2005 Toyota 4Runner Brakes Problems

The back brake lines rusted out completely crumbling causing me to almost collide head on with oncoming traffic while my kids where in the car. This was a terrifying experience. Upon further inspection the back brakes were so rusted out that they crumbled to dirt.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 TOYOTA 4RUNNER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE ABS, AUTO LSD, AND VSC TRAC WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED CONTINUOUSLY. THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, BUT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO DECELERATE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE EMERGENCY BRAKES ENGAGED AND THE VEHICLE STOPPED ABRUPTLY. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER BOOSTER ASSEMBLY FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 100,000. UPDATED 04/13/16*LJ *CN

I WAS LEAVING MY HOUSE AND MY BRAKES COMPLETELY FAILED! FOOT TO THE FLOOR AND NOTHING HAPPENED. THERE WAS NO WARNING OR BACK UP TO HELP ME STOP. LUCKILY I WAS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND ONLY RAN INTO A NEIGHBORS YARD (AND DID NOT HIT ANY CHILDREN). I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A MECHANIC WHO TOLD ME THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS BROKEN AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER CONTACTING TOYOTA, THE PARTS DEPT ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THIS WAS A COMMON ISSUE, AND THEN ASKED IF I WANTED THE PART (FOR A SMALL FORTUNE). BASICALLY HE SAID EITHER YOU FIX IT, OR DON'T DRIVE THE CAR ANYMORE. IN ADDITION HE COMPARED THE BRAKE FAILURE TO A TV BREAKING! A TV?! A COMPLETE BREAK FAILURE PUTS NOT ONLY THE DRIVER, BUT THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN SERIOUS JEOPARDY. WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN FOR TOYOTA CORPORATE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS ISSUE AND ISSUE A RECALL? *TR

NOTICED AFTER JUST PURCHACING A USED 4RUNNER FRO A TOYOTA DEALER SHIP THAT MY BRAKES SEEM TO BE MAKING A LOT OF NOISE. WENT TO MY MECHANIC AND HE TOLD ME THAT THE FRONT CALIPERS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE CAR WERE FROZEN DUE TO RUST AND THAT HE HAS NOTICED THIS ISSUE WITH MULTIBLE SEQUOIAS AND 4RUNNERS. HAD TO HAVE THE WHOLE BRAKE SYSTEM REPAIRS COSTING ME OVER 1000 DOLLARS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 TOYOTA 4RUNNER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE REPLACING THE BRAKE PADS HE NOTICED THAT BOTH FRONT CALIPERS WERE NOT WORKING PROPERLY. THE CONTACT DECIDED TO REPLACE THE CALIPERS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

THE MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER COMPLETELY FAILED THUS RENDERING THE BRAKES COMPLETELY INOPERABLE. TO STOP THE VEHICLE, THE CAR WAS PLACED IN P AND SHUT DOWN. IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THIS CAR HAD BEEN SERVICED PER THE MANUFACTURES SCHEDULE SINCE IT WAS PURCHASED IN 2005. FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS, WE HAD HEARD AN OSCILLATING SOUND FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS MADE AWARE OF THIS, BUT UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. THE LAST VISIT WAS 4 MONTHS AGO AT WHICH TIME THEY DID NOT FIND A PROBLEM, BUT THE SOUND CONTINUED. HIGHLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. LUCKILY THERE WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT. *TR

FRONT BRAKE CALIPERS HAD TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THEY WERE FROZEN. *TR

HEAVY VIBRATION NOTICED WHEN ATTEMPTING TO BRAKE AT SPEEDS ABOVE 40MPH. A REDUCTION IN BRAKING FEEL AND POWER WAS ALSO NOTICED. WHEN I WENT TO EXAMINE THE BRAKES, I FOUND THAT BOTH OF THE FRONT BRAKE CALIPERS HAD FROZEN LOWER PISTONS. HAD TO REPLACE BOTH FRONT CALIPERS AND ROTORS AS WELL AS BRAKE PADS. FOUND THIS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM ON 4TH GENERATION TOYOTA 4RUNNERS. MANY COMPLAINS CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.T4R.COM. *TR

WHEN I TRIED REPLACING MY BRAKE PAD, I NOTICED THAT THE FRONT CALIPER PISTON IS FROZEN AND I COULD NOT RETRACT IT. I ENDED UP REPLACING MY FRONT CALIPER ON BOTH SIDES DUE TO THIS. BOTH FRONT DRIVER SIDE AND FRONT PASSENGER SIDE CALIPER IS FROZEN. 1 PISTON ON EACH CALIPER. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED QUICKLY TO AVOID FUTURE ACCIDENT. I HAVE MY RECEIPTS WHEN I REPLACED IT IF YOU NEED IT. THANK YOU. *TR

