Hello again. You might remember that I had huge problems when I replaced the front pads on my 2004 Prius last year? Basically, the 'phenol' pistons swelled up and I then discovered that there was a slight ridge inside the bore of one the calipers (having replaced with steel, I have had no further problems and am getting an extra 3-4 mpg now that one of the discs is not binding). Now I need to replace the rear pads (2.5mm or 1/10th inch.) and before 'jumping in', I wondered whether or not the pistons are again 'phenol'? Also, there seems to be two different types of pads for this model. Any help would be much appreciated
Worth noting, the UK second gen rear brakes are disk brakes if I'm not mistaken (not sure what the parking brake method is)? North American are drum brakes.
My (German/European) 2008 model has disk brakes in the rear (with a drum brake only for parking included). The pistons of the disk brake in the rear are made of metal. (Only the front pistons are made of plastics.)
While the front brakes have two with a wrench easy removable guidance pins for the saddle, in the rear is only one of these pins. The other one is screwed to the saddle with an allen key and sits in a dead end hole, not longer reachable for the allen key. Perhaps this pin stuck! (My left one was a very hard case! I drilled another hole from the opposite side for applying the allen key and a longer lever. Later a cut a thread and closed the hole again with a gasket and a very short bolt.)
Thanks for replies. The UK version does have disc brakes at the rear along with drum brakes just for parking brake. Having had a look at the pads on offer, it is clear that there are at least two distinctly different pad types for this year. One has 3 holes along the edge, so pretty easy to select the correct one.
