Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2017 Toyota 4Runner submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
Failed brake master cylinder, this is still a rather new vehicle and the mechanics said this is unlikely in a new low mileage vehicle. I did research and this has only happened a few times, seems like a safety recall should be put in place.
While driving at full speed on the freeway, another vehicle stopped suddenly in front of me. My brake pedal was soft and went down almost to the floor. Rapid pulsing of brakes, as would be expected with the ABS (antilock brake system), did not occur. I pulled around to the shoulder and barely managed to stop in time to avoid a collision, which was quite a frightening experience. I have had a few similar incidents since then, and have noticed that the brake pedal is a bit soft until pumping the pedal a few times. A local dealer diagnosed the problem and said the "ABS actuator assembly" has failed and needs to be replaced. The part itself costs >$2900, making this with labor a ~$3800 repair. (please see attached) 1. This part is not subject to normal wear and tear. 2. Although beyond the 3/36 warranty, this vehicle is relatively new (2019) with only ~55K miles on it. This part should not fail after so relatively few miles. 3. Failure of this ABS part causes the entire brake system to fail, since the ABS is tied in to the brake system. 4. Failure of this part represents a severe hazard, risk, and safety concern, with significant potential to cause injury or death of driver/passengers/pedestrians, or persons in other vehicles. 5. The cost to repair this is not trivial and represents a major expense. I feel that in light of the above, Toyota should accept responsibility for failure of this part. Thank you, [XXX] San Diego INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
IN MOTION, FROM STREET TURNING INTO STORE PARKING LOT, BRAKES FADED COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR. LIFTED OFF AND APPLIED PEDAL TO STOP. NO LEAKS, PLENTY OF FLUID. I WILL CHECK WITH ANOTHER DEALER. THERE ARE QUITE A FEW CASES OF THIS ON THE T4R FORUMS. DEALERS CAN NOT DUPLICATE. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS TO NOT HAVE AN ANSWER FOR. OPINIONS ARE ELECTRICAL ANTILOCK ISSUES.? (THERE IS NO AIR IN LINES, NO LEAKS AND NO CODES)
WHEN YOU APPLY THE BRAKES WITH FULL FORCE WHILE DRIVING; THE BRAKES LOCK UP FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME ON ONE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO SWERVE UNCONTROLLABLY. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS VEHICLE WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED WITH HARD FORCE AT SPEEDS AT AROUND 35 MPH OR HIGHER. LUCKILY I AM A VERY EXPERIENCED DRIVER AND CAR HANDLER AND WAS ABLE TO REACT QUICK ENOUGH TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE ONE TIME WHEN I HAD TO APPLY THE BRAKES HARD AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHEN A CAR SWERVED IN FRONT OF ME SUDDENLY. I HAVE SINCE DONE MANY TESTS ON THIS VEHICLE MYSELF AND CONCLUDED THAT ONE WHEEL ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE IS LOCKING UP WHICH IS CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO QUICKLY AND VIOLENTLY SWERVE. THE TEST I DID WAS TO APPLY THE BRAKES VERY HARD AND SUDDENLY WHILE DRIVING ON A FLAT GRASSY FIELD AT 35 MPH. THE GRASS IN THE FIELD HAD BEEN CUT A FEW DAYS EARLIER AND WAS AT A HEIGHT OF ABOUT 4 INCHES AND DRY, THE AIR TEMPERATURE WAS 82 DEGREES F. AFTER APPLYING THE BRAKES HARD, I WOULD STOP THE VEHICLE AND GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE PATH OF THE VEHICLE WHERE THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED. THERE WAS CLEARLY A PATCH OF GROUND THE SAME WIDTH AS THE TIRE, EXPOSED DOWN TO ABOUT ONE INCH BELOW SURFACE WITH NO GRASS, WHERE THE ONE WHEEL THAT LOCKED UP, SKIDDED AND RIPPED THE GRASS AND DIRT UP. I HAVE DONE THIS TEST MULTIPLE TIMES AND BASED ON MY RESULTS HAVE CONCLUDED THAT ONE WHEEL ON THE LEFT SIDE IS LOCKING UP. I DID NOT THAT IF I REPEAT THE TEST SEVERAL TIMES BACK TO BACK, THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO CORRECT ITSELF AT TIMES. BUT ALWAYS ON THE INITIAL TEST, THE LOCK UP OCCURS. I HAVE HAD IT TO TWO DIFFERENT TOYOTA DEALERS AND THEY BOTH TOLD ME THAT THE BRAKES ARE WORKING AS DESIGNED. IF YES, THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS DESIGN AND I DON'T FEEL SAFE AT ALL, AND I ALSO NOTICED THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE BRAKES FOR THIS 4RUNNER MODEL YEARS.
