Toyota - 4runner :: Brake Failure In Cold Weather
Mar 2, 2015
My son and I were coming down the mountain on I-70 near Georgetown, Colorado in a snowstorm in his toyota 4runner. We had just gone through the Eisenhower Tunnel. There was alot of traffic, and driving conditions were terrible. We were traveling approximately 10 miles per hour when my son told me that his brakes were not working. We downshifted, and then slid into the guardrail on the median (we were in the left lane). Luckily we were not hurt, and we did not hit anyone else. Once the car was towed back to Denver, the brakes worked again. My son is getting the car checked by a mechanic, but why the brakes gave out and how he can avoid that happening in the future? Was it related to the cold weather (approximate 10 degrees)? I did not feel that he was riding the brakes as we descended. The road was icy at the time.
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I have a 2006 Pri with 194,000 miles on it that has been dead reliable & owes me nothing really, now developing a serious problem. Only when it is below about 10 deg F I will get total failure of the power braking system on or shortly after startup Has happened on 3 days this winter. ABS light, Brake warning, continuous high pitched beep (very annoying warning the driver of immanent death!
When this happens I get almost no movement on the brake pedal. It's rock hard & acts pretty much like loosing power brakes on any car (ie. you will eventually stop, but not a safe condition). There is no transition to this condition. It's either "everything normal" or total failure. Brake fluid reads half way between min & max and looks clean, no sign of moisture, but has never been flushed.
The last time it happened I was leaving work, couldn't swap cars... so I drove straight to the dealer (white knuckled). Dealer calls the next day saying it's the Brake Actuator needing replacement. I told them I wasn't spending that & to look again for a cheaper problem like Fluid, 12v battery, Relay...
No dice. They confirm it's the actuator.
The code they read is C1256. They "checked resistance at actuator pins & found high resistance at pins 1&2." I'm thinking about just topping up the fluid a bit more, or getting the fluid flushed & changed, or changing the 12v battery (I need to check voltage on next cold morning), or just not driving it at those temps & hoping it doesn't get worse.
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Our late '04 touarg has been experiencing an intermittent tpms failure. Seems to occur only during sub-20 degree farenhiet whether and only when the 'egg is cold (i.e. parked outdoors or in an unheated garage) and generally occurrs shortly after starting/driving the car. Message we receive states that the system has failed (not flat tire/defective wheel/etc). The fault will then clear itself after around 10 minutes. Any solutions?
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A 2000 Toyota 4Runner was stopping fine. A mechanic informed me that the brake pads were worn down. After the pads were replaced and bled the pedal sinks lower than before and the car requires more pressure to stop. I can pump up the pedal after 3 pushes. I took it back and he has since re-bled the brakes but the pedal still sinks low.
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My 2003 Toyota 4 Runner with 104K miles recently started showing a brake light off and on. The brake fluid reservoir was at the minimum level and there was some residue leaking from the bottom near a silver disc. Took it to a mechanic and was told it was most likely the master cylinder leaking brake fluid. Is this normal wear and tear or is it unusual in this vintage vehicle? I do not notice any brake slippage at this point. Should I take this to the dealer and ask why this master cylinder is faulty? I thought Toyotas were long life vehicles?
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2014 4Runner SR5, 4k miles... It is sporadic, but here in the Midwest the weather is frigid. Is it normal for brand new pads to squeal right when I pull out of my driveway? It goes away, but I never had this with any other vehicle.
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I have my Toyota 2000 4 Runners having a slightly problem. When I paddle the brake at the Stop or traffic light, the wheel turns (mostly anti-clockwise) a little bit like 10 to 20 degrees. It doesn't turn all the time but especailly when the car is going slightly downhill such as when I paddle the brake and stop from parking lot onto the main road. The road is a little dip down or sometimes in front of the traffic light and it was slightly inclined. I don't know if this normal or not.
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My car has about 180K miles on it and it's a manual transmission. It's a champ, and I love it. But sometimes when you first drive it ( not sure if it's only when the weather is cold, but I don't think so) if you are sitting at a stop with your foot on the brake then engine surges up and down, if you take your foot off the brake it stops.
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Passenger side rear brake light works when lights are off, but does not when lights are on. In looking at both lights while on, the passenger side seems to burn much dimmer than the driver side.
