I was changing the front brake pads on my 2010 prius and ran into a problem. I could not get the caliper to fit back on with the new brake pads. The caliper cylinder was compressed all the way back in. The rotor was nto being changed. I went to the auto parts store to compare the pads I had to another new set and the thickness was the same. I've probably put brakes on different cars 50 times. I'm totally confused by this. Has anyone run into this problem?
Just to confirm: you didn't change the rotor? These are aftermarket pads, ie: not from a Toyota Dealership parts counter? If that's the case, per JC91006, I'd guess it's the pads. I don't quite understand how you're comparing pad thickness too: if it's aftermarket pads being compared to aftermarket pads.
Front brake pad replacement is so straight forward....unless the parts are wrong, there's no reason to have problems with the job. Especially after you've done 50 other cars.
This is one of those things that if we all were there to actually look at the situation, we could probably address it better. The only thing I could think of is to remember that the shims move, and yours may be "stuck" or frozen in the old position from the old pads. Trying to fit the caliber back in with the shims in the old position will cause it not to fit. I have done this myself, and I too have changed a lot of brakes. Hopefully this helps?
Thanks for your help everyone. I'm going to order some genuine Toyota pads and try again. If they don't work I'll get a better mechanic.
One thing you could do is shave a bit off them, say with a belt sander. Not sure how healthy that'd be. Yeah, if it was me, I'd stuff the current pads in a corner of the garage and buy the Toyota ones. Then wait a decade, 'till I've completely forgotten how they came to be there, and then throw them out. Works.
