2005 Toyota 4Runner 4wd v6 rear rotors and pads

[rgcary]

Hey wanted to get some expert opinions on this. See my thread below on the rear rotors and pad replacements. They're warped again and I'm totally confused... Anyone else had this problem with their 4Runner?

•Toyota dealer shaved rotors after buying vehicle w/about 2000 miles due to them being warped upon buying or shortly thereafter as vehicle sat for about 6-8 months with private owner.

•Brembo rotors and Sumitomo Toyota pads installed on REAR @ 56,406 on 6/27/09 due to Toyota rotors warping again.

•EBC Ultimax FRONT rotors installed and with Toyota pads @ 76,000 on 9/15/10. Rear Brembo rotors shaved at same time due to warp and Toyota Sumitomo pads installed due to high pitch squeal(Pads still had plenty or wear).

•EBC Ultimax REAR rotors installed @ 83,000 on 2/16/11 w/GreenStuff SUV pads (Recommended pad for rotors) because rear warped again and now these EBC's are warped! :-(


So now I have a little over 111,000 miles and the rear are warped again, but front seem to be fine. Rear high pitch squeal was fixed when installing slotted EBC rotors, but warping still returned after less than 30,000 miles. Mostly all highway and some city driving. No off road and/or submersing rotors under water when hot. I’m totally confused as it’s been a battle with this since the day I bought my 4Runner. Consumer Reports dings this year for brake problems too, gee wonder why??? ;-)

Could it be a caliper problem or the rear brakes not releasing all the way causing them to heat too much and warp? No matter what pad/rotor combo I have used problem still occurs eventually.

 

[Ohhh S.k. CFPB]

when driving at highway speeds do you slam on your brakes a lot?

 

[BlackWorksInc]

~Are you towing with your vehicle?
~Also, how adjusted is your parking brake?
~Do you tend to do a lot of brake standing?
~Are there a lot of hills in your area?

This strikes me as odd that your brake rotors keep warping, I would venture to guess one of the above items. Another one that might be somewhat possible, is that there is an internal leak/swollen seal within the Hydraboost system causing the rear brakes to remain partially applied at all times rather than slightly pull off the rotor. I've seen this before on an older tacoma and it was bad enough that when the brake fluid heated up the whole truck wouldn't go past 30mph at full throttle due to the brakes being applied. Unfortunetly, there is no real way to test the master cylinder unit on our vehicles (at least according to Toyota Factory Support).

 

[Atlanta_man]

something really funny
rear brakes last about 3 times as long as fronts, at least 100K mi in flat country
my experience anyway

 

[<<<<]

Brembo is cheap Made in China inferior composition junk but EBC Ultimax rotors are some of the best on the market. If you warped EBC you got other issues (not rotors). Also, rear brakes only 20-30% of your total braking and rarely get hot enough to warp.

 

[ChaosStarter]

How do you know the rear brakes are warping this quickly? Are you checking physical runout on the rotors? Or going by pulsation?

We can usually machine the factory OEM rotors 2-3 times depending on rust and pitting before they need replacement (front or back).

 

[the dutch man]

I've had the same problem with my 03 since I bought it new. I've gone through 3 sets of rotors in the rear in 87K miles.

I've installed the last two sets of pads and rotors. My front never warp on this truck.

I cannot for the life of me figure out what the issue is.....both calipers seem to be fine and are not sticking.

 

[nevada]

how are you torquing the lugnuts?
and, as asked above, are you sure theyre warping?

we see it a lot, more common than warped rotors, its material build-up. it causes just about the same feel, pulsation, but its due to uneven friction material build-up. the cure is still the same, resurface the rotors, and change pads.

but, you MIGHT get away with just buffing the rotors out. its worth a try.

 

[M1911]

My '03 goes through pads, rotors, and calipers like cheetos.

 

[rgcary]

when driving at highway speeds do you slam on your brakes a lot?

No, I don't do that. I would say I'm normal on the brakes.

 

[superman3043]

I've got the same year model except V8. With like 159K miles I've replaced pads once and resurfaced rotors once. Something definitely ain't right with yours man.

 

[rgcary]

~Are you towing with your vehicle?
~Also, how adjusted is your parking brake?
~Do you tend to do a lot of brake standing?
~Are there a lot of hills in your area?

This strikes me as odd that your brake rotors keep warping, I would venture to guess one of the above items. Another one that might be somewhat possible, is that there is an internal leak/swollen seal within the Hydraboost system causing the rear brakes to remain partially applied at all times rather than slightly pull off the rotor. I've seen this before on an older tacoma and it was bad enough that when the brake fluid heated up the whole truck wouldn't go past 30mph at full throttle due to the brakes being applied. Unfortunetly, there is no real way to test the master cylinder unit on our vehicles (at least according to Toyota Factory Support).