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In Jan my 94 Toyota Camry started having issues with starting- for instance, I would run an errand for 10 minutes get back in the car and it wouldn't start. However, this tended to be random. When this problem happened more often I took it in and they said I needed a new starter so I got one (Feb) and didn't have any issues for a month, but then began to have the same issue on and off again. I took my car back in for the second time and they said it must have been a bad starter. They gave me ANOTHER new starter (Apr) and my issues continued soon after. I took it back in and they didn't have an answer for me other than the starter was good. Took it to another mechanic and he had the car for two days and could not find ANY ISSUE with the car. I let it brush over during the summer months because I never had this issue (June-Aug) and now that it's gotten cold again I'm having this problem.
Few things to note: -Anytime I have this issue I'll hit the starter with a hammer and it will ALWAYS start. This has been the case since January.-It ALWAYS starts in the morning and when I get back in my car after working all day. However, if I were to run errands in the morning or at night it would not start with the stop and go. -This only happens in the cold months -They tested the newest starter and they say there's nothing wrong with it.-Within the past two years I've had MANY things replaced on this car and any shops I've taken it to say it's a great car with no issues they can find.
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I have a 2004 Sienna LE and it has left/right signal problem (not working) in the morning or when the weather is cold. The problem usually last for about 5 to 10 minutes until the inside car temperature becomes warm.
When this problem happens the emergency lights are working. Only the signal left and right do not work.
Is this a common Sienna problems? I brought the car to the dealer but they refused to fix it because they cannot duplicate the problem. I am guessing when the warranty has expired, they will make suggestion to replace the part but not until then.
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The truck has 230,000 miles and has a squeal that sounds like a belt but it's not. I have put the truck in neutral coasted with the engine off and the noise is still there. The noise only happens when the weather is cold and only when the truck is coasting. Under acceleration the sound goes away.
Toyota Tacoma Prerunner 2003 (2.7)...
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I have a 2001 Toyota Sienna xle that started running rough when the weather turned cold. When started, the car idles very high and will not shift properly until it was been running for around 5 minutes. After that it will run well for about 10-15 minutes and then begin to run rough or poorly. The problem is very noticeable at low speeds and when stopped. It never actually kills, but it feels like it is going to. At high speeds it is less noticeable but occasionally you will feel it jerk or chug like the transmission is slipping or a belt or something.
I took it to a mechanic who checked the codes and found that the ignition coils were supposedly bad. I say supposedly because they replace three of the ignition coils and the problem still persists. I then took it back to the mechanic who then told me it was the oxygen sensor. The o2 sensor was replaced and the problem is still there with no noticeable improvement. I again to it back to the mechanic who tells me that they scratching their heads.
I have done some looking around on the internet and have found some discussions that seem to have some promising leeds and actually last weeks car talk show had a caller who described a similar problem. The guys told him it could be a oxygen sensor but they thought a better possibility would be EGR valve or a vacuum leak. Not sure if this sienna has an EGR, but I plan to suggest looking into it to the mechanic. Also, I found some discussions talking about the idle control valve and the engine control module.
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I have a 1998 Ford Explorer. 215K miles. Original Owner. When it is cold there is a very light leaking of brake fluid at the base of the master cylinder where it meets the brake booster. This morning it was 14 degrees and there was a much bigger leak. Filled it back up and went to work. I'm thinking its about time I took care of it. I've had the the master cylinder replaced once at Goodyear Auto Service Center years ago.
I'll post a picture later but having the leak where it is. Would that be a replacement of both the master cylinder and brake booster? How can you tell? Or is it better just to change out both. Having done more work on my car over years I feel I can do the work myself. Plus the master cylinder is only like $50 and $60 for the brake booster.
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I drive a 2007 toyota camry. This winter the brake light has come on twice - each time after driving for at least 30 minutes on very slushy, cold conditions. The first time, the brakes were still working fine - I pulled into work, topped off the fluid and the light went off. Flash forward two months later. Same conditions, the light came on and as I was looking for parking, the brakes went out. Pedal was soft, emergency lights went on the car said to "CHECK VSC". I pulled into a parking lot and the brakes were once again working, but the lights were still on.
I had the car towed to a Firestone where they were unable to determine a problem. The next day, all the lights were out on the dash. I had the car towed to the Toyota dealership and not only can they not recreate the issue, but when they pull the numbers from the car, there is no indication that anything has ever been wrong with any system in the vehicle. They told me they've called Toyota Tech and there has never been a report of this issue. They want to release the car back to me, but I do not feel safe driving this car.
