2011 te t4r unreliable brakes

[Factor]

So problems started with brakes when the original pads wore down to minimum and noone heard the squealer tabs so non oem pads were installed when winter tires went on. Shortly after break in of new pads rotors warped. The runner's front end would do a swirl to the right then pull left wen brakes were applied moderately. When brakes are applied agressively the left front brake locks up first then the whole runner spins to the left with other 3 corners locking up. I have been to local toyota dealership after the rotors we're replaced and have been told nothng is wrong. Hmmm.... Not too safe for a company with safety as their middle name... Maybe too many safety meetings?
I am taking the runner to another dealership and meeting with the service manager and a master technician. I can't wait to see the look on their faces when I honk on the brakes. All of this is very disappointing to me as the 2009 dodge 2500 we had before this was full of braking and steering issues hence the move to a production vehicle made in japan.

 

[1engineer]

If any of your tires are locking up you have a big problem. Sounds like the shop who did your work is the culprit, not Toyota. That, plus the "person responsible" who did not check their brakes regularly to know when they needed replaced.

Take it to a reputable dealer, tell them your problems and let them fix it for you properly. Next time have your brake pads checked every oil change and it won't cost you the $$$$ you are going to spend now. BTW the Toyota pads are a consensus best performer from the comments on this forum. They are not expensive and they typically last beyond 70K miles. Good luck.

BTW the dealers are independent AGENTS for Toyota and not Toyota proper.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Running your brake pads down to the rivets and complaining you didn't hear the wear indicators squeal carries no weight with me.

Learn how to maintain your vehicles and stop blaming the manufacturer for your stupidity and lack of basic maintenance knowledge.

It's people like you who sue McDonalds because you put the coffee cup between your legs, get burns on your thighs and then sue because the coffee was too hot.

Checking your brake pads takes all of 2 minutes. Dweeb.

 

[phillyd2]

And welcome to T4R.org

 

[Blitzkrieg]

And welcome to T4R.org

LOL. Was I too harsh?

Sorry, but I have a problem with people who do stupid stuff (or don't do simple stuff) and then try to pass the blame onto somebody else.

Lady takes her car into the dealer and says the red oil can light is on so it's time to change the oil.

Dealer says "Mam, when was the last time you changed the oil?"

She says "When I bought this BMW I was told it doesn't need maintenance for the first 100k miles".

Dealer says "Mam, what you were told is that you don't have to PAY for maintenance for the first 100K miles. BMW will do it for you. It still needs to be maintained. How many miles does it have on it?"

She says "38K miles."

Dealer says "And it's never had an oil change????"

She says "No. I told you it doesn't need one until 100K miles. And this is the last BMW I will ever buy because you guys lied to me".

You can't fix stupid.

 

[Factor]

Ty for the warm welcome lol

So the the pads were not down to the rivets. The pads only lasted 50k kilometres.
I live in the bc coastal mountains and understand a thing or 2 about vehicles.
It can snow up to 40ft a year and I had a snowplough business.
I still own and maintain a 1953 4x4 power wagon chassis with a galvanized Winnebago type motorhome box on it. I also maintain a 1962 Fargo 3/4 4x4, 1967 cj5, a 1980 j10 quadratrac, and a 1981 dodge dually 4x4.
I just thought after perusing this website for years that this would be the site to talk about the brake issue I have been having to see if anyone else has experienced similar problems. That's all!) have fun baggin on me some more...

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I'm not trying to bag on you man.

No, I don't think what you are describing is common. In fact, in my experience Toyota's have some of the most trouble free brakes of any make. That's six 4Runners prior experience talking.

Sounds to me like you have at least one severely warped rotor(s).

This was fairly common on 3rd gen's that had undersized/marginal rotors but I have not heard of any issues on the 5th gen that I can think of.

31,000 miles is way too soon for pads to be worn out, even under severe duty.

I take it this is a service vehicle with people driving it who really don't care about it too much? Since you had similar issues with a Dodge 2500 (which has some seriously beefy calipers and rotors) maybe the issue is with who is driving the vehicle, not the vehicle?

 

[Factor]

Warped rotors

All 4 rotors were replaced with new brake pads(3rd set). This is why I'm puzzled. Our runner is only a family rig to get us around. Only the wife and I behind the wheel. She doesn't wanna drive it until it's fixed. I can't blame her.
I will know more as to what is going to happen this fri at the dealer as it's still under warranty. I will keep informing as things progress or regress I digress I guess!)

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Got it.

Not normal and yep, needs to get fixed ASAP.

Sorry, didn't mean to be a dick.