~Are you towing with your vehicle? **No I don't tow but a few times every couple of years and that's a small utility trailer hauling mulch locally over a weekend.
~Also, how adjusted is your parking brake? **When I installed the rotors I left enough play to allow the rotor to spin freely and parking brake seems to hold just fine when pressed.
~Do you tend to do a lot of brake standing? **Never.
~Are there a lot of hills in your area? *We're in NC, so hills are common but not extreme.

 

[rgcary]

something really funny
rear brakes last about 3 times as long as fronts, at least 100K mi in flat country
my experience anyway

I totally agree. It's really odd...

 

[rgcary]

Brembo is cheap Made in China inferior composition junk but EBC Ultimax rotors are some of the best on the market. If you warped EBC you got other issues (not rotors). Also, rear brakes only 20-30% of your total braking and rarely get hot enough to warp.

I'm wondering if it's like another guy was mentioning where the calipers may not be releasing all the way wausing them to heat and warp. It's going to Toyota next week to have them take a look. It sucks because you can't turn slotted rotors, to I'm going to need to spend another $200 on rotors and pads to correct this issue going forward and maybe more if calipers are bad.

 

[rgcary]

How do you know the rear brakes are warping this quickly? Are you checking physical runout on the rotors? Or going by pulsation?

We can usually machine the factory OEM rotors 2-3 times depending on rust and pitting before they need replacement (front or back).

How do you know the rear brakes are warping this quickly? **Brake pulses once they're heated up after about 15 miles of hiway driving and coming to stop. You can also feel the vehicle pulse as it's not a smooth stop when coming to a stop. Steering wheel does not shake so it's the rear again.

Are you checking physical runout on the rotors? **Does not really apply to this time around because they're slotted EBC rotors. You can tell by looking at the grooves when they're worn.
Or going by pulsation?**See first answer.

 

[rgcary]

I've had the same problem with my 03 since I bought it new. I've gone through 3 sets of rotors in the rear in 87K miles.

I've installed the last two sets of pads and rotors. My front never warp on this truck.

I cannot for the life of me figure out what the issue is.....both calipers seem to be fine and are not sticking.

Hey Dutch Man! Thanks for not making me feel left out! ;-) Sorry though that you're having the same problem. I'll let you know what Toyota says next week, but I have a feeling that it will be not much of anything that I don't already know.

 

[rgcary]

how are you torquing the lugnuts?
and, as asked above, are you sure theyre warping?

we see it a lot, more common than warped rotors, its material build-up. it causes just about the same feel, pulsation, but its due to uneven friction material build-up. the cure is still the same, resurface the rotors, and change pads.

but, you MIGHT get away with just buffing the rotors out. its worth a try.

how are you torquing the lugnuts? **Discount Tire for 10 years and torqued to specs. Only seen this problem on my 4Runner and never my other vehicles.

and, as asked above, are you sure theyre warping?**Yes, 100% as they have on others.

we see it a lot, more common than warped rotors, its material build-up. it causes just about the same feel, pulsation, but its due to uneven friction material build-up. the cure is still the same, resurface the rotors, and change pads.**They're slotted, material buildup in my research is prevented because of the slots.

but, you MIGHT get away with just buffing the rotors out. its worth a try. **Can't since they're slotted.

 

[nevada]

I'm wondering if it's like another guy was mentioning where the calipers may not be releasing all the way wausing them to heat and warp. It's going to Toyota next week to have them take a look. It sucks because you can't turn slotted rotors, to I'm going to need to spend another $200 on rotors and pads to correct this issue going forward and maybe more if calipers are bad.

you CAN turn slotted rotors. i do it all the time. its a little harder on the blades, but not too bad.

How do you know the rear brakes are warping this quickly? **Brake pulses once they're heated up after about 15 miles of hiway driving and coming to stop. You can also feel the vehicle pulse as it's not a smooth stop when coming to a stop. Steering wheel does not shake so it's the rear again.

Are you checking physical runout on the rotors? **Does not really apply to this time around because they're slotted EBC rotors. You can tell by looking at the grooves when they're worn.Or going by pulsation?**See first answer.

not true. AND, theres no way you can tell if its warped, or anything else by looking at them.

have the run-out checked, and mic'd for thickness.

 

[rgcary]

My '03 goes through pads, rotors, and calipers like cheetos.

Well, my daughter will beat your 4Runner in a cheeto eating contest... ;-)

 

[rgcary]

I've got the same year model except V8. With like 159K miles I've replaced pads once and resurfaced rotors once. Something definitely ain't right with yours man.

Nice ride. Yeah, rears should last a LONG time...