basic tools. Almost all the time it has been done on cars that were older, so fasteners were hard to remove, etc.

Despite all of that, I'd be hard pressed to say I spent anywhere close to 3 hours for front brakes. Often easily under 2 hours.

I guarantee you if you give me a good set up like a dealer would have (lift, pneumatic gun, special tools, etc) on a newer car, and on a car I have worked on before, and there is no way it takes me more than an hour. So to me, a dealer should not charge more than maybe $250 in labor for front discs and pads.

Another example. My sister found her Altima with a busted rearview mirror. Dealer wanted almost $200 to install it. With no instructions and basic tools, I replaced it in 30 minutes. As (bad) luck would have it, a few weeks later, the same mirror gets busted again. Time to replace it the second time: 20 minutes.

Some jobs you definitely want to give to the dealer. Others are a complete rip-off.

 

[umbertob]

Just to add my input to the thread, the rear wear sensor of my 2013 LR4 with almost 21K miles went off yesterday. I assumed it was the rear sensor because: a) at my 15K miles service freebie the local LR Encino dealer informed me that the rear pads were down to 4mm and they "offered" to replace them - no discs - for $600. I laughed and told them I'd take my chances elsewhere, b) I could hear a faint squeal from the rear brakes area at low speed when stopping since about a week ago, and c) I cheated and checked with my IIDTool.

Today I took the car to my trusty LR indy mechanic down the street, the rear pads were down to 2mm, the minimum s/b 3 (out of 10 when new.) They installed new OEM ones for about $270, including new wear sensor, shop supplies / anti-squeal, tax and labor. Very honest IMHO, considering that reputable shops here (SoCal) charge $120/hr and up. Discs are just fine. Front pads - which I kinda expected to wear out first, honestly - still have 5mm left out of 12 - so probably another 5-7K miles or so to go before I'll be due for replacement of those. I drive A LOT obviously, a fairly even mix of highway and city with some off-roading thrown in. I've also added a good 300+ lbs of sprung weight to the car between second battery, rock sliders and other underbody protection. Overall, no nasty surprises so far.

 

[mbw]

Just to add my input to the thread, the rear wear sensor of my 2013 LR4 with almost 21K miles went off yesterday. I assumed it was the rear sensor because: a) at my 15K miles service freebie the local LR Encino dealer informed me that the rear pads were down to 4mm and they "offered" to replace them - no discs - for $600. I laughed and told them I'd take my chances elsewhere, b) I could hear a faint squeal from the rear brakes area at low speed when stopping since about a week ago, and c) I cheated and checked with my IIDTool.

Today I took the car to my trusty LR indy mechanic down the street, the rear pads were down to 2mm, the minimum s/b 3 (out of 10 when new.) They installed new OEM ones for about $270, including new wear sensor, shop supplies / anti-squeal, tax and labor. Very honest IMHO, considering that reputable shops here (SoCal) charge $120/hr and up. Discs are just fine. Front pads - which I kinda expected to wear out first, honestly - still have 5mm left out of 12 - so probably another 5-7K miles or so to go before I'll be due for replacement of those. I drive A LOT obviously, a fairly even mix of highway and city with some off-roading thrown in. I've also added a good 300+ lbs of sprung weight to the car between second battery, rock sliders and other underbody protection. Overall, no nasty surprises so far.

Thanks for the update.

Where did you get the parts? Local or online?

I will most likely do it myself when the time comes. im at around 12k miles on my MY13

 

[umbertob]

My indy shop has all the necessary parts in stock usually, and their prices are fair (I could do a little better online probably, but not worth the time and hassle to save a few bucks since they will be doing the job anyway.)

 

[mloyche]

Best Brake Rotors and Pads

Hi There.
I'm a newbie who got a bit of shock today in regards to brakes on the LR4. Now I learned I'm not the only one. I took my car in for a 30K Service at a non-dealer service mech who specialize in British cars. The 30K service was offered to me at $289 vs dealer's $850... I ended up paying $440 but that included cabin and airfilters. Well, I realize even if the oil I got was alright; it wasn't what the dealer would have put on... I also learned I already need new break pads throughout and new rotors up front (grooved). Offered to me at $1041.- all inclusive, which compared to what I hear is a pretty decent price.

Although I'm not a car mech I've worked on a motorcycle here and there and it's been all good. So, I'm going to start working on my car. At least I only have myself to blame if I screw up something and if I can save a penny or two then why not?!

To my question:
What are the best rotor and pad options out there other than OEM?
I'm guessing slotted and drilled but any suggestions to best brand?
I need stopping power, as little brake dust on the wheels as possible and of course long lasting stuff.

Hope someone out there have some good experiences with this.

Cheers

Martin

 

[rostov]

Do you know if brakes were replaced ones already? If yes at what mileage, and if rotors were replaced already. Dealers like to do unnecessary job like changing brakes at 12-15K, but in my opinion, if nothing reckless there, the rotors can serve 2 sets of pads with no problem. There is a min "rotor thickness" that can be checked to verify.

P.S. For brakes I would go with OEM.

 

[AxelR]

Just got a quote from my dealer (and another one) for rear rotors and pads. They want $700 for LR parts and $585 for after market.
Reputable Indy shop quoted 640 with LR parts.