2000-2004 Toyota Avalon Brake Job Guide: Symptoms, Costs and the Right Parts

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

A brake job on a 2000-2004 Toyota Avalon means disc brakes at all four corners: the front pads and rotors wear first and do most of the work, while the rear pads and rotors last longer but hide a small drum-style parking brake inside each rear rotor. Most owners replace pads and rotors together, one axle at a time, and use DOT 3 fluid. It is a manageable job for a careful DIYer, with the rear axle taking a little more patience than the front.

How the Brakes Work on the 2000-2004 Avalon

Toyota fitted this generation of Avalon with four-wheel disc brakes and anti-lock braking (ABS) as standard on both the XL and XLS trims. The system also includes Brake Assist: when you slam the pedal in a panic stop, it recognizes the emergency and adds braking force for a driver who cannot hold the pedal down firmly. Toyota's owner's manual notes that Brake Assist becomes active above roughly 6 mph and stops working below roughly 3 mph, and that you may hear a sound under the hood and feel the pedal vibrate when it works. That is normal, not a fault.

The detail that surprises people on the rear axle is the parking brake. Toyota calls it a drum-in-disc parking brake. The rear rotor has a hat section that doubles as a small drum, and a pair of parking brake shoes sits inside it. The foot-operated parking brake pedal pushes those shoes out against the inside of the hat. The rear pads and caliper only handle normal braking. So a rear brake job on this car can involve two sets of friction material: the disc pads, and, if they are worn or oil-soaked, the parking brake shoes.

Symptoms Your Avalon Is Due for a Brake Job

• Squealing or scraping while driving. Toyota builds wear limit indicators into the pads. When the pads are worn to the point of replacement, the indicator contacts the rotor and squeals. The manual warns that ignoring it can lead to expensive rotor damage.
• Grinding. This usually means the friction material is gone and the backing plate is cutting into the rotor. At that point, plan on new rotors, not just pads.
• Vibration or pulsing in the pedal or steering wheel during normal stops. This points to uneven rotor thickness or pad deposits. Do not confuse it with the pulse you feel when ABS or Brake Assist activates in a hard stop.
• Pulling to one side. Often a sticking caliper slide pin or seized piston. Toyota's own inspection list includes checking that the brakes do not pull to one side.
• A parking brake that will not hold on a slope. Toyota's inspection guidance is that the car should hold on a safe incline with only the parking brake applied. If it does not, the shoes inside the rear hats are worn, glazed or out of adjustment.
• Warning lights. If the ABS light and the red brake system warning light come on together, Toyota says to stop the vehicle in a safe place right away. A low fluid level, often from worn pads, can also turn on the brake light.

Front vs Rear: What Wears and in What Order

The Avalon is a heavy front-drive sedan (the 2000 XLS had a listed curb weight of 3,462 pounds), and the engine weight sits over the front wheels. Weight shifts forward under braking too, so the front pads do most of the stopping and wear out first. Expect to do front pads more often than rears, and to replace the front rotors more often.

The rear pads last longer, but the rear axle has its own problems on high-mileage cars. Rear caliper slide pins get dry and stick, which can wear the inner pad much faster than the outer one. Rust builds up between the rotor hat and the hub, and around the parking brake shoes, so rear rotors can be hard to remove. Back the parking brake shoes off through the access in the rotor before you pull on a rotor that will not come off. Pulling harder only damages the shoes and hardware.

What to Replace Together

• Pads and rotors as a pair, per axle. Always do both sides of an axle. On cars this old, fresh rotors with new pads give the most predictable pedal feel and bed-in. See brake pads and brake rotors, or ceramic brake pads for low dust and quiet stops.
• Hardware. New abutment clips, shims and slide-pin boots cost little and prevent noise and uneven wear. A brake hardware kit is worth it on any 15-plus-year-old car.
• Parking brake shoes, when needed. With the rear rotors off, check the shoes inside the hat. If they are thin, cracked or contaminated, replace them with brake shoes while you are there. Toyota specifies bedding-in (burnishing) the parking brake shoes whenever the shoes or drums are replaced.
• Calipers, if one is sticking. A caliper that drags or leaks gets replaced as a pair on that axle. Browse brake calipers.
• Brake fluid. Glycol fluid such as DOT 3 is hygroscopic: it absorbs moisture from the air over time, which lowers its boiling point. ADVICS explains that the "wet" boiling point rating is measured at 3.7 percent water by volume. Flush the fluid when you do a full brake job and follow the interval in the owner's manual.