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have an 2009 Toyota Corolla 62K miles. If the car sits out 8 hours or more in VERY COLD (zero degrees) weather makes a 1-2 second clashing/sparking noise the split second after turning the ignition on but before engine starts. I tried to attach video/audio. The car starts and runs fine. isn't a ticking or knocking or tapping noise assoc. with bad engine. It isn't squealing noise assoc. w/ serpentine belt. I've been waiting for it to get cold enough to leave overnight at Toyota dealer. I keep wondering if it isn't related to the botched oil changed at the Toyota dealer a couple yrs ago when they forgot the oil & I ran car about 30-60 seconds. At the time, they said all was okay and did compression test (Cyl 1=178psi, #2=175 #3=180 #4=178) all within the normal specs 145-189. I got a 2nd opinion at another Toyota dealer at time who removed valve cover and inspected cam caps and scoped cylinder walls and said all was okay and compression good. No mechanical problems- uses no oil, check engine light not on, etc. What noise is and why just when very cold and car sits out long time?
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I have a 2001 Toyota Tacoma that has a knock or ticking in cold weather. The problem starts sometimes immediately after I start and other times it is only when I press on the gas in the cold mornings after a few min warm up. The noise goes away after 10 min. The question I am wondering is this:
1: could it be worn piston rings and the pistons are slapping the cylinder wall
2: is it an oil pump problem or a oil restriction issue
3: is it a valve guide issue
4: with the history of the 2.7 having exhaust manifold issues (poor manufacturing) could a cracked manifold be the issue
I change the oil myself, the oil filters have been OEM toyota, the noise has been going on since 60,000 miles, the truck is at 230,000 miles.
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I just replaced my Toyota Camry Solara 2005 Front Struts on Thursday to pass State Inspection. On Friday we had a mild snow storm(2 inches) and when taking a turn, the brake didn't work properly and the tires slipped and my car went over the curb and hit a pole. I was going at about 30 mph. My tires are a little old but since they passed the inspection on Thursday I'm guessing that they weren't that bad. My question is did replacing the struts have anything to do with this or was this just my distracted driving...
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So, until recently I had a 2000 Ford Focus but it was totaled in an accident not long ago and is long gone now. I was given a 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon with about 194,000 mi by a family member. However, it has always had a problem whereby the brake pedal goes to the floor now and then and especially when it is cold in the morning. So, I took the car to a mechanic (hwy 64 auto, Raleigh, NC) and they replaced the Master Cylinder yesterday and bled the brake lines through the master cylinder.
The mechanic told me that the bleeder valves were too old and corroded to try to bleed them at each wheel and that they might break and then the caliper(s) would then have to replaced. Anyway, long story short, the brakes are WORSE after he changed the master cylinder and bled the lines from the master cylinder. Now EVERY time you first press the brake the pedal goes down then immediately you can "pump" them back up so either air in the lines or still a leak somewhere in the braking system. I do not want to spend anymore money (or at least very little money) on this car as too much has already been spent on other things before I got it and also after I got it.
Did the mechanic screw up or am I looking at a problem you have with some old cars where you start replacing parts in the brake system and then still have the problem or a new problem and then you wind up spending $800 replacing old crappy, worn out parts. What should I do? Did the mechanic screw it up or is it just time to send this old car to the scrap pile and crusher? Remember, I don't want to keep pouring money into this thing. I've already spent some money on it with other stuff lately.
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I took my 2003 4Runner to the dealer and they sent pictures to toyota. I asked that the customer service rep contact me next time he was in the area. Toyota replaced the frame with me paying a 2500.00 deductible. Now I still have the car and will wait for the recall/class action suit that someone will file to get reimbursed. I hear it was due to the frames being dipped in Alabama.
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I've got a friend with a 1990 Toyota 4Runner Manual transmission with ~170k miles on the clock. He's been having an issue for quite some time that he hasn't been able to be resolved. Basically he's got an issue with the vehicle erratically NOT starting when it is hot outside. The vehicle starts fine when it is cold outside, but when it is hot he erratically (only happens sometimes) get a "click" noise from the engine compartment with no engine turn over or anything. He is then at the mercy of the vehicle and sometimes just has to try multiple times or wait it out for awhile and try again. Sometimes just opening the hood, looking around a minute, closing it, and re-trying is able to get it to start, but other times not. Other times, and I quote from him, "sometimes i just get really upset and stomp on the clutch, get out of the truck and just shake/rock it, sometimes that'll do it." It happens if the engine is cold or hot, it only matters that it is hot outside, above ~90 degrees. Below is a list of stuff that has been done to try and resolve the issue, but hasn't really worked.
Steps taken:
Replace Battery
Replaced the Alternator 2 years ago
Replaced the Battery Connectors (some were corroded)
Possible Starter Replacement within the past 5 years (double checking paperwork)Rewired jumper wire from battery to starter
Seems sensor or solenoid related to me, but I'm unfamiliar with this vehicle/quirks.....
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