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Front Brake squeal especially when cold and damp

Discussion in '5th Gen 4Runners (2010-2024)' started by RunnerMan, Feb 14, 2020.

  1. Feb 14, 2020 at 6:10 PM
    #1
    RunnerMan

    RunnerMan [OP] New Member

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    First, it should not be the wear indicator. They were replaced by the dealer last fall. The dealer replaced pads and turned the rotors because of warping. The 4R is garage kept. I live in Florida and on wet days the brakes squeal at low speed until they get warmed up. This wasn’t too bad until I went to St. Louis for the past 2 months. Also garage kept there. However, on damp days and especially cold damp days (there were many like that there) the brakes would squeal real bad. Didn’t matter if it was 2 days sitting in the garage or 2 hours sitting in a parking lot. Once they got cold, if it was damp outside, they squealed.

    Does anyone have an idea why it’s doing this? I should point out that they did this before the brake job but not near as badly. Thanks everyone!
     
  2. Feb 14, 2020 at 6:20 PM
    #2
    Tama1968

    Tama1968 New Member

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    interesting. I'm in north florida...80's yesterday, 50's today. mine do the same thing. brakes function perfectly and rotors look good. my 4R is new to me so I just figured it was a platform specific quirk. I'll be following to see what people have to say about this.
     
  3. Feb 14, 2020 at 6:23 PM
    #3
    Dillusion

    Dillusion New Member

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    I'm guessing since the dealer did it OEM parts?
     
  4. Feb 14, 2020 at 6:51 PM
    #4
    RunnerMan

    RunnerMan [OP] New Member

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    Thanks y’all. Yes I’m wondering about oem parts too, but I would think a lot of people would be complying about this if that were the case. My previous T4R (‘02) never had this problem but totally different vehicle, huh? My first thought was maybe the rotors are just susceptible to oxidation but not when I discovered how much worse it is and the colder it is when damp. And I should note that I never noted that it happened on cold dry days.
     
    Tama1968[QUOTED] likes this.
  5. Feb 15, 2020 at 3:30 AM
    #5
    SCgman

    SCgman New Member

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    Front plate bracket install Step hitch insert install Cargo area Pet barrier Protective seat covers Front seats Yakima roof rack- detachable Rear molle storage panels w/ Connecting shelf
    Just recently noticed my 18 4r brakes will squeal for a bit after taking unpaved county roads or driving around the farm property....figuring dirt and moisture. Clears up after normal driving.
     
  6. Feb 15, 2020 at 6:52 AM
    #6
    j cat

    j cat New Member

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    spacer lift front 1inch
    so your rotors were in need of a cut... warped. that could be they F'ed up the cut. another issue is the pads were binding in the caliper. or your caliper is in need of replacing due to a bind on the piston.

    so you are not a DIY so bring to another repair shop , that has a high rating on this work.
    I do brake work and when I replace pads I open the brake fluid bleed screw then push the piston all the way back... reason I do this is the caliper has a damaged fluid which causes the caliper to lock up...
    I have 20 plus old vehicles no brake noise ..that is how I do it .
     
    SlvrSlug and RunnerMan[OP] like this.
  7. Feb 15, 2020 at 7:19 AM
    #7
    PVT Pablo

    PVT Pablo

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    Brake disks by design are uncoated raw metal, they have to be like this so the pads have something to bite into, and there is uniformity to the metal for heat transfer.

    When brakes get hot, you park your car, and its damp and warm outside, oxidation (rust) happens even faster on the uncoated metal disks. Take a look next time in the morning and you'll see a thin layer of rust.

    If the squeaking goes away after applying your breaks a few times in the morning, it's probably rust. If its continuous I'd look into other reasons.
     
    nimby likes this.
  8. Feb 15, 2020 at 7:20 AM
    #8
    RunnerMan

    RunnerMan [OP] New Member

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    Thanks, J Cat. Before the brake job I had issues with sudden stops. Under sudden hard braking at in town speeds I couldn’t modulate the pressure to prevent lockup. They just seemed to grab and even the ABS didn’t seem to work properly. I haven’t noticed that since the brake job, I think they bled the entire brake system at the time. I was wondering if improper (or no) component lubrication could contribute to this?
     
  9. Feb 15, 2020 at 7:57 AM
    #9
    j cat

    j cat New Member

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    spacer lift front 1inch
    on these runners you put the brake pedal down to a point were the vehicle stopping will cause the brake operation to increase the brake pressure has a brake pump in the system....this did cause me to not tail gate when driving in the runner..
    on my GM vehicles if the tires start to change speed on braking then the ABS turns on and the brakes stop then turn back on..totally reversed in the brake operation..GM/Toyota..

    many shops do not open the bleed screw then push back the caliper piston ..
    pushing the piston back will cause these type issues.. warped rotors/cal piston..
    some pads I installed I had to file the pad backing plate.. reason was the pads has burrs on them and they got stuck.. so I filed them down so the pads fit in place easy no ..tools,,, some on these runners had the pins rust up ..
    when I do the tire rotations I check all the brakes .. I check the pins for rust ..
    I have 28K miles on my runner now and the rotors are like a mirror .. no grooves stopping is good..

    but as you and I have is the brake pedal goes to a point were the brake pump turns on .. weird for me ..pads sticking will cause a noise ..can be many items causing this ..wrench monkeys just replace parts not doing the study of why it is causing the noise..
     
