2018-2024 Toyota Camry rear brake pads and rotors

All 2018-2024 Camry trims use an electronic parking brake with a motor-driven caliper piston on the rear only. The caliper piston cannot be compressed with a C-clamp until the EPB motor has retracted the piston via scan tool command. Connect the scan tool to the OBD-II port under the driver-side dash. Turn the ignition to ON without starting the engine. Enter the Brake System menu, select EPB Service, then Retract Pistons. Wait for the confirmation that both rear pistons are fully retracted. Failure to enter service mode before compression will strip the internal EPB motor gears - a several-hundred-dollar caliper replacement.

With the car on the ground and the parking brake released via the scan tool in step 1, use the breaker bar and 21mm socket to crack all five lug nuts on each rear wheel a quarter turn.

Chock both front wheels. Position the floor jack under the rear subframe center reinforcement. Raise the car and set jack stands under the pinch-weld jack points aft of the rear wheels. Lower the car onto the stands and confirm the stands are settled before removing the jack. Do not work under a car supported only by a floor jack.

Spin off the lug nuts and set the wheels flat, face down, to protect the paint.

Look at the pad thickness through the caliper viewing window. If the friction material is under 3mm on either pad, replacement is overdue. Check the rotor face for scoring, heat cracks, and lip buildup at the outer edge. Rear rotors below 9.0mm minimum thickness (stamped on the rotor hat) must be replaced, not machined.

The two 14mm caliper guide pin bolts sit on the inboard side of the caliper, one at the top and one at the bottom. Loosen and remove both. Slide the caliper straight off the pads and hang it from the trailing arm using a bungee cord or wire hanger. Never let the caliper hang by the brake hose or by the EPB motor harness - both can be damaged under their own weight.

Lift the inner and outer pads out of the bracket. Pry the stainless steel abutment clips off the bracket ears. Fresh clips ship with the Toyota 04466-33220 kit and must be installed.

Remove the two 17mm caliper bracket bolts behind the knuckle. The bracket is heavy - support it as the second bolt comes free. Set the bracket on a rag. The rotor lifts straight off the hub studs; if it is rust-welded to the hub, thread two 8mm bolts into the removal holes on the rotor hat and turn them alternately to walk it off. Hammering directly on the rotor face is acceptable on scrap rotors but will damage the wheel bearing.

Wire-brush the hub face until bright metal shows on the entire contact patch. TNGA-K rear hubs corrode aggressively in salt-belt regions and even light corrosion between the hub and rotor causes runout, which shows up months later as brake pedal pulsation. Apply a thin film of anti-seize to the hub face only, keeping it clear of the wheel stud threads.

Slide the new rotor onto the hub studs and secure it temporarily with one lug nut hand-tight. Spray both rotor faces with brake cleaner to remove the shipping oil coating.

Fit the caliper bracket back over the rotor and start both 17mm bolts by hand. Torque the rear caliper bracket-to-knuckle bolts to 77 ft lbs (105 Nm). Verify against your service manual.

Snap the new stainless clips onto the bracket ears. Apply a thin bead of ceramic brake grease to the tabs where the pad ears ride on the clips. Slide the new inner and outer pads into position. The wear sensor tab, if present on the pad set, goes on the inner pad oriented so the sensor contacts the rotor before the friction material wears out.

Look into the caliper piston bore. The piston face should be recessed roughly 4 to 5mm below the caliper mouth. If it is not, re-run the EPB retraction routine on the scan tool. Do not attempt to twist the EPB piston in with a rear-caliper cube tool - the TNGA-K Camry EPB does not use a threaded piston and cube tools will strip the internal motor.

Lubricate the guide pin shanks with a light film of ceramic grease. Slide the caliper over the new pads onto the bracket, aligning both guide pins into their bores. Thread both 14mm caliper guide pin bolts by hand, then torque the rear caliper guide pin bolts to 25 ft lbs (34 Nm). Verify against your service manual.

Set the wheel onto the studs and start all five lug nuts by hand two turns. Snug them in a star pattern. Once the car is back on the ground, torque the rear wheel lug nuts to 76 ft lbs (103 Nm). Verify against your service manual.

Return to the scan tool. In the EPB Service menu, select Exit Service Mode. Confirm both pistons apply and release with the parking brake switch on the center console. The dash indicator should extinguish within three seconds of the release command. Any EPB fault code (typically C1391 or C1392) after service indicates a piston did not fully seat against the pad - re-run retract and release cycles until the fault clears.

Perform a proper bedding cycle: from 35 mph slow to 5 mph moderately six times, then from 55 mph slow to 15 mph firmly (not to lock-up) six more times. Drive at least a mile between the two sets and after the second set to let the pads cool without stopping.