How Hard Is the Job, and What Drives the Cost

The front brakes are a straightforward pad-and-rotor job: remove the caliper, hang it so it does not load the hose, remove the bracket, swap the rotor, clean and lube the slides, and reassemble. The rears take longer because of the parking brake shoes and the rust. Tighten caliper bolts, bracket bolts and lug nuts to the values in the factory service manual, and pump the pedal before you move the car so the pistons seat against the new pads.

Price comes down to a few choices:

• Pads only vs pads and rotors. Pads alone are the cheapest, but only if the rotors are smooth and above their minimum thickness. Grinding or pulsation means rotors too.
• One axle vs both. Most jobs are fronts only. Doing both axles at once costs more up front but covers the rears for a long time.
• Extra parts. Seized calipers, worn parking brake shoes and a fluid flush each add parts and labor time.
• Parts vs labor. Doing the work yourself removes the labor. A shop charges for the time, and the rear parking brake work takes the longest.

A complete front-and-rear pad and rotor kit keeps the parts matched. Kits such as the Power Stop Z23 package include carbon-fiber ceramic pads, drilled and slotted zinc-plated rotors, stainless hardware and high-temperature brake lubricant. Power Stop's bedding procedure is five moderate-to-firm stops from 40 mph to 10 mph, then five moderate stops from 35 mph to 5 mph, then normal driving to cool the brakes without holding the pedal down at a stop. Shop Power Stop or the full brake parts catalog.

Recalls and Safety Checks

A search of NHTSA's recall database for the 2000, 2002 and 2004 model years found no brake-system recalls for this generation of Avalon. The recalls that do cover it are for other systems, including the steering lock bar (campaign 10V345000, 2000-2004 models) and the rear axle hub on some 2000 models (00V154000). The rear axle hub recall matters during a rear brake job, because the hub sits right behind the rotor. Check your VIN on nhtsa.gov and have a dealer complete any open recall.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the 2000-2004 Avalon have rear drum brakes?

No. It has disc brakes at all four wheels. The only drum-style part is the parking brake: a small set of shoes inside the hat of each rear rotor, which Toyota calls a drum-in-disc parking brake.

What brake fluid does a 2000-2004 Avalon use?

Toyota specifies SAE J1703 or FMVSS No. 116 DOT 3 brake fluid. Use fresh fluid from a sealed container, because DOT 3 absorbs moisture once opened.

Why do my brakes squeal even though they stop fine?

The pads have built-in wear limit indicators that squeal when the pads are worn down to replacement. Toyota says to have the pads replaced as soon as possible to avoid rotor damage. Glazed pads or missing shims can also squeal, so inspect them.

Why does the pedal buzz and the engine bay make noise in a hard stop?

That is ABS or Brake Assist working. Toyota notes you may hear a sound in the engine compartment and feel the pedal vibrate. It is normal unless the ABS warning light stays on.

Do I need to replace rotors every time I change pads?

Not always. If the rotors are smooth, straight and above the minimum thickness stamped on them, new pads alone will do. On a car this age, most rotors are thin, rusted or grooved by the second pad change, so pads and rotors together are the usual choice.

My parking brake does not hold after new rear rotors. Why?

The parking brake shoes need adjusting and bedding in after the rotors or shoes are replaced. Toyota calls for bedding-in the drum-in-disc parking brake whenever the shoes or drums are replaced. Adjust the shoes, then bed them in before you rely on the parking brake.

Sources

1. Toyota 2003 Avalon Owner's Manual (OM41401U) - drum-in-disc parking brake, Brake Assist operating speeds, pad wear indicators, ABS and brake warning lights, DOT 3 fluid, parking brake inspection
2. The Auto Channel: 2000 Toyota Avalon XLS review - standard four-wheel disc brakes with ABS and Brake Assist, curb weight
3. Genuine Toyota Avalon parking brake shoe catalog - separate parking brake shoes listed for 1995-2004 Avalon XL and XLS
4. ADVICS: Brake fluid boiling points - brake fluid is hygroscopic; wet boiling point measured at 3.7 percent water
5. Power Stop Z23 Evolution Sport brake kit - kit contents and bedding procedure
6. NHTSA recalls: 2000 Toyota Avalon - steering lock bar and rear axle hub recalls, no brake recall