Replace rear drums and brake pads or not?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Lento47, Aug 9, 2026 at 3:10 PM.

  1. Lento47

    Lento47 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2026
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    Location:
    Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    As mentioned in another post, just replaced front pads and rotors on my 2009 Prius.
    After test driving, braking with the brake pedal was mostly fine, except for a squeak from the back as the car came to a stop.

    So I cleaned the drum brakes. Then did another drive test. This time, there was no squeak, but I discovered that if I pulled the ebrake from just 5mph, the rear brakes squealed loudly (only when going forward, they didn’t squeal going in reverse). So I investigated further.

    With rear up on jack stands and tires off, turning the drums by hand I discovered that both have a drag/sticky point or two across the rotation when I had the ebrake clicked in 4-5 clicks (ie there were spots of resistance as I rotated them, then easy turning). When I got to 7 clicks they were solidly locked and couldn’t rotate them, which is expected.

    I sanded the pads lightly to remove any glazing, but sticking points remain when I rotate by hand. I’m guessing I have one or two ‘high’ spots in the drums themselves.

    I thought the rear drums were supposed to be good for ~ 150,000 - 200,000 miles. Is this normal to have high spots in the drums at 85,000 miles (and again, it's an 2009)? And is this ok? There were no squeals during normal braking, just when engaging the ebrake. But clearly they are not perfectly round now. Or are these sticking points and ebrake squeal a solid indicator that the drums must be replaced? (I’ve seen elsewhere that replacement is a better option than machining as it’s not that much more.)

    Thanks!