On my 06 4Runner and on the 04 I used to own I noticed the parking brake system on these vehicles is kind of weak. My driveway is probably on a 15% grade hill and I noticed facing up the hill my parking brake will not hold or only holds part of the time. If I am facing down hill the parking brake holds no problem. It seems the parkng brake is stronger in preventing the vehicle from roling forward than rolling back. The 4Runner is the first vehicle I have owned with 4 wheel disc brakes which I prefer and is a nice setup over the drum in the rear and just disc brakes in the front setup but I wonder if the parkng brake on disc brakes is not as strong as the old style drum setup
Parking Brake Issue
- Thread starter JP4RNR
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Uneek
Super Moderator
The drum-in-brake setup of 4-wheel disc vehicles tend to be weaker than vehicles with rear drum brakes in regards to the parking/emergency brake.
However, it's pretty easy to adjust the parking brake. If I recall from a thread here, the 4R's setup is just like the Camry's. Remove the wheel and on the hub surface there's a rubber plug covering the access hole that looks like a screw. Remove the rubber plug and position the access hole (rotate the disc) at the 6-o'clock position. Through the access hole, you should see inside there is a star wheel to adjust the parking brake shoe clearance. Sorry, I don't recall which direction you need to turn the star wheel though (you can tell if you made like 10+ clicks and the parking brake is going further than down than before when setting it if it was turned in the wrong direction). Toyota says adjust it until it makes contact with the drum and back it off 8 clicks. For me at 8 clicks, it wasn't tight, I backed it off to 5 clicks and the parking brake holds better.
However, it's pretty easy to adjust the parking brake. If I recall from a thread here, the 4R's setup is just like the Camry's. Remove the wheel and on the hub surface there's a rubber plug covering the access hole that looks like a screw. Remove the rubber plug and position the access hole (rotate the disc) at the 6-o'clock position. Through the access hole, you should see inside there is a star wheel to adjust the parking brake shoe clearance. Sorry, I don't recall which direction you need to turn the star wheel though (you can tell if you made like 10+ clicks and the parking brake is going further than down than before when setting it if it was turned in the wrong direction). Toyota says adjust it until it makes contact with the drum and back it off 8 clicks. For me at 8 clicks, it wasn't tight, I backed it off to 5 clicks and the parking brake holds better.
On my first oil change at the dealership, I complained about this issue...they gave me some story about how it was normal...for the parking brake to only engage near the end of pedal travel.
I got tired of it, so at the third oil change, I just told them I want it to 'engage' sooner.
Done deal, it now engages about half way down the pedal travel.
I got tired of it, so at the third oil change, I just told them I want it to 'engage' sooner.
Done deal, it now engages about half way down the pedal travel.
TechWrench
Senior Member
007Runner said:
This might work if you have rear drum brakes, but with the newer 4wheel disc system, the parking brake system is completely separate from the disc system so applying the regular brakes first will not help at all.
TechWrench
Senior Member
007Runner said:
Other than the fact that the parking brake shoes are located inside the rear disc hub, there is no mechanical or hydraulic interconnection between the two braking systems. You may perceive some additional benefit by applying the main brakes first, but there is no mechanical reason that I can see to substantiate it.
I have a Lexus and was told to apply the parking brake like that from the dealer. If I do it without depressing the brake pedal it will not lock up solid. Just try it, did not make sense to me either. It really makes a big difference at least on that car. It has 4 wheel disc brakes. Also I can push the emergency brake pedal a lot farther down with the brakes applied.
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Then maybe on that particular vehicle, the rear disc brakes and parking brake are one in the same.
Some vehicles are like that...the parking brake uses a lever/rachet mechanism with the caliper that utilizes the main brake pads.
But other vehicles like the 4th gen 4runner (and my former 99 olds alero) uses separate brake shoes and mechanics inside the disc rotor (hub). So the main brake system has no effect on the parking brake and vice versa.
On my 99 Olds...when you take off the rear rotor...looks almost just like the old timey brake shoe setup...even had the adjustment screw, which was the only way to adjust the parking brake.
J
Some vehicles are like that...the parking brake uses a lever/rachet mechanism with the caliper that utilizes the main brake pads.
But other vehicles like the 4th gen 4runner (and my former 99 olds alero) uses separate brake shoes and mechanics inside the disc rotor (hub). So the main brake system has no effect on the parking brake and vice versa.
On my 99 Olds...when you take off the rear rotor...looks almost just like the old timey brake shoe setup...even had the adjustment screw, which was the only way to adjust the parking brake.
J
Uneek
Super Moderator
The drum-in-brake setup Toyota has does not self-adjust like traditional drum brakes when the vehicle goes in reverse and then forward. It has to be adjusted manually if the pedal travels too far before it engages.
Some cars (Ferrari's and NSX) have a seperate brake caliper for the parking brake.
Some cars (Ferrari's and NSX) have a seperate brake caliper for the parking brake.
Ah yes, those exotics.
Well, those aren't included in this article, but it is still a good read on the most common type of parking brake systems...
http://www.delmarlearning.com/samplechapters/dl_display_sampchap.aspx?isbn=0766809374&cid=10
Well, those aren't included in this article, but it is still a good read on the most common type of parking brake systems...
http://www.delmarlearning.com/samplechapters/dl_display_sampchap.aspx?isbn=0766809374&cid=10