 

[adam2562]

to me it sounds like your rotors were warped enough to need machining and the shop didnt advise you of that and just threw on pads.. by doing that it then made the rotors get worse VERY fast and here you are today with a warped rotor that may be the culprit as to why it's locking(then abs kicks in) up early on certain wheels.. probably the most unstable rotor. i would get new oem pads and new rotors that i think i read you might now. and get your brakes bled.. who knows what the previous guys(shop) did

 

[Factor]

Ty for the apology blitz!) it means a lot

Hey Adam Ty for responding. I have all new oem pads n rotors with less than 2.5 k miles on them so I'm leaning toward abs computer software type problems. Which I don't have a clue about. So I'll get to the dealer on fri and see what they babble on about. How do you like those opor sliders? My runnin boards r not holding up well lol.

 

[Kotrin]

This is all new to me reading this. I know on my 3rd gen the brakes sucked, but my 5th gen brakes are night and day in comparison. Keep us posted as I'm curious

Question for OP, if I'm reading right this is your 2nd set/3rd set? So how many miles(KM) on your current vehicle.

 

[Jeremy556]

I could only skim this thread, as trying to read it gave me a headache. If you don't get 60K+ miles out of OEM brake pads and rotors, you (or whoever else is driving the vehicle) is doing it very wrong.

I replaced my OEM pads at 70k, while living between 2 11K+ feet passes, just because I figured it was time and had already bought the pads. I also routinely pulled a trailer that weighs more than the t4r's tow rating.

 

[Factor]

Reply to Kotrin

Hey Kotrin! this is my 3rd set of pads(oem, nonoem, bak to oem) and 2nd set of rotors. The original rotors were not turnable with 74k km on the odo...so... Yeah...idk what to say really... Original pads lasted 50k km which is a a short lifespan then I had new rotors at 74k km with new oem pads. The runner is just shy of 80k km now..so... Lol... I laugh but it's a nervous one as I am very concerned as to where all this is heading... But I will keep informing tr4.org as things move forward without any sign of stopping easy.. Ty for your concern

 

[Factor]

Reply to Jeremy

Ty for your input Jeremy. I fully agree with you. There has only been 2 drivers behind the wheel. The wife and myself. We did live in a very remote location with 23 switchbacks on gravel road to get to the ridge of the mountain pass. But even then, gearing down and proper driving techniques, the pads and rotors should hold up better than they have.

 

[Jeremy556]

Ty for your input Jeremy. I fully agree with you. There has only been 2 drivers behind the wheel. The wife and myself. We did live in a very remote location with 23 switchbacks on gravel road to get to the ridge of the mountain pass. But even then, gearing down and proper driving techniques, the pads and rotors should hold up better than they have.

Stuck calipers are not uncommon on 4th gens, and the 5th gens share the "big brake kit" of the 4th gen sport models. Fortunately, they only use sand/gravel on icy roads here, but if your local uses salt, you may have a frozen cylinder or two or rusted through brake lines.

Pics are woth a thousand words

 

[Kotrin]

Hey Kotrin! this is my 3rd set of pads(oem, nonoem, bak to oem) and 2nd set of rotors. The original rotors were not turnable with 74k km on the odo...so... Yeah...idk what to say really... Original pads lasted 50k km which is a a short lifespan then I had new rotors at 74k km with new oem pads. The runner is just shy of 80k km now..so... Lol... I laugh but it's a nervous one as I am very concerned as to where all this is heading... But I will keep informing tr4.org as things move forward without any sign of stopping easy.. Ty for your concern

I could see the need for a set at 50k with what you are saying about all the switch backs. If I am reading it right, I think the non oem pads caused something that lead to a string of very random events(that just totally ruined your chances of winning the lottery. .lol).

I hope that all goes well on Friday and you get the answers you want.

On a side note, when I was 16 I used to drive 45 miles from our house to school. We lived at an elevation of 2500 and I drove like any other 16 yr old...used to have to do breaks every year in my Volkswagen bug. Granted it is a vw, but understand what that type of driving does.

"Brakes are way cheaper than transmissions", my dad's always tells me, lol

 

[Factor]

Reply to jeremy

Hey Jeremy. The gravel roads were sprayed with a cal/mag solution to keep things less dusty. I would spray and wash the runner evry trip out and had an irrigation sprinkler setup to try and get the grit off ASAP.

 

[Jeremy556]

Hey Jeremy. The gravel roads were sprayed with a cal/mag solution to keep things less dusty. I would spray and wash the runner evry trip out and had an irrigation sprinkler setup to try and get the grit off ASAP.

They tried to sell us on that crap, too. That mag/col crap they were spraying was 1000x worse than rock salt mixed with sand. Just say no.

 

[Factor]

Reply to Kotrin

Your hi school story of bugs takes me back to my first ride. 70 baha bug.I was confused more but it was less complicated. Lol