How long do brakes typically last?

I have a 2015 Prerunner with 40k miles. I've never replaced the brakes. I recently went to a local tire center to get my tire patched and they said I needed new brakes. I opted to hold off and just give me an estimate. The paperwork says "1mm and rotoglazed" - $529.97 ceramic pads, brake rotor. Rear brakes, it states "Brake dust" - $34.99 adjust and clean. I don't drive much, hence the low mileage. When I do drive, my brakes feel fine, no squeaking and works as expected. My wife even said my brakes feel better than her Highlander brakes, which were replaced a year ago.

How long do brakes usually last?
Do Tacomas have a wear indicator? (Visual or audible)
What is the best way to inspect the brakes and determine if it's time to replace?

 

The fronts are easy just jack up the truck and remove the front wheels and take a look at the pads.

Brake life depends a lot on your driving style in addition to the pad/rotor so you won’t get a specific answer on lifespan.

 

Sounds about right, if you doubt them pull the front wheels, the rear shoes will last much longer than the front pads and rotors. Like said above also depends on your driving habits.

 

It depends on your driving style.
Fronts 60k-80k
Rears 100k-150k

Again, driving type and style have a lot to do with it.

My OE fronts lasted 60k.
And I have 95k on the this set.

I just changed my rears at 160k

 

changed front pads at 80K
rears still okay at 105K

but I drive like a grandpa

 

Depends on drive style. I had mine replaced at 100k. But I also drive highway 90%+ of the time and coast to slow down a lot as a result.

 

My front pads and rotors lasted 120k. Rears are still at 50p at 148k…

It’s pretty easy to pop off a wheel and look at your front pads. Also, the Tacoma front brake job is probably one of the easiest brakes jobs known to man. Rears are a different story.

That quote sounds like a rip off & a line of BS to me. Definitely shop around if you are bent on having somebody else do the job. I’d probably have a Toyota mechanic do the rear drums but you shouldn’t need that done at 40k, regardless of driving style.

 

As said, it depends. My F & R brakes are still original at 114K miles. I check the fronts at every 5K oil change & tire rotation.... check the rears less often.

 

I've gotten as much as 83,000 out of front brakes on my F150 and 200,000 out of the rear brakes on my Tacoma. The Ford is at 140,000 so far on the rear's and are factory. But it can vary a lot. For some vehicles and drivers 30,000 is as much as they will get on front brakes. But under normal circumstances rear brakes usually last twice as long.

How much you tow/haul and the terrain you drive in matters a lot.

When you do replace the pads don't go cheap. Good pads last a lot longer and are cheaper in the long run.

 

Asking how long brakes last is impossible to answer each answer will be different .

Also so many different variables one needs to account for as well.

Then inspecting things does no good if you have no idea what your looking at.

Find some local help to show you what your looking at.

In this day almost every shop is struggling to just stay open.

 

Do the calipers have a window to view the brake pads? I put my hand thought my rims and it feels like it does. What should I be looking for as far as thickness of the pad?

 

Pads are usually measured with millimeters even in the states if I recall.

Minimum is 2mm, new is 13mm, usually 4mm or lower is discard.

So 1/8th inch if you can figure that out.

 

I have 109,000 miles on the fronts with about about 4 mm of pad left. I have been checking them at oil change time.

 

After you remove the wheel, it's super easy to see pad thickness.

 

I’d stay away from that place. Or at least don’t let them do anything other than tire patching.

It’s unlikely you need pads & rotors up front unless you’re very hard on them. The rears could possibly need adjusting. But they probably don’t know the specific procedure for the taco. Cleaning is nothing more than washing the dust off with brake cleaner.

 

Still going with my original brakes at 207000 Kms. Nuts, but downshifting seems to work.

 

Changed my front pads and rotors at about 122,000 miles. This week I looked at my rear shoes, sprayed the components down with a brake cleaner, adjusted them, and will continue on. The adjustment helped my parking/emergency brake and gave a little better feel to the braking. In no hurry but I'll look for a sale on brake shoes.

 

I’m a down shifter too so my 2015 DCLB ( auto trans ) with a consistent gear load in bed of about 600 lbs is currently at 162,000k on my original brakes front and rear.

 

I still have about 4mm on the front pads on my '96. 118K miles. I think they are the original pads. I'll be replacing soon but am in no hurry.

If yours are truly only 1 mm they're due for replacement now. Easy to check, though. Always a good idea to verify a shop's claim.