Owners of other Hyundai or Kia vehicles such as the Accent, Sonata, Azera, Veloster, Tucson, Santa Fe, Veracruz, Genesis, Forte, Optima, Rio, Soul, Sorento, Sportage, and Sedona may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

The tools needed to complete this front brake job include a floor jack, jack stands, a tire iron or lug nut wrench, a 14mm socket with a 3/8" drive ratchet, and an "F" clamp.

A few compatible aftermarket sets of front brake pads include the following with their part numbers: Wagner QC1595, Raybestos PGD1543C, TRW TPC1595, Centric 105.15430, Akebono ProAct ACT1543A, KFE KFE1543-104, Bendix D1543 CQ and Bosch BC1543.

Then raise the front of the vehicle with the floor jack and securely support it with at least two jack stands.

Spin off the five lug nuts and set them aside in a safe place before pulling of the wheel cover (hub cap) and the wheel itself.

Look on the back side of the front brake caliper and locate the two 14mm caliper bolts.

If you have trouble loosening the bolts, use a 14mm wrench and hit it with a rubber mallet to get the bolts turning.

Be sure that you are turning them in the clockwise direction (or counter clockwise if you are underneath the car looking at the rear of the caliper).

Gently rest the brake caliper on the front suspension arm without placing stress on the rubber brake lines.

Pull the old brake pads out of the caliper bracket and make a mental note of how the wear or "squeal" bar is orientated. On this 2011 Elantra GLS, the wear bar was situated at the bottom of the inner front brake pad.

Then reinsert the caliper slider pins back into the caliper bracket until their rubber boots snap in place over the metal lip on the pins.

If your new front brake pads kit came with new metal anti-rattle clips, pull out the old ones from the top and bottom of the caliper bracket and install the new ones in their place.

Thoroughly clean off the brake rotor, caliper bracket, caliper and lug nut studs with brake parts cleaner spray. Do not use compressed air to clean off the brake parts since breathing in brake dust can be harmful to your health.

To help prevent or reduce braking noise, an optional step is to apply some CRC Disc Brake Quiet gel or a similar product to the rear of the brake pads where they come in contact with the caliper. (Do not apply anything to the friction surface of the new pads.)

If your vehicle exhibits shuddering, pulsating, or vibrations during braking, you may need to have your rotors "turned" (resurfaced) or just replace them with brand new rotors. If this is the car's first front brake job and the rotors appear to be in excellent condition, you should be able to just replace the pads with great results.

The service manual torque specification for tightening the larger bracket bolts is 51 to 63 lb-ft (or 69 to 85 N*m).

First move to the engine bay and remove the brake fluid reservoir cap by turning it counter clockwise.

Removing the reservoir cap will allow the brake fluid to easily travel back through the brake lines when the caliper piston is compressed.

Attach the "F" clamp to the brake caliper using the back of an old brake pad to evenly distribute the pressure.

Very slowly compress the piston while repeatedly checking the brake fluid level in the reservoir to prevent it from overflowing.

Compress the brake caliper piston until it is just about flush with the rubber dust boot.

Carefully place the brake caliper over the new brake pads and down into the bracket. If the caliper won't fit over the brake pads, you may need to compress the caliper piston back a bit more.

Insert the two caliper bolts and thread them in a few turns by hand to prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Tighten the caliper bolts by turning them clockwise (left) as seen from the outside of the vehicle with the 14mm socket and ratcheting wrench to just past hand tight or about 20-25 ft lbs of torque.

Note - The service manual's torque specification for the front caliper bolts is 15.9 to 23.1 lb-ft (or 21.6 to 31.4 N*m).

Double check that the two caliper bolts are securely tightened before moving on to the next steps.

It would be best to bleed the brake lines at this time in order to flush out the old fluid and replace it with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid. For more on this topic, check out my Brake Line Fluid Bleeding With An Assistant DIY Guide or alternatively the Brake Line Fluid Bleeding With A Power Bleeder Guide.

Lower the vehicle down from the jack stands using the floor jack.

Note - The owner's manual torque specification for tightening the the lug nuts is 65.1 to 79.6 lb-ft (or 88.3 to 107.9 N*m).

Please double check the owner's manual to verify the correct lug nut torque specification for your specific vehicle and wheel type.

The larger 16" and 17 inch wheels have a lug nut torque specification of 80 to 94 lb-ft (or 108 to 128 N*m).

Sit in the driver's seat of the vehicle and press the brake pedal a few times to restore the brake line pressure.

Then check the brake fluid level in the reservoir and verify that it is at the proper level.

If it is low, pour in some fresh DOT 3 brake fluid.

Once the brake fluid level is correct, replace the brake fluid reservoir cap by twisting it on clockwise.

To break in your new front brake pads, just drive normally for the first several hundred miles while trying to avoid any hard or "panic" stops which may glaze over the new brake pads and cause them to be noisy and not perform as well.

It's also a good idea to regularly examine your driveway for drops of brake fluid which may indicate a leak, check the brake fluid level in the reservoir, and also check that the lug nuts are still properly tightened. 

For more, please check out my other Hyundai Elantra Repair & Maintenance DIY Guides.