Originally Posted by desmonsm

Akebono and Hawk are both great pads. Personally, I prefer the Akebono Pro ACT ceramic pads. Those are what I wanted to have installed when my rear pads were replaced last week. I didn't figure the dealer would install anything other that the OEM organic rear pads.
I took my car to a very reputable independent shop for an estimate before I had the dealer do the job, and they wanted to replace the rotors, calipers and pads - like a $500 job! They won't replace just pads - they can't guarantee great results otherwise.