front brake pads for 2004 Camry

Well, I guess I'm going to have to leave this list now. Took the ol' 99 Camry in to the dealer with every intent of driving out with a new 2010 model and ended up pulling off the lot in a 2010 RAV4!

Doesn't look like there is a newsgroup for RAV4 owners, so I may have to see what is in the alt.autos.Toyota group for a while.

Loved all 3 of my Camry's, and my Corollas before that, so I'm sure the RAV4 will be wonderful as well!

I just checked at NapaOnline and found only one set of pads for that car that was in the $100 range. Their ultrapremium range was in the order of $45. IMO Napa has a generally high quality line of products.

I have even bought pads from Autozone, and if you buy the high quality pads they work out just fine.

My recommendation would be to go to Napa, or your favorite FLAPS, and talk to the counter people about it. Go with a high line pad and I dont think you will go wrong.

I'd get the OE pads from the Toyota dealer. Front pads from online Toyota parts dealers are around $50.94. Rear pads are another $42.39. Take a look at:

Akebono ProAct ceramics. Toyota supposedly used a cheaper version (EE- friction rated) of the Akebono pads.

If you want better performance, use Hawk Performance HPS carbon metallic pads. Some say they are quiet, others say they may squeal a bit. So break these in according to directions.

Both should be about $50-60 per set online.

That isnt a bad price at all. I might go OEM if it were convenient to do it. Otherwise, I wouldnt worry about it.

I've always been of the opinion that the OE pads were best for most people. Vehicle manufacturers do a lot of testing and have to be sure that their pads meet all safety standards. Aftermarket suppleir also have to meet safety standards, but I can't see them doing the sort of testing the vehicle manufactuers conduct.

I've always been bothered by how Ford and GM handle aftermarket sales. The Motorcraft and Delco aftermarket pads are not always (or even usually) the same as the OE pads. If you want OE pads, you have to go to the dealer and make sure they order them by P/N. And of course, they are usually more expensive than the aftermarket pads sold under the Motorcraft or Delco brand names. To me this seems to be somewhat devious. When people buy "Motorcraft" or "Delco" pads, they are assuming the are getting OE quality. Unfortunately this is usually not true.

Ed White

Devious and dealerships go together, Ed. I have never found any advantage at all by going with OEM parts.

Are you really sure that vehicle manufacturers do a lot of testing on the parts? I'm not. But I suspect that the contract manufacturers who supply these parts are responsible for meeting the specs that the manufacturer sets.

Remember that the aftermarket suppliers are in the direct line of fire for liability suits. And a lot of them have very high technology levels and manufacturing quality standards.