Rusty Brake Calipers on my IS300H

[sheri1]

Hi.  I have a 2016 IS300H and have had it since new.  I have  noticed recently that the front brake calipers have quite a lot of surface rust on them.  Whilst I am sure that nothing is unsafe, it is not nice to look at and I was wondering if anybody else has had this problem, and if so, how did they deal with it.

[Guest]

I had this on my RX when i first purchased it at 18 months old so i rubbed them down and bought some calliper paint of choice and they looked as good as new.

If its under warranty you could also try asking lexus to do it.Below is the before and after of mine.

 

[sheri1]

Yes this is very similar to mine.  Yours do look a lot better after your treatment.  What type of paint did you use?

Not the sort of thing I would expect to see on a premium car that is just over 18 months old.  Mine is still under warranty, so I may well pay my dealer a visit and see what they say.

[Guest]

I used FOLiATIC calliper paint, and mine was also still under warranty at the time but i thought i could do a better job myself.

[cruisermark]

Just goes to show that even Lexus dont make them like they used to - the calipers on my 14 year old ls430 are nice and grey

[The-Acre]

6 hours ago, cruisermark said:

Just goes to show that even Lexus dont make them like they used to - the calipers on my 14 year old ls430 are nice and grey

I think you're right Mark, Lexus definitely don't make cars the way they did. 

[olliesgrandad]

My 2 Lexus [2014 is f sport 300h] and my current 2015 GS are the only 2 cars I've owned for a number of years without rusty calipers. That includes 2 minis and 2 Mercedes all post 2013 age. One thought is that the wheel cleaner used at hand car washes is very aggressive and causes the issue when sprayed on hot calipers. 

Still if you own a new Mercedes you need to replace the wheel centre caps every 12 months or so as they are such poor quality. 

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, olliesgrandad said:

My 2 Lexus [2014 is f sport 300h] and my current 2015 GS are the only 2 cars I've owned for a number of years without rusty calipers. That includes 2 minis and 2 Mercedes all post 2013 age. One thought is that the wheel cleaner used at hand car washes is very aggressive and causes the issue when sprayed on hot calipers. 

Still if you own a new Mercedes you need to replace the wheel centre caps every 12 months or so as they are such poor quality. 

Our IS doesn't have rusty calipers either, and neither did my 3RX. My 4RX doesn't at the moment but its too new to really tell.

I don't think its the way they made but whats been used to clean the wheels, and how long calipers have been left without cleaning. Commonly, when people wash their cars, they miss out the calipers or they use strong acidic products which will cause this kind of rust on calipers.

The new Mercs have horrible centre caps, they need changing really often! So much so that my Father in law has got cheap eBay ones which look the same - yet they are much better at resisting corrosion. VW Aluminium ones tend to do the same. Mercs wheels are notoriously bad for corrosion too. 

[Roy IS300]

On 3/20/2018 at 12:35 PM, sheri1 said:

Hi.  I have a 2016 IS300H and have had it since new.  I have  noticed recently that the front brake calipers have quite a lot of surface rust on them.  Whilst I am sure that nothing is unsafe, it is not nice to look at and I was wondering if anybody else has had this problem, and if so, how did they deal with it.

Hi, i have a 2016 is300h f sport and just recently painted the calipers and looks amazing. i def recommend doing this to keep them looking fresh. It makes a massive difference!

[LordByronUK]

Did you need to take the wheels off to paint the calipers?

[200h]

over the years i have used quick colour paint on my hybrids

from screwfix https://www.screwfix.com/p/quick-colour-spray-paint-gloss-black-400ml/5368v

over caliper paint and never had an issue with it due to the fact

that most braking is regen so therefore you dont have excessive

amounts of heat building up in the calipers.

 

[200h]

here is a photo of a caliper after using the quick colour paint

[Spacewagon52]

On 3/25/2018 at 11:54 AM, rayaans said:

 

The new Mercs have horrible centre caps, they need changing really often! So much so that my Father in law has got cheap ebay ones which look the same - yet they are much better at resisting corrosion. 

Rayaans! Do you not get on with your father-in-law? Shock! Horror and Indignation!

Your posts  on here are very persuasive!

Have you not been able to convinced your father-in-law to buy a Lexus?

[rayaans]

7 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Rayaans! Do you not get on with your father-in-law? Shock! Horror and Indignation!

Your posts  on here are very persuasive!

Have you not been able to convinced your father-in-law to buy a Lexus?

Hes old. Still thinks diesels are better for fuel economy and driveability despite driving only 3000 miles a year 

[200h]

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

Hes old. Still thinks diesels are better for fuel economy and driveability despite driving only 3000 miles a year 

that old saying is true " you can't teach an old dog new tricks"

[paulrnx]

2 hours ago, rayaans said:

Hes old. Still thinks diesels are better for fuel economy and driveability despite driving only 3000 miles a year 

Agreed. Never ceases to amaze me the number of low mileage drivers who buy diesels. Mind you I know plenty of people who barely know what engine is in their cars and whether front, rear or all wheel drive. So many people buy on the basis of gadgets and trinkets or mpg

[paulrnx]

Most surface rust on callipers comes from washing the car and then leaving the car a day or more before driving it again. Always a good idea to go out and do a few miles after washing the car to ensure the callipers warm up and any water is heated off and also blown away.