Made in USA or China?

[Barry14UK]

Got supposedly correct Akebono ceramic brake pads from ROCKAUTO for my RX, ordered on 10th September and received today, so  excellent service considering they came from USA.  Also, they come with associated hardware and lube sachet, something a UK dealer said the Lexus boxed ones didn't include. Furthermore, these came at a saving over those quoted by a UK Lexus dealer even after postage and VAT added.  However, one of the selling points on the ROCKAUTO site says they are made in the USA and on the box is also shows made in USA.  There is also a printed label stuck on the box which shows ACT1324A Ceramic Disc brake pads Manufactured in the USA.  But on the accompanying Packing List under Country of Origin, it says China. The feint printing on the backplate shims attached to the pads does not show were they were made but reads AK AS487 FF N21 

I have seen ROCKAUTO mentioned several times on this forum and they seem to sell a wide range of pads (and I believe other car parts), so I assume the ones I have received are genuine.  However, I wonder whether the Packing List is correct and gives the game away or maybe it was incorrect. Incidentally, the pads which are said to be ceramic, look as though the pad material contains some small metallic like inclusions. 

Think I will ask ROCKAUTO about this but would be interested to learn view of members before doing so.

[Barry14UK]

On reflection, I think the likely explanation is that the metal plates originate in China and the friction material is applied in the USA.  Anyway, this is rather academic now as the pads are the wrong ones and I will be returning them.  I did correctly enter my details but it appears that my car was made in Japan from where cars are supplied to Europe and ROCKAUTO are catering for the model  produced in Canada.  The significance of this is that the front discs on my car are 34mm thick whereas on the other side of the pond theirs are 28mm thick.  So the moral of the story is to very carefully check for disparity before ordering, even for parts the appear to be correct.   OK, some would say best to have gone to Lexus in the UK in the first place, but parts are usually less expensive in the USA and some members have benefitted on ordering where parts are identical.

 

[Malc]

13 minutes ago, Barry14UK said:

OK, some would say best to have gone to Lexus in the UK in the first place

Maybe in this instance .....  you will never know  BUT what I do know is that I have ordered, in the past, UCAs for my Ls400 from Amayama ( not RockAuto but similar credibility ) and these have been Toyota stamped on the body of the items and price was ( each ) say £120 but with carriage, Customs Duty and VAT and a small Royal Mail paperwork handling charge worked out at about £240  WHEREAS the UK Lexus supplied part was quoted at £500 or thereabouts

Just think it's good to buy from RockAuto and Amayama where one can and with some great degree of confidence 

AND delivery times have always been acceptable

Just my personal experience with several separate shipments over the years

Malc

[LexusRbest]

As a firm believer in factory original must be best I have always tried to fit Original equipment.

However ,on a mercedes with a brake squeal and judder ,filing a chamfer on the leading edge of the pads and resetting with new shims and grease failed to silence the Ate original pads.

If the pads had not been original to the vehicle from new I would have suspected made in china copies of Ate

I fitted a set of UK manufactured EBC Ultimax pads which not only stopped the noise but improved the brake pedal feel .

As a real plus the alloy wheels no longer get brake dust discolouring them!

EBC also make racing yellow, green and red pads also but they need to be heated up before they work properly! Not much good on the school run!

I have now fitted them(Ultimax) to my LS back and front and my mercedes SL fronts.I will report back on how they wear but so far very pleased.

 

 

 

 

[Barry14UK]

As this thread has been added to, I will mention another aspect.  When I ordered these pads from Auto Rock, the fronts and rears came from different depots far apart.  I have found that these can only be returned to the depot from whence they came, so returning them this way, rather than in one parcel to a single deport, makes this uneconomical.

So I am left with OEM pads that are of no use to me.  It is very unlikely that a US spec RX will have been imported to the UK but some Highlanders (and possibly some other models) of US spec may have been and I believe some of these at least use the pads I now have surplus to my requirements.  So if these may be of interest to anybody for a nominal cost as they are quite heavy to post, please contact me.  The fronts are referenced ACT1324A and the rears ACT1391A, the 'A' indicating they include the auxiliary pack of clips and springs.