Frozen Calipers - How many others had this problem?

[WoodKnuckle]

I had one seize at 63K right after I installed new front rotors and calipers. Tech told me the pistons corrode due the the quality of the material and exposure to sand, salt and water. Nice toyota will not do anything for this. 68K now, just waiting for the next one to seize.

I had the same happen on my 05 Sport. Both calipers seized and after calling the customer service line with Toyota they agreed to split the cost with me. $450 total. I had 78,000 on the truck.

The dealership had made a mistake by telling me that they had multiple issues with brakes on the 4runners and mine was minor compared to some. I simply explained that it was unacceptable that I was driving this truck with faulty brakes while driving my newborn around.

2 calls and it was taken care of.

good luck.

 

[Sporin]

Those photos and others of the frame and undercarriage that I did not post were taken on October 30, 2009. Granted my 4 Runner is 5+ years old now.
Sad part is the rust started around years 2 or 3 of ownership. That is when I did the first application of POR15.

FYI, I live in Eastern Pennsylvania and my 4Runner does not get to see the inside of my garage at home. I suspect that others here may have similar amounts of rust on their 4Runners that they either are not aware they have or are ignoring. Sad to say my 25 year old VW daily driver has VERY, VERY little rust compared to the 4Runner. VW might have a lot of other issues but undercarriage rust is not one of them. At least from the mid 1980s going forward.

My new-to-me 06 looks like that, maybe not quite as bad but close. Typical New England Undercarriage I'm afraid.

 

[charlier180]

My new-to-me 06 looks like that, maybe not quite as bad but close. Typical New England Undercarriage I'm afraid.

If you are going to hold onto your '06 for a while, POR15 will become your friend. The POR15 I put applied a few years ago has held up well. The areas of the frame, etc that I did not apply it to were the ones that rusted since then. I noticed yesterday when I mounted my snow tires I had missed a few spots in each wheel well. Next time my 4Runner can get on a lift I will be dealing with those areas as well.

 

[Sporin]

Yup. Too late in the year now, I'm hitting them with some bar & chain oil (old school New England undercoating) for the winter. Then in the spring I'll wire wheel the bad spots and POR them.

:drummer:

 

[DaveyBoy]

My new-to-me 06 looks like that, maybe not quite as bad but close. Typical New England Undercarriage I'm afraid.

Mine doesn't look quite that bad ;-) but most places in New England
use a ton of salt.


I'm replacing my calipers this weekend...one side is sticking.

 

[lbrunner]

Toyota customer service

Nice! I tried calling customer service and they wanted the vin#s of all the toyota's I have owned in the past and length of time I owned them. After sending vin's of two prior 4runners, they called and said sorry, no help at all. They felt it was normal for calipers to seize after 60K. Now that is a quality part!! Purchasing a used 97, new 05, and then a used 05 was not enough to get Toyota customer loyalty help with obviously a bad part or poor design!

I had the same happen on my 05 Sport. Both calipers seized and after calling the customer service line with Toyota they agreed to split the cost with me. $450 total. I had 78,000 on the truck.

The dealership had made a mistake by telling me that they had multiple issues with brakes on the 4runners and mine was minor compared to some. I simply explained that it was unacceptable that I was driving this truck with faulty brakes while driving my newborn around.

2 calls and it was taken care of.

good luck.

 

[WNY 4Runner]

I bought my '06 from a Toyota/Chevy/Nissan/Jeep dealership, it was a lease turn in. Well needless to say the Chevy guys were slow, so they "went through" the truck before putting on the lot. Well 2 days later the brakes were making quite a noise, so I returned to dealership, and had the Toyota mechanics make it right.

Come to find out one piston on the front left caliper was siezed - and they replaced for free ! They told me it was a common problem with the 4runners.

I had to replace a caliper on the 97 4runner, but it had 165,000 miles on it - kind of expected at that point.

 

[OHDAD9224]

I have an 03 Sport that I purchased about a month and a half ago with 86000 miles on it. The passenger side rear caliper had to be replaced about 3 weeks ago. It wasn't quite frozen but it was definitely dragging. Noticed it because of the burning brake smell and the wheel was really hot. I got a replacement from Napa for about $85. Changed it myself in about an hour. Works fine now.

 

[OHDAD9224]

If you are going to hold onto your '06 for a while, POR15 will become your friend. The POR15 I put applied a few years ago has held up well. The areas of the frame, etc that I did not apply it to were the ones that rusted since then. I noticed yesterday when I mounted my snow tires I had missed a few spots in each wheel well. Next time my 4Runner can get on a lift I will be dealing with those areas as well.

What is POR15? Haven't heard of it before. I'm assuming it is some type of undercoating? Where do you get it? I live in NE Ohio where they use lots of road salt and just purchased an 03 Sport. I'd like to get it protected since I plan to hold onto it for quite awhile. Thanks!

 

[charlier180]

What is POR15? Haven't heard of it before. I'm assuming it is some type of undercoating? Where do you get it? I live in NE Ohio where they use lots of road salt and just purchased an 03 Sport. I'd like to get it protected since I plan to hold onto it for quite awhile. Thanks!

