Hello,
A few weeks ago it was time to get all 4 pads and rotors changed. However, since then, my parking brake doesn't hold as strong it used to.

I park on a semi-steep driveway and always use the parking brake so the car doesn't roll back onto the transmission when in park (not sure if I'm using the correct terminology but you get the idea). Ever since the rotor and pad change, the parking brake doesn't prevent the car from doing so anymore. Once the brake was set the car never used to move a bit. Does the rotor just need time to get all scratched up for the parking brake to hold better or is there a way to adjust it? Thanks for any help/ suggestion.

Hi 13sr5,

Haha! Something like that! It's not that the rotors need scratches to aid in holding the vehicle still. The brake pads will, however, take time to 'Mate' with the newly resurfaced rotors (presuming they did resurface the rotors at all). It's normal to experience some small factor of lash (a degree of fluctuating surface angles/diminished surface area) in the brake system's mechanical assembly when they're first reassembled.

It could take a few 'braking miles' before the brakes "settle in" and begin to feel secure once again. But a trip back to the dealership may be a good option to have them checked, and to be sure that the rotors were in fact, turned (resurfaced) on the lathe like it says in the work description!

Cheers

I don't understand why people are always changing rotors... Should not be necessary....

Anyway, the parking brake does not use the brake pads. It uses shoes. I've never messed with them, but changing the rotors usually requires shoe adjustment to get them off. The dummies probably forgot to adjust them going back on.... Take it back to them and tell them your problem..... and ask for a refund for the rotors that you did not need LOL

To be fair there could have been a valid reason to change the rotors (i.e. one has a huge score in it and they recommend replacing it in an axle pair instead of cutting it near the min thickness; unlikely, but there is such reasons).

As for the parking brake, my guess is that it was not adjusted tight enough when the rotors were put on (I also wonder if there was a coating on the rotor's face and parking brake drum; that could account for that as well?)

Brakes/rotors are the only thing I won't do on a car because I don't want a brake failure on my conscience so I had to trust that the mechanic knew what he was taking about. Plus, under hard braking the steering wheel shook back and forth. Daily New York rush hour traffic puts the brakes to the test each day haha. Anyway, thanks for the input, everyone. I think the most likely scenario is that they forgot to adjust the parking brake after reinstallation. I'll have to make a quick trip back on the weekend to have them adjust it.

Hopefully they did not sell you cheap rotors... Pretty common play that I have seen. Pull of your excellent OEM rotors and put on cheap junk..

One thing to keep rotors smooth in quick stop scenarios... Let the wheels roll a little forward after a fast/hot complete stop. Keeps the heat moving around and does not build up pad material/deformation in one spot...

I've had plenty of shakes on stops resolve with just a wire wheel on the rotor... Just something to keep in mind for the future. Sometimes rotors are needed, but the 5th gens come with some solid brakes that should last a long time with just pad changes. Hard to imagine how a 2013 could need 4 new rotors already.

honestly its one of the easiest services that you can do yourself, its pretty hard to mess up

Agreed, it is about as easy as it gets. If you can change oil... you can change brake pads. Might even take less time than an oil change...

I think I'd want more info about the OP's service that was done before saying it just needs to wear in.

The 4 runner uses brake shoes for the parking brake in the rear, so bedding in the pads will do absolutely nothing for parking, as the pads are not used in the parking brake system.

What holds the vehicle are the two shoes when you press down on the parking brake pedal, and I'm willing to bet that they were loosened for removal/installation, but never re-adjusted for max holding pressure.

Get the repair manual (you can find this online) and look up adjustment of the parking brake shoes. There should be detailed steps to do this. Its done either by inserting a screwdriver into the adjustment hole on the back of the brake dust plate and spinning the wheel inside a few clicks, or possibly setting the brake and unsetting it several times if it has an auto-adjustment mechanism.

Or, you can just take it back to the brake shop and tell them to tighten up the parking brakes for you, since you paid to get the work done. This is an essential part of a brake pad/rotor change, and although overlooked a lot of times, it should have been done.

Do you know if they replaced the shoes too?

Reference, in case there's any doubt about brake shoes:

That works? I may have to try that, because my pads look like they have plenty of life in them.

Oh yeah, one other thing here, you can also "bed" the parking brake pads in too. A bit more dangerous and definitely should be done in an empty parking lot, but if there was a lot of grease/oil in the drum, or they didn't clean off the rust preventative that rotors are shipped with, its possible you will need to get them heated up a bit.

Drive in a parking lot, around 15mph, bring vehicle to an "aggressive" stop (without locking up the rear wheels) using just the parking brake pedal. Once stopped, click parking brake off, do this one or two more times.

Any time you replace pads, shoes and/or rotors/drums, the parts need to be mated to the surface for solid contact. If this is done improperly, especially on main pads to new/turned rotors, the pads can glaze and not give a good bite to the rotor, which will create more heat and cause other issues.

Most pad manufacturers have a specific bedding-in process, it should be followed, either by you or whomever replaced the pads/rotors for you.

they may have been rusted to shit. in NY, I would guess its likely. or as was said above, any other number of reasons.


and agreed, most likely they just need adjusted.

Instead of quoting everyone I'll just have to assume they will check back if they were still curious. The shop didn't change the parking brake shoes, only the 4 pads and rotors. I did try to use the parking brake to come to a stop at low speeds but it didn't seem to work.

As for the last response here, I can definitely say that the rotors were rusty and have definitely been through their fair share of salt and whatever other harsh chemicals they put on the roads during this time of year. Whether that made the rotors bad or not I am not sure but the shop I went to has always been honest with my family and have steered us away many times if they felt nothing was wrong after taking a look, so I'll trust that they were bad. I also remember my Toyota dealer telling me something about them a long time ago when I used my last free maintenance checkup but I rarely believe anything they say....haha.

Anyway, I need an inspection this month so I'll multitask and get both issues taken care of. Thanks for everyone's interest and info.

I'd just take it back to your shop then, ask them to tighten the parking brake up a bit. If you can't bring it to a complete stop from 15mph, it was backed out and never cinched back up to the drum.

To be honest, that's sloppy-ass work from a shop right there. They should have tested the whole system before they even called you to pick it back up. And with that, I'd suspect that they didn't even bother bedding in the brake pads either. Do you know what brand of pads were installed? My guess would be Raybestos, but there's a ton of different types (ceramic, green, standard, premium, etc.) and each may have a different type of break-in procedure for bedding in.

I didn't bed my pads on another vehicle years ago and they glazed in about 3 months and squealed/chattered like mad. I ended up pulling them back out, using sandpaper to clean them off, sticking them back in and following the instructions to the "T" to bed them in, they worked flawlessy after that and were still fantastic when I traded it in for my 4 runner. Point is, they really need to be done properly or you may be taking it back for more work soon.

I don't know the brand of pads or rotors, unfortunately, but they have those etchings on them you see on better quality ones (sorry, not a great description haha.

But anyway, I took it back today and the parking brake is better than it was when I first got the truck. They just needed to adjust it.