Avalon FINALLY needs work...

Most of the Midas shops I know, unfortunately, I woudn't recommend. Ask in your area for a good mechanic; brakes and alignments aren't that tough, but there are only a couple people I would go to for an alignment (they're so good (anal) that the steering wheel is perfectly straight when they're done!)

I'm not a fan of Midas for anything other than mufflers, and even for mufflers, Toyota dealers offer a lifetime warranty on parts and labor.

If the original Toyota brakes lasted for 130,000 miles, why wouldn't you want to replace them with genuine Toyota brakes again?

As far as the alignment, if the tires are wearing evenly, the car doesn't pull to one side or another, and the steering wheel is centered, don't bother.

If you don't wish to go to a dealer, around here (No. Calif) there are several independant shops that specialize in Toyota's. Usually use genuine parts and somewhat cheaper than dealerships.

Ron

Ya know, I kept going back to Meineke again and again and again. $400 a pop. If I had just ONCE replaced the parts with Genuine Toyota, I'd probably only have to do it once in a while. The inital cost is more, but getting more life out of them makes up for it.

'Course, no that I get a decent discount on aftermarket parts, and do the work myself, who cares?

That was always the clincher for me!

Gentlemen, thanks for helpful comments. Took Avalon to independent garage yesterday for diagnosis. Came back needs brakes all around and new rear rotors. Can do erither OEM pads/rotors or has some other brand (Inoki or something like that) that owner recommends a bit more highly than OEM.

Anyway the major surprise on lift was that rear track bars were both bent. Not by garage yesteday but previously. Current garage says he found them this way. Made me recall a trip to Jiffy Lube for last oil change in April where I also asked for tire rotation. Seems JL put it on lift wrong. So now I am dealing with JL over $400. Brakes will go on will keep you updated on track bar problem. An thoughts?

Rick

I am not a big fan of aftermarket parts - I prefer OEM. If the brand that your shop is recommending is Akebono ("ah-kay-bow-no") or Aisin then those are good since they are OEM suppliers.

Other OK aftermarket brands would be Bendix and Raybestos.

I recall some guy posting that those quick lube places were the cat's pajamas and that the folks working at all of them were the best in the business. - so much for that theory. Putting a vehicle on a lift is not rocket science but it does take the ability to look at an undercarriage and know what you're looking at for support points.

I'm not sure what you mean by "track bar." Each side has 2 lower control arms attached to the bottom of the strut - 1 will have an adjustment for rear toe. Each side also has a strut rod that runs fore-aft that positions the strut fore-aft. I'm guessing that these rods are what got bent. If I were you, I'd ask for a four-wheel alignment after the damaged parts are replaced.

Thanks Ray. Yes, the guy who caught the problem was estimating for the

4 wheel align as well. So far JL is not giving me much trouble but they won't actually see the car til tomorrow afternoon.

Rick

Good luck!

10300 mile out of a set of front brakes ? Does this guy do flintstones stops ? There's NO WAY that's possible . -Dana

Gotta go back and look at the clues...

1998 Avalon is now 7 years old, the OP has owned for 4 years. It is now 2005, the OP purchased around 2001 when it was around 3 years old.

The OP mentions a timing belt replacement at 60k, and if current mileage is

103 k, the OP has put at least 43,000 miles on the car but not the entire 103,000 miles. Most likely range for the mileage accumulated by the OP is 50-55k miles.

Reading a litle more carefully, since the OP hasn't put all the mileage on the car, it probably had a previous brake replacement.