VEHICLE BRAKES FAILED COMPLETELY. NO WARNING PRIOR TO EVENT. THE BRAKES FAILED WHILE DRIVING. WE HAD TO COAST INTO A PARKING LOT AND THEN APPLY THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. MULTIPLE DASHBOARD WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON BUT NONE PRIOR TO THE BRAKE FAILURE. THERE WERE NO SYMPTOMS WHATSOEVER OF THE IMPENDING FAILURE. THE DEALER SAYS THE MASTER CYLINDER FAILED. THERE WERE NO SERIOUS INJURIES, HOWEVER, IF THIS HAD OCCURRED JUST MOMENTS BEFORE WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE INTERSTATE DRIVING 60+ MPH! *TR

MY ABS DOES NOT ENGAGE WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED IN AN EMERGENCY. OVER TIME, BRAKING DISTANCES HAVE BECOME SIGNIFICANTLY LONGER. RECENTLY, I ATTEMPTED TO REPLACE MY FRONT BRAKES AND BOTH SIDES' LOWER BRAKE PISTONS WERE FROZEN/SEIZED. THIS SAME ISSUE HAS OCCURRED WITH MANY OTHER 2003-2009 TOYOTA 4RUNNER OWNERS. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS DEFECT CAN BE FOUND ON HTTP://WWW.T4R.ORG. *TR

MY 2005 TOYOTA 4RUNNER HAS HAD ISSUES WITH FRONT BRAKE CALIPERS SEIZING UP. WITH ROUGHLY 60K MILES ON IT, I HAD TO REPLACE BOTH FRONT CALIPERS BECAUSE THE LOWER INNER PISTONS WERE SEIZED. I REPLACED THE CALIPERS WITH RE-MANUFACTURED CALIPERS. AT 100K MILES, I HAD TO REPLACE THE FRONT CALIPERS AGAIN FOR THE SAME REASON. AFTER SEARCHING ON THE TOYOTA 4RUNNER FORUMS, IT APPEARS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WAS UNABLE TO OFFER ANYTHING OTHER THAN REPLACING THE CALIPERS AT MY COST. I CALLED THE TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE AND REPORTED THE PROBLEM TWICE, BUT THEY WERE ALSO UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING. THEY BLAME ROAD SALT FOR THE ISSUE. MY OTHER VEHICLES, AS WELL AS THOSE OF MY NEIGHBORS/FRIENDS/COWORKERS, HAVE OPERATED IN THE SAME CONDITIONS, BUT HAVEN'T HAD THIS ISSUE. THUS FAR, I HAVEN'T HAD A COMPLETE BRAKING FAILURE OR INCIDENT FROM THE ISSUE. I'VE NOTICED THE ISSUE WHEN THE ROTORS WARP FROM THE CONSTANT HEAT AND REPLACED THE CALIPERS. I'M CONCERNED OVER THE ISSUE AND TOYOTA'S UNWILLINGNESS TO ADDRESS THE SAFETY CONCERN. *TR

THIS IS REGARDING THE BRAKING SYSTEM ON A 2005 TOYOTA 4RUNNER. EVERY TIME I HIT A POT HOLE AS IM PRESSING ON THE BRAKE THE VEHICLE STOPS BRAKING. EVEN THOUGH MY FOOT IS STILL ON THE BRAKE PEDAL THE VEHICLE CONTINUES MOVING AS IF NO BRAKING WAS APPLIED. THIS ONLY HAPPENS IF I HIT A POT HOLE OR BUMP WHILE IM PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL. IM REPORTING THIS NOW BECAUSE I SEE THAT SIMILAR SITUATION IS OCCURRING WITH THE PRIUS VEHICLES. I DID REPORT THIS ISSUE TO MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP OVER A YEAR AGO AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NO ISSUE WITH MY SUV. *TR

FREQUENTLY WHEN I DRIVE ON A BUMPY SURFACE OR SLOPED BUMPY SURFACE AND PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL, IT SEEMS TO FAIL MOMENTARILY. I FEEL THAT THE BRAKE IS UNRESPONSIVE AND NEED TO RELEASE AND PUSH THE PEDAL AGAIN. IT CREATE AN UNSAFE SITUATION AND NEED TO DRIVE THE CAR TO THE SIDE TO OF THE ROAD AS SAFETY. *TR

