How To Break In Your Toyota Rotors Correctly
When you install new rotors on your car, it’s necessary to break them in to ensure optimal brake performance.
Why Break-In Your Rotors?
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The industry term for breaking in your rotors is called bedding in your brakes. It’s when you add a uniform layer of brake pad material onto the new rotor. Doing this not only improves your car’s braking power but also:
- Makes braking smoother
- Minimizes brake squealing and vibration
- Prevents rotor warping
Breaking in your rotors properly is something you can easily do after replacing them yourself.
The Proper Break-In Procedure For Toyota Vehicles
A couple of notes:
- Be sure to break in your rotors in an area with minimal traffic. You’re going to be driving around at various speeds, sometimes without stopping.
- If you’re using old brake pads with your new rotors, then you might need to break in your rotors twice. The best way to see if the cycle needs to be repeated is to check your rotors after the break-in procedure. You want the rotors to have a light blue tint and a gray film deposit. Those are good indicators that the rotors heated up properly and that there’s enough brake pad material on them.
Here’s the break-in procedure for your Toyota:
- Startup your Toyota and then take it out for a spin in the neighborhood.
- Bring your car up to 45 mph and then press your brakes in a slightly aggressive way. (Repeat 2-3 more times.) You don’t need to come to a complete stop. This step heats up your rotors enough to prevent sudden thermal shock.
- Bring your car up to 60 mph and then aggressively hit your brakes until the car slows down to 15 mph. (Repeat 7-9 more times.) Try not to be too aggressive because you don’t want the ABS to kick in and the wheels to lock up.
- Cruise on the road at whatever speed you’d like for about 5-10 minutes without stopping. This cools down your brakes. It’s important that you don’t stop. At this point, your rotors and brake pads are extremely hot. If you stop, the brake pads may imprint some material on the rotors and make the surface uneven.
Breaking In Your Rotors Is Easier With OEM Rotors
It’s highly recommended to replace your rotors with OEM rotors instead of aftermarket parts. It’s because OEM rotors are specifically designed to work optimally with your Toyota and its brake pads. If you get aftermarket rotors, they likely won’t perform well with your brake pads because the pads might be too hard or soft in comparison. You can read more about why OEM rotors are better than aftermarket rotors here.
Proper fitment is also important. That’s why it’s important to find the right part number for your Toyota model. The good news is that it’s quite easy to do on our website. We have a catalog that’s searchable. So all you have to do is to look up your Toyota to see all the genuine OEM parts available for it. Here’s our catalog of rotors. You should be able to find the right part number for OEM rotors in a matter of a few seconds.
To make it even easier for you, we put together a list of our most popular Toyota rotors:
- Part No. 43512-08040: For 2004-2010 Avalon, Camry, Sienna, and Solara models
- Part No. 43512-06150: For 2009-2018 Avalon, Camry, and Matrix models
- Part No. 43512-60191: For 2010-2018 4Runner models
- Part No. 43512-0E030: For 2010-2018 Highlander and Sienna models
- Part No. 43512-0C020: For 2009-2018 Sequoia and Tundra models