VEHICLE BOUGHT NEW 8/2017. HAS APPROX. 7,000MLES. THIS IS THE 3RD OR 4TH SIMILAR INCIDENT BUT THE MOST SEVERE. DRIVING ON I-95, APPROX. 60 MPR, TODAY, WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES THEY SEEMED TO LOCK AND ALTHOUGH MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS THAT THE CAR ALSO ACCELERATED IT MAY HAVE BEEN ONLY MY EXPECTATION OF SLOWING DOWN AND THAT WASN'T HAPPENING. THE BRAKE PEDAL ONLY SEEMED TO COMPRESS ABOUT 2-3". LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND THE CAR DID STOP. I CONTINUED ON WITHOUT INCIDENT BUT LIKE I SAID THIS WAS THE 3RD OR 4TH TIME AND THE MOST SEVERE.
APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION ON CITY STREETS I EXPERIENCED TEMPORARY BRAKE FAILURE. WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN THE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AND DID NOT SLOW DOWN THE VEHICLE. AFTER ROLLING THROUGH THE INTERSECTION WITHOUT INCIDENT I PUMPED THE BRAKE PEDAL A FEW TIMES WHICH RETURNED THE BRAKES TO AN OPERATIONAL STATUS. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES IN 2 DAYS. OTHER TOYOTA 4RUNNER OWNERS HAVE ALSO REPORTED THE SAME OR SIMILAR ISSUES IN THE LAST 12MONTHS.
I PULLED UP TO A STOP LIGHT AND APPLIED THE BRAKES. I STOPPED BUT WHILE I WAS SITTING WITH THE BRAKES APPLIED, MY 4RUNNER STARTED ROLLING FORWARD. I HAD TO PUSH THE BRAKE PEDDLE TO THE FLOOR TO A POINT I COULD BARELY REACH TO GET IT TO STOP AGAIN. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY AGREED THE BRAKES WERE NOT ACTING RIGHT. THEY COULD SEE ON THE COMPUTER THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG AS WELL. THEY SAID I WOULD NEED A NEW MASTER CYLINDER ON THE 4RUNNER. THE VEHICLE IS ONLY 2 1/2 MONTHS OLD WITH 2500 MILES. WHEN I PICKED UP THE VEHICLE, THEY SAID THEY TALKED WITH TOYOTA AND IT WAS ONLY THE 2ND CASE OF THIS HAPPENING IN THE US. THE MORNING IT HAPPENED IT WAS AROUND 30 TO 35 F OUTSIDE. WHEN THE DEALERSHIP TESTED IT THEY SAID THEY APPLIED THE BRAKES TO STOP AND IT SLOWLY STARTED MOVING FORWARD AFTER A FEW SECONDS LIKE HAD HAPPENED AT THE STOP LIGHT. THEY REPLACED THE MASTER CYLINDER AND WHEN I PICKED IT UP EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE WORKING OK.
RE: COMPLAINT 11043597. EXPERIENCED COMPLETE LOSS OF BRAKES. NO WARNING LIGHT. BRAKES WERE RESET? AFTER VEHICLE ARRIVED AT DEALER. ECU DID NOT DOWNLOAD ANY WARNING CODES. BASED ON THIS, TOYOTA WILL NOT REPAIR/REPLACE CORRESPONDING BRAKE COMPONENTS AND WANT ME TO DRIVE THE CAR. THIS WAS A COMPLETE BRAKE LOSS WITH PEDAL TO THE FLOOR AND NO BRAKES. USED PARKING BRAKE AND TRANSMISSION TO STOP CAR. CHECKING THE NET, THERE ARE OTHER 5TH GENERATION 4RUNNERS WITH SIMILAR BRAKE FAILURES AND SIMILAR NO ACTION FROM TOYOTA
BRAKE FAILURE. APPROACHING 4 WAY STOP. WENT TO APPLY BRAKES, HEARD-FELT A POP AND PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR AND LOST ALL BRAKING POWER. THIS IS A NEW VEHICLE. HAD TO USE PARKING BRAKE AND TRANSMISSION TO SLOW TO STOP. FORTUNATELY ONLY GOING 30MPH........STILL ROLLED INTO CENTER OF 4 WAY INTERSECTION. THANK GOD NO CARS IN FRONT OF ME OR THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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