I AM WRITING TODAY TO ALERT YOU TO A POTENTIAL ACCELERATOR PROBLEM WITH THE 2005 TOYOTA 4RUNNER SUV. IN MID-DECEMBER, MY HUSBAND AND I WERE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN THE CAR INEXPLICABLY ACCELERATED, GOING FROM APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH TO ABOUT 60 MPH WITHIN A MATTER OF SECONDS. MY HUSBAND, WHO HAS HAD PROFESSIONAL DRIVING INSTRUCTION, PUT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL AND WAS ABLE TO SLOW THE CAR DOWN, AT WHICH POINT THE ACCELERATOR (WHICH WAS MOVING TOWARDS THE FLOOR WITHOUT A FOOT ON IT) POPPED BACK UP AND THE BRAKES BEGAN WORKING AGAIN. HOWEVER, WITHIN THIS SAME JOURNEY, THIS SAME ACCELERATOR PROGRAM OCCURRED TWO ADDITIONAL TIMES. WE IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE SUV TO TOYOTA OF ALEXANDRIA IN VIRGINIA AND EXPLAINED WHAT HAPPENED. THEY NOTIFIED US THAT OUR CAR WAS NOT SUBJECT TO A RECALL FOR ACCELERATOR PROBLEMS BUT, BASED ON OUR CONCERNS, AGREED TO EXAMINE THE SUV. TO THEIR CREDIT, THEY DID CALL IN A CORPORATE INSPECTOR TO EXAMINE THE DISSEMBLED DRIVE TRAIN WHO IN TURN DETERMINED THAT AN ACCUMULATION OF OIL IN THE DIFFERENTIALS CAUSED THE CARS COMPUTER TO MISREAD ACCELERATION AND DECELERATION INFORMATION. DESPITE THIS DIAGNOSIS -- AND SUBSEQUENT REPLACEMENT OF THE DRIVE TRAIN AND REAR DIFFERENTIALS -- TOYOTA MECHANICS WERE NEVER ABLE TO REPLICATE THE ACCELERATION PROBLEM THAT WE EXPERIENCED. AFTER TALKING TO SEVERAL TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVES, AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF INDEPENDENT MECHANICS, WE WERE ADVISED TO PURSUE ARBITRATION WITH TOYOTA AND ARE CURRENTLY ENTRENCHED IN THAT PROCESS. IN THE INTERIM, WE ARE USING THE CAR ONLY FOR LOCAL JOURNEYS OUR OF CONCERN THAT THIS ACCELERATOR PROBLEM COULD REOCCUR. I AM WRITING TODAY TO INFORM YOU OF THE PROBLEM SO THAT YOU HAVE A RECORD THAT TOYOTA'S ACCELERATOR PROBLEMS MAY EXTEND BEYOND THE CARS/SUVS INCLUDED IN THE RECENT RECALL. *TR

TL*-THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 TOYOTA 4RUNNER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. THE TECHNICIAN DETECTED THE LEFT AND RIGHT FRONT PISTONS WERE FROZEN DUE TO EXCESSIVE CORROSION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE FRONT BRAKE CALIPERS REQUIRED A REPLACEMENT. THE ESTIMATED COST FOR REPAIR WAS $835.00. THE CONTACT WAS DISPLEASED TO KNOW THE MANUFACTURER REFUSED TO BE FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TOTAL COST OF THE REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER OFFERED TO COVER FIFTY PERCENT TOWARDS THE SERVICE REPAIR COST. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 56,000.

FRONT BRAKE CALIPER "FROZEN", BOTH. BROUGHT VEHICLE TO SEVERAL INDEPENDENT BRAKE SHOPS AND ALL SAID THAT IT IS A "COMMON PROBLEM". TOYOTA DEALER WOULD NOT REPAIR AT NO CHARGE AND IN FACT WANTED ABOUT TWICE WHAT THE INDEPENDENT SHOP CHARGE. *TR

THE PROBLEM IS THE SUDDEN REDUCTION OF BRAKING POWER. IT HAPPENED TWICE DURING THE COURSE OF THE OWNER SHIP OF MY SUV. LAST INCIDENT HAPPENED ON 01/31/2009. EARLY IN THE MORNING I WAS BACKING UP FROM MY GARAGE BY USING THE REVERSE GEAR AND THEN I SWITCHED THE GEAR TO D TO MOVE FORWARD. MY DRIVEWAY SLOPES DOWN AWAY FROM MY GARAGE. WHILE MOVING FORWARD AWAY FROM THE GARAGE I TRIED TO BRAKE, BUT THE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE FLOOR AND THE SUV WAS STILL MOVING. I HAD TO PUMP THE BRAKE FEW TIMES STOP. THE BREAK SYSTEM ACTED LIKE THAT FOR NEXT 2-3 HOURS AND THEN IT WENT BACK TO 'NORMAL'. THE FIST TIME THAT IT HAPPENED ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO, TOYOTA LOOKED AT IT BUT APPARENTLY COULDN'T FIND ANY THING. I DON'T KNOW WHEN AND WHERE IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. HOPEFULLY NOT ON THE FREEWAY GOING 55 MPH. HONESTLY I DON'T TRUST THE BRAKING SYSTEM OF THIS SUV ANY MORE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY TRAFFIC STARTED TO SLOW. I APPLIED PRESSURE TO THE BRAKES BUT NOTHING HAPPENED. THERE WAS A LOUD CLICKING NOISE IN THE BRAKING SYSTEM AND THE CAR SEEMED TO LURCH FORWARD. THE CAR IS NOW TOTALED. THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED A MONTH BEFORE AND MY WIFE HAS EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM AS WELL. *JB

2005 4 RUNNER V8 HAD COMPLETE BREAK FAILURE AT ABOUT 23000 MILES. VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP AT INTERSECTION. PULLED VEHICLE INTO PARKING LOT AND THE VEHICLE STILL DID NOT STOP. EMERGENCY BREAK HAD TO BE APPLIED TO SLOW VEHICLE DOWN. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP AND TESTS FOUND THAT THERE WAS A MALFUNCTION IN MASTER CYLINDER. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY DISASTROUS EVENT. THERE IS NOT WARNING ON THE VEHICLE WHEN SUCH A FAILURE OCCURS. *NM