I have an '03 TL, just turned 50,000 miles, original brakes.
A very noticeable pulsing has developed when braking. I'm assuming new brakes are needed, and the pulsing means the rotors need to be cut or replaced.
I'm no mechanic and can't do the work myself. The first mechanic I called told me that on this model the rotors cannot be cut and must be replaced. Is this correct?
Also, at 50K miles will the rear brakes need replacement?
What might I expect to pay for a brake job?
Thank you.

 

Do a search on here & you will find plenty of information about brakes.
The rotors can be machined, unless they are below the min. thickness spec. but I wouldn't bother because you can get any number of aftermarket rotors to replace them that are of better quality. Check the vendor section on here for selection & discounts. EBC, Rotora, StopTech are all good brands, among others. Take a look at the DIY about brakes & consider doing it yourself. You'll save $ & become more familiar with your car & how it works.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. As for doing it myself, I haven't the time, the know how, or the tools. So I definitely need to hire out the job. But before I do I just want to gain some insights so Idon't get ripped off.

 

I was having the same issues with pulsating when braking on my '00 TL; I just replaced all four rotors and pads and although I'm sure there are plenty of other brands that are "better" I got mine from the vendor 'BrakeMotive'. If you search the forums i'm sure you can find his post but price was great for drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic brake pads. Also received them in less than a week after ordering. Check them out..really good service and I don't usually order off of eBay

http://stores.ebay.com/Brakemotive

 

the stock rotors wear out pretty easy and not worth resurfacing to make flat again

for the low miles you have, Im guessing the car is driven fairly gently.. so you want plain flat faced rotors (no slots or cross drilled holes or dimples)
and `semi mettallic` or `ceramic` pads (lower dust- lower noise)

matched maker parts work best... normally
ck NAPA auto parts or autozone or kragen for price ranges
A shop gets wholesale prices but has to mark up to make reasonable profit,,parts get jacked wayyyy up !!

its rare to need rear rotors or pads at this time

the rear brakes are disc and no adjustment is needed- but clean and lube the hardware/sliders never hurt any brakes!

the park brake is a miniature drum brake set, inside the rear rotors- if park brake works fine,, leave it alone

do get the brake fluid flushed!!!

look in the phone book ads for auto repairing -a smaller ad for private owner type shop with honda or acura listed as things they specialize in
the TL is picky about certain fluids, and some procedures are different than any car I have ever worked on before the TL

 

just wanted to ask about the brakes too lol. although in my case its too late. my wife got the brakes changed at the local Canadian tire. they installed Monroe cx-787 brake pads and replaced the rotors for the front wheels. all for 300 CAD. did i get ripped off? how good are these brakes? i had 50k miles on the oem brakes.

 

you will fine--monroe makes better than OE quality parts

 

STOPTECH makes good quality rotors and pads. They are more durable than the OE rotors and the rotor/pad combination outperforms the factory components. They also have a black coating on the hubs and vanes and the front rotor for the 2nd gen CL/TL has a curved vane construction. The pads have great initial bite and long-term performance and they emit low dust and low noise.

http://store.excelerateperformance.c.../i-398965.aspx

 

i just bought a set of oem front brake pads from santa monica acura in CA - they had a 25% off coupon on their website, so the front pads came out to be ~$45. i had hawk hps pads previously. those pads ate thru two sets of rotors. i finally got fed up with the squeaking (near grinding) noise of those pads, so i yanked them over the weekend. the pads were barely worn...i don't get it. stopping power was never compromised, but the audible discomfort and the feeling of thinking there's something wrong got the best of me. i ended up buying just some generic rotors from www.thepartsbin.com for ~$25/rotor shipped. so for $100, i swapped out my front brakes. it's a pretty straightforward job worth knowing how to do, esp since the only tools you really need are 17mm and 14mm ratchet/sockets, wire hanger, big c-clamp, and jack/jack stands. the biggest pain is banging your knuckles trying to break the bracket bolts loose.

 

figure ~150CDN for parts and ~150CDN for labor, you did fine.

 

arite thanks i guess im gonna stick with monroe then.

 

stoptech makes good stuff as excelerate said--I was only thinking of immediate pickup parts

hawk pads and most hi performance pads
A: Dont perform great on stock weak mettalurgy rotors
B: Have a specific bedding procedure, can be modified but still must be done - or they wont stop very well and make a lot of noise in the process
Performace parts need special attention- thats all
You may have to deglaze the pads now and then if driven gently a lot

 

that explains my less than stellar experience with the hawk pads. i wasn't aware that the hps's were semi-hi-performance pads. they were really horrible for regular day-to-day driving. my pads prob still have 85% meat left, but i've gone thru two sets of rotors with them.

 

hawks need sturdy rotors for sure,,
racingbrake brand pads are like that too--need good rotors or they eat them fast

hawk HPS= High Performance Street!!--says so right on the box,,next to the bedding directions that call for cleaning the rotors with 120 grit sandpaper before new pads installed on old rotors-
then a series of pad warming and super heating for material transfer layer
from 60mph to 10 mph several times
failure to do so properly will result in loss of braking and short pad/rotor life

 

haha, i'll blame it on my buddy - he suggested those pads. i personally have had good experiences with the axxis metal masters. i went back to stock pads since they were relatively inexpensive.
i did go thru the proper bedding procedure with my original rotors. i bought brembo replacement rotors and heat cycled the pads on them. the rotors warped rather quickly. then i had the brembos replaced with centrics - same deal, rotors warped rather quickly. i guess if/whem my current pads/rotors wear out, i can either get some high performance rotors and put the hps's back on, or just chuck the hps's.

 

axxis are ok but better choices in my opinion
brembo rotors also need a special bedding- initial use- which is totally different from the pads needs~

were the rotors measured as warped??- or was there just pad material imbalance on the surface

that happens way more often that you can believe
car comes in with brake shake: pads and rotors look good--go rebed them at higher speeds~ and problem solved

 

So ima bring this up again, but i recently changed the brake pads about a month ago, and ever since and i brake lightly or hard, my steering wheel would kinda shake, would i need new rotors?

 

when was the last time your rotors were changed/resurfaced?

 

112,000 miles, stock rotors, yea and never resurfaced.

 

depending on how bad the steering wheel shake is, you could probably get away with just resurfacing the rotors.

but also if you think about it, for the cost of turning the rotors, you could probably just buy new ones and replace them yourself.

 

that miles on stock rotors--those things are better used as doorstops than brake rotors now
Get some decent replacements

 

remember to clean and lube the slider plates and backs of new pads and their end tabs