5th Gen Brake Failure - 17 TRDP

[WRM1]

I know about all those, but what about just braking in general?

The power assist is electronically controlled, not vacuum like other makes.

See but you are ignoring part of my post. If it fails one time, it isn't going to work just fine after that with no signs of why it didn't work that one single time. Obviously it can fail internally, but if it fails it fails. And obviously if a pad fell out that would be pretty clear.

Hydraulic systems can do strange things, and not leave any external evidence.

For the record I'm not saying that I don't believe anyone who said their brakes failed. I'm just saying I don't see how it is possible with zero evidence.

There may not be any external evidence. Once the system is removed and torn down, there may be signs of twisted seals, or burrs in the hydraulic cylinders that caused the issue.

Just for the record, use Weathertech Mats. The standard mats are pulled and stored under the rear cargo liner. Routinely check my tire pressure, know how to listen to an engine and when motivated can pretty much tear down and rebuild the vehicle if I wanted.

That said, it's not a small thing to the person who has the brakes completely fail when driving and kinda makes the probability discussion a moot point.

This my third T4R and first one where I've had a serious mechanical failure. Let's hope Toyota does the right thing and change out the Master Cylinder unit.

Totally disconcerting, especially when the dealer isn't willing to believe you. Lots of techs these days have no diagnostic skills - if it's not on the computer, they have no clue what to do next. On this one, I would want the master cylinder replaced at a minimum.

actually, ive heard that based on how warranty work is billed, dealerships usually lose money on warranty repairs.

There's no way a dealer loses money on warranty work. Make less money, maybe, if Toyota doesn't reimburse the entire book rate for a repair, than a customer repair, but they don't lose money.

 

[2016 4Runner SR5]

Warranty work can be a loss. The company I work for is huge, we're in 146 countries and are the largest company of our kind in the world. Our warranty doesn't cover any associated travel time or diagnostic time. Purely parts and repair time. We generally lose money on warranty work.

 

[nevada]

Warranty work can be a loss. The company I work for is huge, we're in 146 countries and are the largest company of our kind in the world. Our warranty doesn't cover any associated travel time or diagnostic time. Purely parts and repair time. We generally lose money on warranty work.

this is similar to what I was remembering. how it ends up getting billed out, versus the actual work that was performed. typically ends up as a loss for dealerships.
I think that is the reason so many dealers try and do whatever they can to get out of warranty work by claiming some mods have voided the warranty...

 

[Brandonium]

I feel like dealers who only want the business for the sales and service profit need to be put out of business. Part of being a dealership IS warranty work. If a dealer is unwilling to handle this type of work due to decreased profits then they need to stop selling vehicles altogether. Could the mfg pay more? Absolutely but it's not like people just fall into the auto business not knowing this.

I think that is the reason so many dealers try and do whatever they can to get out of warranty work by claiming some mods have voided the warranty...

 

[WRM1]

Warranty work can be a loss. The company I work for is huge, we're in 146 countries and are the largest company of our kind in the world. Our warranty doesn't cover any associated travel time or diagnostic time. Purely parts and repair time. We generally lose money on warranty work.

Completely different from dealership warranty repairs. Car repairs don't have travel costs involved. Dealers do not lose money on automobile warranty repairs, they just make less than doing repairs for paying customers.

 

[2016 4Runner SR5]

Completely different from dealership warranty repairs. Car repairs don't have travel costs involved. Dealers do not lose money on automobile warranty repairs, they just make less than doing repairs for paying customers.

They do take diagnostic work though which can take 5 minutes. 5 days, 5 weeks, who knows especially with intermittent electrical work. Warranty work is one of the costs of doing business but it absolutely can be billed out as a loss. If they tech puts 40 hours into diagnostics on this truck and finds nothing, you don't really think Toyota is going to reimburse for that do you?

 

[Hadelson]

Completely different from dealership warranty repairs. Car repairs don't have travel costs involved. Dealers do not lose money on automobile warranty repairs, they just make less than doing repairs for paying customers.

Understand, but really doesn't matter to me as it my Pro with the brake failure. Really don't care who pays for the work. IMO

 

[Hadelson]

Just returned from spending all morning at dealership with the area rep. Installed full diagnostic Computer to the TRDP and both myself and rep drove the vehicle for about 90 minutes. Completed multiple panic stops and other braking tests. Have to tell you.......the brakes worked great. At this point thought for sure they were not going to do anything further.

They then took the TRDP into shop and checked it again for over an hour on diagnostic machine and visual check of all components. Was asked multiple questions on what happened when brakes failed.

Through-out was polite but persistent. Have to add they were as well.

Bottom line and much to my surprise, they are replacing the Brake Unit on the vehicle. It will take about a week to order and replace.

 

[enapa]

Just returned from spending all morning at dealership with the area rep. Installed full diagnostic Computer to the TRDP and both myself and rep drove the vehicle for about 90 minutes. Completed multiple panic stops and other braking tests. Have to tell you.......the brakes worked great. At this point thought for sure they were not going to do anything further.

