Questions and Answers

Tacoma Eating Brakes Q. I have a 1997 Toyota Tacoma. I was involved in an auto accident in 1999 and the front left of the truck was extensively damaged. Toyota did all the collision repairs on the vehicle. Just 2 months after that, Toyota replaced the brake pads and rotors. There were 13,000 miles on the vehicle at that time.

Since then, then brake pads and rotors have had to be replaced at the following mileage intervals:

20,440 - (6,525 miles after the last replacement)
28,184 - (7,744 miles after the last replacement)
32,356 - (4,172 miles after the last replacement)
34,394 - (2,038 miles after the last replacement)
35,844 - (1,450 miles after the last replacement)
37,800 - (1,956 miles after the last replacement)

Toyota ran the standard tests on the hydraulic system and say everything meets their specs. Because they cannot detect the source of the problem, Toyota claims the premature wear on the pads and continual need to replace rotors is caused by my "braking habits," and they refuse to honor their warranty on the brakes.

I only drive the truck to and from work and the usual amount of running errands around town. Is it even conceivable that, even if the driver were (for argument's sake) a little heavy on the brakes, one could actually go through a set of pads and/or rotors in less than 2,000 miles?

I just spent another $500.00 this week on front and back brakes and alignment. I'm at my wits end and NOBODY will help me!

YOUR THOUGHTS?

Tina

A. When you say "Toyota claims" are you referring to the dealer that repaired and maintains your truck or have you tried going above the dealer level and talked to a District Service Rep.? You have every right to do so. If you prefer not to ask the dealer about an appointment, you can get the number of the local regional office by calling information. The rep may refer you to another dealer.

To be perfectly honest, I think your truck has been misdiagnosed and has had inexperienced techs working on it. There's absolutely no excuse for you going through rotors and pads every 2000 miles, your truck should get much better mileage from the brakes. The most abusive drivers I've seen still got 8-10,000 miles from their Tacomas' brakes.

Seeing that you still had the original brakes at 13,000 when you had the accident, I would doubt it's you causing it. Brake mileage since then has steadily declined , whatever's causing it is getting worse.

I think there may have been hidden damage from the accident. For what it's worth, I've seen two cases like your's in 18 years. Both of them were caused by damaged master cylinders which are located on the left side of the firewall. In both cases the vehicles were fine when cold, as they were driven and the brakes warmed up, the master cylinder piston began to stick in it's bore. This caused a slight amount of pressure to be maintained on the front brakes, not enough for the driver to notice anything wrong but enough to wear heck out of the brakes. If either vehicle was driven long enough in heavy traffic the brakes would get to the point where they would almost lock up by themselves.

This may/may not be the case with yours. The brake lines on the front of the truck should be thoroughly checked for damage/kinks. Have a sample of the brake fluid checked for contamination also, if the slightest amount of oil finds it's way into the master cylinder it can cause untold woes.

Hope this helps, good luck.

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