Brakes lack bite?

K

kravi

New member
So being new to 4runners, something has been bugging me for a while but have only now gotten around to asking about it. The brakes seem a bit wonky and lacking bite.

An example would be when I'm starting the truck. I turn it on, depress the brake, and put it in reverse to get out of my driveway. The car, on idle, with my foot on the brake, will start to roll back unless I mash the petal really hard.

Is this normal? I transition from sports cars to 4runners, but am used to powerful yet responsive brakes.

My truck is a 2019 with 18k miles on it (SR5 Premium) which I bought 2nd hand. I'm wondering if the brake fluid might have some air bubbles in it or something. Please advise.

Cheers, and happy Thanksgiving (and happy belated Thanksgiving to our friends up north),

--Me
 
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My old 2013 has the typical soft pedal, but the brakes grab very well and are better than our 2 other vehicles. Sometimes it surprises me on well well it grabs. I'm still on OEM brake pads.

I would do a brake bleed to see if that helps.
 
Yep it's typical. The brakes are my biggest complaint. Soft until they grab, then they grab too much.
 
LandCruiser said:
The first 3/4 of pedal travel is jack shit and then the last 1/4 is panic stop.
Click to expand...

Definitely. On a couple occasions i have braked moderately hard, to make a sudden turn for instance, and my wife and I were nearly launched out the front window. I be like where did THAT come from! :wow: I guess the brakes ARE there if I need them. :dancin:
 
I quickly got used to them and have found no problem with them whatever. Very rare panic stop really stops the rig. The rest of the time they’re just fine. I really don’t have the complaints everybody else on here seems to have about the brakes. After eight years I’m still on the OEM pads.
 
RockyM said:
Definitely. On a couple occasions i have braked moderately hard, to make a sudden turn for instance, and my wife and I were nearly launched out the front window. I be like where did THAT come from! :wow: I guess the brakes ARE there if I need them. :dancin:
Click to expand...

Same experience on my new 2020 Pro. Once I didn't have enough time to make it through a yellow light and was surprised how quick it stopped when I mashed the pedal.
 
This week I transitioned from a 68 F100 I've been driving since 1986, to a '17 4runner.
I have no issue with the complaints I read on here, lol.
Brakes, headlights, throttle, etc. I'LL HAVE AIR CONDITIONING NEXT SUMMER! I live in the hottest part of AZ.

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Honestly it took me a long time to get used to modulating them, especially with simple things like cruising up to stop signs and lights. Spirited mtn roads and hard stops were fine. Then I drove a Chevy Equinox (sucked) in Hawaii for 2 weeks. When I got back in my 4R I almost ran through the first stop sign I came to.
 
The gas pedal and brake pedal are very similar in which the first half of pedal travel feels like its not doing much. Fortunately the gas pedal has a fix (sprint booster or pedal commander) but the brakes dont really have an easy fix. Once you drive it enough you will get used to it but if you get into another vehicle you might put yourself through the window on the first depress of the brakes.
 
Thanks folks - I appreciate the responses. One the one hand I'm glad my brakes are working as intended, on the other, well, yeah.

Cheers!
 
When I first bought my 4Runner I thought brake travel too long and response too soft. But I quickly acclimated. I live in a rural area and am a conservative driver, slowing down in advance of turns and stops. It all feels normal to me and comparable to my Subaru Outback.

One thing the rig has, which hasn’t yet been mentioned, is a panic stop enhancement (for the lack of a better term). When the vehicle detects you decelerating above a certain threshold, it then kicks in this feature and really clamps on the brakes hard enough the ABS kicks in. I found this out the hard way when someone ran a stop sign in front of me in my small town. Felt like I was going to eat the steering wheel and startled me. I’ve had it happen once since. Checking the owners manual I confirmed what happened was as designed (don’t recall what the manual called this feature).
 
Last edited:
DAW89446 said:
When I first bought my 4Runner I thought brake travel too long and response too soft. But I quickly acclimated. I live in a rural area and am a conservative driver, slowing down in advance of turns and stops. It all feels normal to me and comparable to my Subaru Outback.

One thing the rig has, which hasn’t yet been mentioned, is a panic stop enhancement (for the lack of a better term). When the vehicle detects you decelerating above a certain threshold, it then kicks in this feature and really clamps on the brakes hard enough the ABS kicks in. I found this out the hard way when someone ran a stop sign in front of me in my small town. Felt like I was going to eat the steering wheel and startled me. I’ve had it happen once since. Checking the owners manual I confirmed what happened was as designed (don’t recall what the manual called this feature).
Click to expand...



Brake assist. Page 263 in the owners manual


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I recently bought a '19 and kept my '08. The brakes on my '19 are soft as you described and my '08s brakes are comparatively VERY touchy. It's hard to adjust going back and forth driving them both.

I dont recall my '08s factory brakes being soft but the last set of brakes were installed at a toyota dealership so... factory vs dealership? Dunno...
 
Another member posted this recommendation in another thread

Start it up. Press HARD, really hard and hold the brake pedal there 5 secs or so. Do this three times

I have no idea why this works but it worked for me, and has been working for over 5 months. Modulation is better and that creeping while stoped is gone. No more putting it in neutral while in a line.
 
My 2018 seemed soft. Had two separate emergency stops. Since then the brakes have worked great. Almost like a few small air bubbles were trapped in the system from the factory.
 
Hi there, I was just looking for a thread about brakes. I just got a 2017 4Runner with 34k miles. I love it, but the brakes feel a little soft to me.

The brake pedal also makes what I can only describe as a quiet "squeegee" sound when I press it during a slow stop. I test drove another 4runner and the brake pedal also made the same squeegee sound. Is this normal for the 2017/2018 4runners?
 
When I take my 2019 in for the 5k service, the brakes seem to grab a little for a few miles after I get it back. Then back to normal. I wonder if they are making any adjustments. (or I'm just imagining it) :shrug:
 
When we purchased our '15 Limited used, the brakes always felt a bit spongy, and the force required to bring it to a gentle stop was not the same amount of force required to keep it at a stop (need to press harder...not how hydraulic systems should work in my mind), which always seemed weird.

I flushed the brake fluid, and it was better. Took it out on some gravel and activated the ABS a few times and flushed it again, and now it's much better. Must have had some air trapped in the system...must have been there since new.
 
Yeah, I've been hearing about flushing the brakes. I think I will ask about this when I bring to the dealer for a servicing in a couple of months. Thanks!
 
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