I have a 2008 4runner bought certified used with 42K miles. I have 57K now and my emergency brake on the drivers side blew up while i was driving and locked up the left rear wheel. Anyone know of that happening to others? I talked to a long time Toyota mechanic and he had never heard of that. I also have a certified platinum extended warranty and Toyota is saying it is not covered because it is brake parts. Could use some help on how to fight this if anyone has any!!
2008 emergency brake blew up
- Thread starter cml530
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The brake parts completely fell apart inside the drum, locking it up. When the mechanic looked at my brakes, everything else was in good condition, it was definitely a defective part. Toyota, however, is still standing by their argument of "it's a brake part, we can't warranty it." Is there anything I can do about this?
You shouldn't drive with the ebrake on 
Just kidding. That sounds kinda freaky I hope it gets worked out but I'm not sure there is anything they'll do for you as the odds of user error being a possibility is too high. I mean they can just say you drove with it engaged and it overheated and died, and without i mean video proof you wouldn't have much of an argument against it. I haven't read of anything else similar on a 4th gen so I'm not sure what recourse you would have.
Just kidding. That sounds kinda freaky I hope it gets worked out but I'm not sure there is anything they'll do for you as the odds of user error being a possibility is too high. I mean they can just say you drove with it engaged and it overheated and died, and without i mean video proof you wouldn't have much of an argument against it. I haven't read of anything else similar on a 4th gen so I'm not sure what recourse you would have.2008 brake issue also
I just had my mechanic look at my emergency brake system today because they have been acting strange, pedal to floor and brake not holding,strange rattling sounds, to find the same problem that you are talking about. Pieces of the spring and the two metal pieces that hold the spring in place were just laying in the bottom of the drum and on the back of the pads. Some of the parts were worn down and/or missing. The pin that comes in from the back side that holds the spring in place was gone completely! After finding that on the left side, he looked at the right side and found that parts were laying in the bottom of that one as well! I am not a happy camper with this poor quality design for such a critical part.... THE EMERGENCY BRAKES!!! TOYOTA HAS A SERIOUS ISSUE WITH THIS!! I was lucky to catch it before it locked up!
I just had my mechanic look at my emergency brake system today because they have been acting strange, pedal to floor and brake not holding,strange rattling sounds, to find the same problem that you are talking about. Pieces of the spring and the two metal pieces that hold the spring in place were just laying in the bottom of the drum and on the back of the pads. Some of the parts were worn down and/or missing. The pin that comes in from the back side that holds the spring in place was gone completely! After finding that on the left side, he looked at the right side and found that parts were laying in the bottom of that one as well! I am not a happy camper with this poor quality design for such a critical part.... THE EMERGENCY BRAKES!!! TOYOTA HAS A SERIOUS ISSUE WITH THIS!! I was lucky to catch it before it locked up!
TechWrench
Senior Member
:iagree:
This is why, they parking brake system, to include the shoes and associated hardware should be checked at least once a year. Many people, and shops make the mistake of just looking at the condition of the pads and discs, and ignore the parking brake system until it is too late.
The condition of the springs/clips may be tough to check. Hopefully, like mine, you start hearing a noise as they start rubbing the back of the axle flange, before they "blow up".
It is not a maintenance issue as much as it is a poor quality parts issue. I do check my emergency/parking brake system when I have the wheels off to check brake pads and rotors. The system is not that bad of a design but if you look at the front straight pin and the rear weird looking bent pin, the flanges that are at the end of the pins used to hold the springs in place are not wide enough or thick enough to hold them in place properly and the cheap little tin caps that are on the top and bottom of the springs look like what caused the problem when the pin flange pulled thru and all the pieces fell into the drum and shoe area getting chewed up so bad it was hard to identify what the parts were.(I could only figure it out by comparing what was still in one piece on the opposite side!) Now my mechanic is just trying to find some better quality replacement parts so this hopefully wont happen again. Oh yea! trying to hold the spring and parts in place while turning the retention cap 90 degrees to lock it into place on the flange of the pin is a big pain! You will need eight arms and I am sure there is a special tool to twist the cap but I have not found one yet! If Toyota would have spent an additional 35 cents on better quality parts, I and others would not have to be dealing with this issue and I would be driving instead of sitting on a rack for 2-3 hours looking for missing brake parts. I just hope mine don't lock up while looking for repair parts!
I'm feeling your pain right now because I just blew up these small fragile parts while taking off my rear rotor.
I know I should've adjusted the brake, I did on the other rotor but this was was spinning with no resistance before I started to pound the rotor off. Once I started and the rotor turned at angle the brake caught and these parts broke off.
Anyway, now I'm researching how to rebuild the parking brakes and looking for parts.
I know I should've adjusted the brake, I did on the other rotor but this was was spinning with no resistance before I started to pound the rotor off. Once I started and the rotor turned at angle the brake caught and these parts broke off.
Anyway, now I'm researching how to rebuild the parking brakes and looking for parts.
