How to Replace the Brakes Pads and Rotors on a 2013 to 2018 Toyota RAV4

Park on a level surface. Use a breaker bar and 21mm socket or lug wrench to loosen the lug nuts on your front wheels.

Chock the rear wheels.

Lift and support the front end of the vehicle.

Remove the lug nuts and the front wheels.

Use a flathead screwdriver between the rotor and brake pad to compress the caliper piston slightly just enough to remove the caliper from the rotor.

Use a ratchet and 14mm socket to loosen and remove the caliper bolts.

Slide the caliper off the rotor and suspend it somewhere out of the way, making sure there’s no pressure on the brake hose.

Use a ratchet or breaker bar and 17mm socket to loosen the two caliper bracket mounting bolts and remove them. Remove the caliper bracket with the brake pads in it and set it aside for now.

Remove your old rotor. If the rotor doesn’t come off easily, you can use its two holes to thread an M8-1.25 bolt into the hub to help push it off. You can also use a hammer to loosen it, but only if the rotor will be replaced.

Use brake cleaner and a shop towel or rag to wipe any oils from the friction surfaces of your new rotor. Clean any rust off the hub with a wire brush.

Adding silicone brake grease to the hub before installing your new rotor will make it easier to remove it during your next brake service.

Install your new rotor, and use one of your wheel lug nuts to hold it in place as you continue to work.

Wipe the exposed portion of your caliper piston with brake cleaner on a towel or rag. If the rubber boot is cracked or if there’s brake fluid leaking, the caliper needs to be replaced.

Attach your bleeder tool and open the bleeder valve by turning it counter-clockwise.

Using an old brake pad to protect the piston, compress the brake caliper with a brake caliper compressor tool. When you’re done, the piston should be flush with the housing.

Tighten the bleeder valve, being careful not to let any air into the line. Detach the bleeder tool.

Remove the old pads and hardware from your caliper bracket, taking note of their orientation, so you can install your new ones properly and give the bracket a visual inspection. If the bracket is extremely rusty where the pads or hardware will sit, it needs to be replaced.

Remove the slide pins, and visually inspect them. If they’re corroded or pitted, they also need to be replaced.

Spray the bracket down with brake cleaner, but don’t use a wire brush to clean it. This can lead to further corrosion.

Wipe down the slide pins and apply some fresh silicone grease. Reinstall the pins, and make sure they glide smoothly.

Install the new hardware and brake pads.

Reinstall the bracket. Lift it into place, with the pads on either side of the rotor, and thread the 17mm bracket bolts by hand, starting with the top one.

Use your ratchet and socket to tighten the bolts, then use your torque wrench to tighten those bolts to 79 foot-pounds.

Move the caliper into place over the pads, making sure the brake hose isn’t twisted.

Thread the two mounting bolts by hand, starting with the top one. Use your ratchet and 14mm socket to tighten them. Once they’re snug, torque these bolts to 25 foot-pounds. If you used a lug nut to keep the rotor in place, you can remove it now as well as your caliper hanger.

Reinstall the wheel and tighten the lug nuts until the wheel is secure against the rotor.

Use your 21mm socket and torque wrench to tighten the nuts in a star pattern to 76 foot-pounds.

Some brake fluid was pushed out when you compressed your caliper pistons, so check your master cylinder and add fluid as needed.

If your brake pedal feels spongy, it’s likely that you have air in one or both of your front brake lines. Check out our video on how to bleed your brake lines to remove the air if needed.

To help break in the new components, it’s a good idea to test drive your vehicle, slowing it thirty times from thirty miles per hour with moderate brake pressure, allowing the brakes to cool for about thirty seconds in between each slowdown. Try to avoid aggressive stops during this break-in process. Your brakes will probably smell after you’ve done this, and that’s okay. If the odor persists past five hundred miles or so, or if you have excessive dust on a wheel, you may have a stuck caliper.