I have been at the Toyota Service and they found that Front Rotors are rusted require immediate attention ! I am pretty close to the coast line and almost every morning (these days) there are quite a bit condensation on the whole car including the breaks of course. I can see "fresh" brown rust ... So this morning the mechanic commented that rotors needs replacement due to rust ... I do not think this is really correct ... after another 20 miles (the station is about 3 miles light traffic) the rotors are almost rust free and surfaces are quite smooth. The rust is visible the inside and outside edges where the break-pad doesn't touch. They already put the quote 172 as parts plus two hours labor but without number. I said no thanks I am going to have another mechanic look at it. Any opinions are welcome. The pics were taken with an old cell phone I can try with real camera tonight. Any Here are two pictures:
Sounds like nothings wrong with them. Anytime I wash our car, and then the car sits for a day or two: the rotors will get surface rust. And like you say: drive a bit and it clears up. One thing that is serious: if you see rust on only a portion of the disc, and it persists. This likely indicates uneven pad pressure. Happened to me with the rears.
Thanks I will inspect more fully tomorrow morning during daylight... these pics were taken in an underground garage (at work) there was not enough light and space. I do look at the wheels when I check tire pressure and I was sure the dealership was trying to upsell something ... I pre-emptied the filter stuff stating that I have them already and will change them myself. Which is true .. I can get those online for less than the shop and it is really simple to change ... (same with wiper blade inserts)
FYI, rust on any part that DOES NOT make contact with the brake pads is normal. There's nothing scraping the rust off. I don't have this issue where I live, but I'd suggest having someone wire brush the rotor parts that are rusting (like the hub) and apply a coat of something that will retard rusting. It isn't really needed, but rust can complicate trying to pull parts off, and sooner or later, work will need to be done.
When my rear rotors were rusted due to uneven pad contact, I took them off and just went over them with steel wool, did the best I could. Reinstalled with new pads and shims, they sounded horrible at first, due to the pads properly contacting the full surface. Just a few blocks later they got a little quieter. A week later I could still hear them, just a bit. A month later you'd never have known there was a problem: quiet, and they looked great. Moral of the story: minor rust can heal.
The mechanic needed to repaint his boat. If the rust bothers you, you can clean it off (stay away from the pad contact areas) and paint it by hand - a brush, not a spray can. You need to properly prep the surface (remove all oils) or the paint won't stick. You don't need to use high temp. paint but it doesn't harm anything if you do. What I do is worry about the wheels corroding on the hubs - the brake disks are part of it. If you rotate your own tyres you can do what I do. Get some "waterproof grease" - I use Lubriplate. Remove the wheel, and apply the grease with your finger wherever the wheel contacts the hub - then use your finger and wipe it off. It will leave a very thin coat, and that will prevent the wheel from sticking to the hub, but there won't be enough grease to bother the brakes. If the pad contact areas become pitted with rust the rotors probably should be replaced. They should appear smooth and shiny once the pads have scraped the rust off. Pearl S will give an alarming sound backing out of the garage the next day after I wash her and park her in there. It lasts about 10 feet. That's the surface rust being scraped off by the pads. And yes, it is "normal" as stated above.
Left rear of a Mercury that I see now and then in the parking garage at work: I've left notes on or in the car on several occasions, asked the local parking patrol or the police whether they can try to contact the driver, etc. You can sort of tell I live in an area without an inspection regime. At this point I'm just hoping I can be watching from a safe distance when that last veneer of cast iron punches through and the pad goes into the vent vanes. -Chap
Here's a thing you want to avoid on your Prius: Usable friction area on the inner surface down to about half.... Here's how I think it happens: Bit of rust starts around the edges where not wiped by the pad. Grows thicker and rougher until: Chews away some of the pad at the top and bottom edges. Now there's a slightly wider area at the edges not wiped by the pad. See rule 1. When I first found my rotors like this (and the pads, ahem, matching), I bought new pads, and had the rotors lathed. Since then, I try to look a little more often. If I catch it when it is just starting and the pads are only slightly chewed at the edges (a year or so), it responds very well to some 150 grit wet sandpaper (pad makes a good sanding block to do the rotor, rotor makes a good sanding table to do the pad). I've also learned that re-zinc-electroplating a rotor is a possible thing (and I found the electroplate shop around here, and have not tried a rotor yet, but was happy with what I did try). The plating will be removed quickly where the pads contact, but remain to protect the rest of the metal. Shop will probably plate as many rotors as you can carry in an armload for the minimum batch charge, less than you'd pay Toyota to buy one. Obviously not worth doing on a badly worn rotor (or one on a normal car you expect to wear quickly), but on a Prius the wear effect is so low the rust effect predominates, and it might turn out reasonable to plate once or so in the car's lifetime and get very long service out of original parts.... If anyone else tries it before I do I'd be interested in the results. -Chap
If you are asking me (OP) almost 41k ... during this summer spent 2 month litteraly on the beach (car was parked outside about 200 feet from the ocean) at South Hampton Bay ... wasn't much rain but dew in the mornings was significant... Not sure it matters that much... but car was driven every day (practically)
yup, i think everyone above is correct. these rotors rust from condensation, everywhere but where the pads rub. mine look exactly like yours, you don't need any work.
Chapman, just like to say: I looked at that first picture you posted, for maybe 5 minutes, before my brain finally unseized and I could understand what it was, lol. I'd converted all the "innies" into "outies" or something: could not figure out what I was looking at.
It's fine. The only place you need to make sure is rust free is your hub and wheel mounting surfaces. That means taking the wheel off and taking a wire brush and lightly scrubbing off any surface rust. All other places on the rotor are aesthetics only.
Finally got some time with a real camera here some pictures. I tried to feel the surface ... genraly pretty smooth there are some grooves mostly on the rear rotor (which has smaller outer ring). Also tried to feel the backside which I can not see, I do not feel back drop (neck) there either... so I am not really concerned.
Looks like something going on, the metal spalling, in the zone I marked with a red line: For comparison, a couple of pics of ours. Front: Rear:
Thanks I will look after this ... I am trying to use the breaks more aggressively (in neutral) for a few days ... and see if this changes