They then took the TRDP into shop and checked it again for over an hour on diagnostic machine and visual check of all components. Was asked multiple questions on what happened when brakes failed.

Through-out was polite but persistent. Have to add they were as well.

Bottom line and much to my surprise, they are replacing the Brake Unit on the vehicle. It will take about a week to order and replace.

Good to hear. Would be really interesting to know what they found. I'm guessing they won't be telling you.

 

[Hadelson]

Good to hear. Would be really interesting to know what they found. I'm guessing they won't be telling you.

I am happy with them doing this. Restores my faith in Toyota and there customer Service

 

[FORErunner911]

Well... OP I'm sure you've seen my posts on other threads but I had a similar issue with the brakes not working. It's happened maybe 2-3 times.. slightly different in that it was not a complete failure, but rather a 80-90% loss of braking power. First two occasions I was going slow so I was able to stop, 3rd time I had to swerve to avoid an accident.

I took it to the dealer, they gave me the same story. Reset, fixed a plug or something, couldn't replicate, on their way.

I jumped my story onto a thread where the OP was being called a liar and that "user error" was the most likely reason, so I did not expand any further.

Anyway, very glad you are fighting this for the rest of us. Stay safe.

 

[samwhich]

Well... OP I'm sure you've seen my posts on other threads but I had a similar issue with the brakes not working. It's happened maybe 2-3 times.. slightly different in that it was not a complete failure, but rather a 80-90% loss of braking power. First two occasions I was going slow so I was able to stop, 3rd time I had to swerve to avoid an accident.

I took it to the dealer, they gave me the same story. Reset, fixed a plug or something, couldn't replicate, on their way.

I jumped my story onto a thread where the OP was being called a liar and that "user error" was the most likely reason, so I did not expand any further.

Anyway, very glad you are fighting this for the rest of us. Stay safe.

Curious, are all of these incidents occurring in Pro/Offroad Pro or Trail versions with braking assist features such as crawl control and terrain select?

 

[Hadelson]

Curious, are all of these incidents occurring in Pro/Offroad Pro or Trail versions with braking assist features such as crawl control and terrain select?

This is a 17 TRDP. We ran it off-road on crawl control without any issues.

 

[samwhich]

This is a 17 TRDP. We ran it off-road on crawl control without any issues.

Gotcha, I was just wondering if all other people experiencing the same issues also have TRDP, TRDOP or Trail models.

Could maybe narrow it down to a feature these models have possibly causing an issue if that were the case.

If someone with an SR5 has had an issue this theory would go out the window.

 

[enapa]

Gotcha, I was just wondering if all other people experiencing the same issues also have TRDP, TRDOP or Trail models.

Could maybe narrow it down to a feature these models have possibly causing an issue if that were the case.

If someone with an SR5 has had an issue this theory would go out the window.

You have a good point, but don't other toyota models have the crawl control? Do other models have these issues?

 

[FORErunner911]

Curious, are all of these incidents occurring in Pro/Offroad Pro or Trail versions with braking assist features such as crawl control and terrain select?

I have a 16 trail premium w kdss

 

[Hadelson]

Hopefully this is all over. Picked up the 4Runner earlier and brakes are great. Toyota replaced the entire unit and basically did all the brakes so its like new. It was a long and aggravating experience - but worth it as I now don't have the worry of potential failure.

 

[LimeLED]

Hopefully this is all over. Picked up the 4Runner earlier and brakes are great. Toyota replaced the entire unit and basically did all the brakes so its like new. It was a long and aggravating experience - but worth it as I now don't have the worry of potential failure.

Great to hear! Hopefully it will be the end of the brake issue for you. Did Toyota give any indication to why they decided to go ahead and replace it? Anything specific in their testing and troubleshooting?

 

[OedipusRecs]

17 TRD Pro - same issue

So, I just experienced this same issue in my 2017 TRDP. Got off the freeway, got on brakes to slow down which initially worked and then like someone flipped a switch, the pedal went to the floor and I lost all braking power. After pumping the pedal a few times I got enough power to stop and then again like the switch was flipped back, brakes went back to operating as normal.

Thankfully i escaped this without incident due to light traffic before 6am but had this happened at a later time the results would have been much different. I guess its time to start the battle with my dealership as well.

 

[Hadelson]

So, I just experienced this same issue in my 2017 TRDP. Got off the freeway, got on brakes to slow down which initially worked and then like someone flipped a switch, the pedal went to the floor and I lost all braking power. After pumping the pedal a few times I got enough power to stop and then again like the switch was flipped back, brakes went back to operating as normal.

Thankfully i escaped this without incident due to light traffic before 6am but had this happened at a later time the results would have been much different. I guess its time to start the battle with my dealership as well.

Send me a PM with your email to pass on my information. Hopefully it will help with resolving