What is Por-15? - POR-15 Inc.

I first found out about POR-15 from people who were restoring their vehicles about 15 years ago right after I had started my first resto project.
I was skeptical at first but after speaking with dozens and dozens of antique car people I gave it a try.
My resto project has been done for 10+ years now and I can say that indeed POR-15 does work.

I have found that 99.999% of the time when someone complains that POR-15 failed to work they DID NOT FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER'S DIRECTIONS.
If one uses all their products for cleaning and preparing the surface and applies the POR-15 PROPERLY this product does work as advertised.
If one FAILS to FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS and/or tries to pinch pennies by not using the Marine Clean and Metal Ready products along with the POR-15 then it can fail.

When I used POR-15 on the frame and undercarriage of my 4Runner I used the Marine Clean product to clean the metal.
Then I used the Metal Ready product where and when needed followed by the POR-15. That is why it took me about 16 Hours to do the job.

For some, this product may seen expensive. For those of us who have used it, the product is worth the money because it simply works.

 

[Colemanfu]

You should do this as some kind of poll?

I have. SUCKS. Last year when the rig had 42,000 miles. I don't drive much so don't know if it's lack of use was a factor. But it sucked and pissed me off. Still am. That has been it's only flaw in 6 years. It was paid off in 3 so overall it's way better deal than my old Ford. Still pissed.

 

[4runnerforum]

avatar is pic of the 4R parked on the beach at the ocean right ?

 

[ddwilson1]

03 4Runner

My right front caliper I think it was the lower outside piston froze up solid. Did not realize it was frozen until I decided to replace pads thinking brakes did not feel right. Drivers side was done first started on other side and caliper was stuck and like to never got it off of the disk.
Doug

 

[charlier180]

You should do this as some kind of poll?

I have. SUCKS. Last year when the rig had 42,000 miles. I don't drive much so don't know if it's lack of use was a factor. But it sucked and pissed me off. Still am. That has been it's only flaw in 6 years. It was paid off in 3 so overall it's way better deal than my old Ford. Still pissed.

FYI, my 4Runner that I posted photos of the rust has < 29,000 miles on it.
I use it to tow, on long trips and during ugly winter weather. Interesting how it rusts even though I try to wash off the salt when I can.

 

[My1stT4R]

Hello,

Left Front Caliper frozen at 61XXX Miles. The stealer replaced the pads and turned the rotors. They also "nursed" :wtf: the caliper back to health and it worked for a while, then it froze again. The Aftermarket Extended Warranty (Fidelity or South East Toyota) is replacing the left caliper and half the cost of replacing the pads. The rotors are fine.

I know I should replace both calipers. However I don't want to pay for both. I can wait till the other side goes, then have the warranty company fix the other side. What would you suggest, replace one caliper or both?

 

[PlanetAlaska-]

So do the calipers always freeze in the shut position, or do they sometimes freeze in the open position?

Also when this happens, can you still drive the 4Runner temporarily or is the truck immediately disabled?

 

[jstutz101]

So do the calipers always freeze in the shut position, or do they sometimes freeze in the open position?

Also when this happens, can you still drive the 4Runner temporarily or is the truck immediately disabled?

Yes, you can still drive the car. In fact my wife (who primarily drives the 4Runner) couldnt tell there was a problem. I hit the brakes and noticed it was pulling to one side. Pulled the tires off and noticed the pad was wearing crooked. Other then the slight pull the brakes worked fine.

 

[lbrunner]

caliper

I wouldn't drive it if it is seized so bad the wheel is cooking. I was driving mine when I noticed it pulling. I stopped and it was so hot the thing was creaking with heat and you could not touch the wheel. It was glowing hot! I was afraid of doing more damage, especially to the finish on the 18" limited wheel, so I had it towed. I was told it was more common to seize after a brake job. As the brake wears the piston pushes out and becomes more exposed. This exposed area gets corroded, especially with salt and sand in the north east. When you put new pads on, that corroded area gets pushed back into the caliper. The corroded area doesn't slide very well within the caliper piston sleeve and can get hung up and not release after brake is applied. I'm no tech but either this is a poor design or the material used for the piston is junk and corrodes too easily. GO TOYOTA!!

 

[toddrico]

I noticed mine smelling hot after driving a few miles home from work. I knew my front rotors were warped again (I bought the crappy Carquest pot metal ones) so I went and got new rotors and pads all the way around from NAPA. Got the fronts off and found a stuck piston on each of the calipers so went back to NAPA for new front calipers. Got home, put them on and started the rears, only to find the right rear was seized too. Awesome, another trip to NAPA. $800 later and my truck stops better than ever.

 

[Jed]

Hey, maybe if enough of us complain about frozen calipers, Toyota will issue a recall. They seem to be recall happy these days anyway, with all the negative media hype!

Quick, someone call the news and tell them that there's a problem with 4th gen 4Runner brakes!