Brake Pedal Feels Soft 2017 TRD Off Road - Page 3 - Toyota 4Runner Forum

Humble Leader · 11-10-2021, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzdocxx

Thanks again everyone.

The only question now is whether to get it done $200 cheaper at the local independent shop vs. the dealer.

I trust the local shop, but there is the consideration that they were unable to diagnose the problem in the first place.

Talking $3760 vs ~$3500, around 7% difference. I am leaning toward the dealer doing it . . .

Any thoughts on this ?

this is not a common or routine repair for a local shop. in fact it's probably not a common or routine repair for a dealer but probably one that one of the techs has some experience / know how / confidence in doing. maybe it's a simple swap out for a part, I don't know. but for that price difference my vote is dealer, that's what I would do

Bmnorm2 · 11-10-2021, 02:02 PM

I vote dealer too. If there is a recall or reimbursement in the future it will be $200 easier to get

Or if there is an issue during or after install, it will be easier to get support.

zzdocxx · 04-19-2022, 06:46 PM

Hi again everyone, I've been working out of town for the past several months and have had this on the back burner.

I will definitely have it repaired at the dealer.

Another question though.

If my brakes did go out and I were to have the presence of mind to step on the emergency brake, would that work?

In my older vehicles it was actuated by a cable mechanism which was separate from the regular hydraulics.

Anybody?

Thanks!

PS Or I suppose I should have said "parking brake".

Bmnorm2 · 04-19-2022, 09:29 PM

The parking brake will help slow you down some, but it doesn't provide anywhere near the power of your brakes. So, no, not really unless you are going relatively slow.

Easy proof: push parking brake all the way down, put in drive, it's not that hard to overcome. Push brakes fully and try to drive away, you aren't going anywhere.

zzdocxx · 04-19-2022, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bmnorm2

The parking brake will help slow you down some, but it doesn't provide anywhere near the power of your brakes. So, no, not really unless you are going relatively slow.

Easy proof: push parking brake all the way down, put in drive, it's not that hard to overcome. Push brakes fully and try to drive away, you aren't going anywhere.

Yeah I guess I have noticed that.

Anyway when the dust settles from paying my taxes I think i will just have to cough up the $4K to get this done.

zzdocxx · 04-28-2022, 12:51 PM

Update:

Took it into the dealership that correctly(?) diagnosed the problem early this morning.

When the service writer called me in the waiting area, he said the repair is $2200 and change, which surprised me.

I could have sworn this was a $3800 repair. I to told him I thought it was going to be a lot more but he assured me etc.

I hope they are replacing the right part . . .

(They are replacing the ABS actuator, which sounds like the right part.)

zzdocxx · 05-02-2022, 04:05 PM

I hope I'm not beating a dead horse here.

I've noticed since the repair was done that I've got a lot of travel on my brake pedal, in other words it's pretty soft.

I tried putting the brakes on hard, and I didn't get any stutter like the ABS would give me, however I noticed that after I did that my pedal was much firmer.

My question: I thought pumping the brakes to get more pedal only worked if there was a fault somewhere in the system. Is that correct, or would I also see that if the system was in perfect working order also?

I'm just wondering if there's a malfunctioning valve, or leak, or air bubble, in the system?

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thank you.

Bmnorm2 · 05-03-2022, 10:38 PM

glad to hear you got the repair and that it was significantly cheaper.

As far as before and after, you don't exactly have a good baseline since your "before" was with a malfunctioning component. Can you try driving a similar 4runner?

2021nightshade4x4 · 05-04-2022, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzdocxx

I hope I'm not beating a dead horse here.

I've noticed since the repair was done that I've got a lot of travel on my brake pedal, in other words it's pretty soft.

I tried putting the brakes on hard, and I didn't get any stutter like the ABS would give me, however I noticed that after I did that my pedal was much firmer.

My question: I thought pumping the brakes to get more pedal only worked if there was a fault somewhere in the system. Is that correct, or would I also see that if the system was in perfect working order also?

I'm just wondering if there's a malfunctioning valve, or leak, or air bubble, in the system?

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thank you.

Depends on whether:

1.) Pumping the brakes TEMPORARILY firmed up the pedal until the next time the vehicle was started, or

2.) The pedal was still firm/normal the next time you started the vehicle.

If #1, then you still have a problem, if #2, it was air in the ABS pump that got cleared out.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

zzdocxx · 05-06-2022, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2021nightshade4x4

Depends on whether:

1.) Pumping the brakes TEMPORARILY firmed up the pedal until the next time the vehicle was started, or

2.) The pedal was still firm/normal the next time you started the vehicle.

If #1, then you still have a problem, if #2, it was air in the ABS pump that got cleared out.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you, yes temporarily.

I woke up early Tuesday and got to the dealer before opening time.

Yup, there was an air bubble in the line. They flushed it out, no charge (as it should be).

Brakes feel normal, finally.

Thanks to everyone who provided input on this thread.

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