Re: How Long Have Your Brakes Lasted?
 

Steve, drum brakes with self adjusters are adjusted when backing up in reverse. The Camry uses 4 wheel disk brakes which do not need "adjustment". The braking on the Camry is biased to using the generator for braking when the car is going faster than 10 mph and you are not in a "panic" stop. Under 10 mph, the car with use the hydraulic brake.

Re: How Long Have Your Brakes Lasted?
 

Can someone either give me a link or an explanation of how the braking works on the Camry? I've been reading up on the mechanics of this car, but I don't understand the braking system.

I have two years of auto tech, but that was back in the days when four-barrel carburetors dominated the road. :)

Re: How Long Have Your Brakes Lasted?
 

TCH breaks are pretty much standard 4 wheel ABS disc breaks with 2 modifications:
1) At above 10 MPH and moderate breaking, it uses electric motor as generator of electricity, that causes the car to slow down and recharge the batteries at the same time, similar to breaking with engine in L1, or downshifting manual transmission to lower gear and drag the wheels by engine to lower speed, except it's done automatically by computer in TCh.
At lower speeds, or harder press on the break pedal break pads are activated and take over.
2) Since in hybrid car the engine could be shutdown while moving, instead of engine vacuum, TCH uses 12 volt battery electricity, boosts it to I think 50 volts and uses that to power assist the breaks. I don't remember and I'm too lazy to check exactly how it's done. I think it creates some hydraulic pressure and holds it in reservoir so you have one or 2 "pumps" after engine shutdown before boost is gone, just like in regular car using vacuum.
Service manual has all the info and way to check and repair it as well, so I would recommend to get that.

Re: How Long Have Your Brakes Lasted?
 

Vaguely remembering something here...

Since the regenerative braking is only on the front wheels, the rear brakes are applied to keep the car from losing control. That is why the rear brakes wear out ahead of the fronts for a lot of people.


For anyone who knows for sure, please correct.

Re: How Long Have Your Brakes Lasted?
 

Here is a link to consider. It is complicated.

There is another link here, with lots of pictures and schematics, but not a lot of explaination.

Re: How Long Have Your Brakes Lasted?
 

105,000 on my 07 Camry. Mechanic says maybe by fall I'll need rear brakes. Front still at 75%.

John

Re: How Long Have Your Brakes Lasted?
 

I'm at 114,000 miles and still have all 4 original brake pads with plenty of life left on them.

Re: How Long Have Your Brakes Lasted?
 

Pulled all four wheels this weekend to re-torque them (they didn't when they put on the new tires..) and checked the brakes while I was there. At 105,000 miles, the front pads will still be there at 300,000 miles as they have roughly 1mm of wear. The rears might need to be replaced around the 200,000 mark as they do have additional wear (3-4 mm). All in all, you can't say bad things about brake life on these Camry's.

Re: How Long Have Your Brakes Lasted?
 

Thanks for the feedback Guys! My wife is the main driver. I am worried they are not going to last. Keep the posts coming!

Re: How Long Have Your Brakes Lasted?
 

Thank you for ALL your notes. We did poorly! I have added a poll as well. We made it to 71K >: