This weekend my girlfriend borrowed my Runner and drove some distance with the parking brake on. Uggggghhhhh!!!

Anyway, I didn't give her her a hard time about it....could have happened to anyone.
In fact, I have done it too, but only for a few feet when backing out of a parking spot and noticing the slugishness.

On a side note, it would be really nice if Toyota would have an audible beep or warning anytime the vehicle was in motion with the brake on. The little red icon in the gague cluster IS easy to miss.

So, my question is this, what's the worst case scenario on a repair? Replace the rear brake pads AND rotors? Also, the parking brake is only on the rear wheels right?

I don't know how far she drove it, but we know it was 20 miles maximum. The rear brakes really smelled like they were burning when she returned from her friend's place. I looked at the rotors and they both looked fine, ie smooth and no grooves. The parking brake does still work just as well as ever.

Any of you guys had this happen before??

I will still get a mechanic to remove one of the rear wheels to see what (if any) damage may have been done.

I just want to know what to possibly be prepared for $$ when I take it in.

I don't know about the money but you may get lucky. Here's how this shakes out...

1) The p-brake is an internal expanding shoe type brake. It's essentially a mini drum brake that's part of the rear rotor.
2) Your main rear brake pads were not worn or overheated. That's not to say the rear rotors didn't get pretty freakin' hot.
3) There's a pretty good chance you'll be able to adjust the rear shoes enough to regain p-brake effectiveness to a degree. The shoes are probably glazed and may not have the same grip as they did originally but they should work. You adjust them just as you did "old school" drum brakes. Any semi-good weekend mechanic who is familiar with drum brakes can do it.

I wouldn't take it to the dealer, just to a handy, good mechanic and ask him to adjust the p-brake. Tell him you want it adjusted at the wheels and "fess up" to a short drive with p-brake on. The worst that could happen is he'll charge you one hour and the p-brake won't work. Have him re-torque the rear tires too.

Avoid admitting this incident to the dealer. Once the dealer enters the episode the warranty on the rear axle seals may get tossed out. There's a remote chance you could've messed up the seals. If you don't see wetness on the inside of the rear brake plates over the next month or so you're fine on the axle seals.

Good luck!

Hey thanks for the info Chris, I'll post back again, after I have it looked at.

I agree, not a good idea to have the dealer look at it for warranty purposes.

Or get a new GF.

Ron, my friend, you are soooooooooo wrong!!!:awais:


She has some serious butt kissin' to do over the next couple of weeks :clap:

If it's warrented you let them go after they have tried to suck-up


j/k of course, I am sure she feels terrible.

Deleted post. Keep it G rated please. Thanks.

Theres a good possibility there was enormous heat buildup. if so there is damage that is less visible to the eye. I have seen rims get warped from the heat. if they feel normal to you, then thats not a problem.

its also not good for the grease in the wheel bearings, I would have it repacked to avoid premature failure.

Unless it's a real steep hill I don't ever use my parking brakes. This is what I do I am not saying it's the best idea but it's what I have done for many years.

Confession time. I drove with mine on. Let's just say I was distracted at the time and not used to not having a pull release(only had the 4r about 10 days at the time). Was pulling the boat in a hilly area, so didn't notice anything "holding me back". 30 seconds later, at a decent speed, BANG! I stop and walk back expecting to find shredded metal on the road. Nothing. Parking brake still worked. Had it checked, not at dealer, and all is good. They are guessing the noise was the brake releasing. Stupid human trick!

Landrover convert.... your can't deny that the land rover is far superior offroad. I have a 4runner which i got from trading in my D2, i also own a defender 110. My 4runnner could not compare to my rover offroad. The 4runner is much more reliable but offf road there is no comparison.. Just wanted your experience.

The Land Rovers are indeed very capable off-road as you stated but I must admit; because my LR was my daily driver, (as is my Runner now) I never really pushed it's true off-road capability, so I can't personally compare the two trucks fully in that respect. MY Disco WAS very sure-footed off-roading, but so far I have only had the Runner in snow (but not truly off-road yet) where I might say it did really well even when I TRIED to make it loose traction.

It would be fun someday, to buy an old Defender or Disco beater and really see what it's capable of and not have to worry about things like "pinsrtriping", body damage, frame damage, or driving it through 4 feet of water.

On a side note, I drove a brand new Range Rover at The Biltmore in Asheville, NC. It's called the Land Rover Experience or something like that. I took it out with the LR instructor/spotter guy and I must say it was very capable, and mind you this was a completely stock RR with street tires.

The charm of off-roading in a Rover USED TO BE, you could fix any mechanical problem with only a pair of pliers, a screw driver and some duct tape in your tool kit! Now it's alot different with the computers and all.

Sorry for being off topic but NYTEFOG started it Ha ha!! JK!

Guys, lets get to the real issue...

What happens when the GF drives the LR with the p-brake on????








How did you make out on the p-brake deal?

Guys, lets get to the real issue...

What happens when the GF drives the LR with the p-brake on????


Hey my guess on that would be a repair bill of $1500 or more on a LR!!

I haven't even had it looked at yet. A bit lazy on my part I'll admit, but everything is working fine with my regular brakes and parking brake too. Visually, the rotors look great....no grooves and the p brake is holding just fine.

The only thing I have noticed is an occasional brake squeek, maybe once in a week of driving....well now that I think about it, I normally have the stereo cranked about 99% of the time, so maybe they are squeeking more than I think.

Excellent! My brakes squeal as i start out in the morning. By the time I back out of the driveway, stop and shift to D that's it for the day. The next morning same thing and mine has not been driven with the p-brake on (yet ).

Hi gang Ken here I have got a problem getting the parking brake shoes back on my 06!4 runner. The pin that holds the brake shoe that has the emergency brake lever attached has a horseshoe bend in it to go around the brake lever. When I put it through backing plate I can't get it to line up to the hole in the shoe to put the retainer springs back on. I been trying with needle nose pliers so for no luck. Anyone with experience putting brake shows on E brake give me some tips what you have done. So very little room to work in.