    RunnerMan[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  10. Feb 15, 2020 at 8:17 AM
    #10
    RunnerMan

    RunnerMan [OP] New Member

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    Thanks J Cat and everyone. I’m going call the dealer and have them look at the brakes and call be back to see for myself the condition of the calipers and rotors. Maybe speaking directly to their mechanic will clarify for me their competence and SOPs. Then I’ll decide if I should take it to another shop. There’s another shop here that I’ve used for my ‘02 before that I trust and probably should have done that to begin with.
     
    glwood54 likes this.
  11. Feb 15, 2020 at 10:08 AM
    #11
    nimby

    nimby in the drink

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    You're chasing a non-issue, IMO.

    Read what PVT Pablo said above. A little moisture rusts the rotors a tiny bit and your initial breaking clears that up, albeit with a few squeaks. But the squeaks go away and don't last.
     
  12. Feb 15, 2020 at 10:30 AM
    #12
    RunnerMan

    RunnerMan [OP] New Member

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    Yeah, I read that and fully understand about the rust formation, but it is not normal. To me it IS an issue because it worsened after the brake job. I’ll post an update when I resolve this.
     
  13. Feb 15, 2020 at 10:46 AM
    #13
    nimby

    nimby in the drink

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    Fair enough.

    Best of luck.
     
  14. Feb 15, 2020 at 10:53 AM
    #14
    thirdgen

    thirdgen New Member

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    I would verify that the indexing pins are clean and lubricated.
    Additionally The cold weather issue could be resolved by gluing the pad backs to the caliper pistons ( there is high temp adhesive for this task).
     
    RunnerMan[OP] and j cat like this.
  15. Feb 15, 2020 at 1:26 PM
    #15
    CO&NC 4Runner

    CO&NC 4Runner New Member

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    I have 2020 OFP and have squeaking both in damp and dry conditions, cold and warm temps. Have 13,000 miles and mentioned to the dealer at the 10,000 mile service and they said everything is ok. Evidently everything is not ok. Will have dealer look at them again at the 15K service.
     
  16. Feb 15, 2020 at 2:44 PM
    #16
    j cat

    j cat New Member

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    spacer lift front 1inch
    when did noise occur ? mileage of the noise began ?
     
  17. Feb 15, 2020 at 3:12 PM
    #17
    CO&NC 4Runner

    CO&NC 4Runner New Member

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    Started in December, temp around 3°, very little snow. Mileage was around 8500 thru 9000 with cold temps. For January and February, temps were between 40 and 60 after rain. This my 9th 4R and have not had this issue with the previous 8.
     
  18. Feb 15, 2020 at 3:27 PM
    #18
    j cat

    j cat New Member

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    rotate the tires and do the brake hardware check .. could be a de icing particles or factory did not do the lube properly .

    de icing sand/other crap can cause this noise with pads binding ...check that the pads move easy use a c clamp push the cal back see if it is not binding or if its dirty clean it up ..
     
  19. Feb 15, 2020 at 3:57 PM
    #19
    CO&NC 4Runner

    CO&NC 4Runner New Member

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    Thanks for the feedback. I will mention your suggestion to the dealer at the next service.
     
  20. Feb 16, 2020 at 8:35 AM
    #20
    Rustleo

    Rustleo New Member

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    I have 2019 trd and the right front brake squeals since day one. 5000 miles later still does. Dealer says condensation. I say thats selective cond that only goes after one wheel? Gonna deal with it until i can afford to go ceramic pads
     
  21. Feb 16, 2020 at 9:39 AM
    #21
    j cat

    j cat New Member

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    spacer lift front 1inch
    go to another repair shop/dealership... post that the dealership you went to ,did nothing this is pure B/S...

    the brake system needs a bleed/pad check for any binding issues..
    very possible the brake system may have a little air in the brake fluid.

    no need for ceramic brake pads. I do the tire rotations and inspect the brakes every 7K miles perfect brake system ..looks like 70K miles on pad replacing for me..
    I had a problem on my GM truck with the parking brakes ..I never used the park brakes .. @20K miles the day I was gonna bring it to the state inspection I put the park brake on and NO park brakes did not work.. brought to the dealership ,, the park brake shoes are worn out you need to pay 250 bucks for the work .. I said F you azz hole .. this is a screw up...
    so what I did was found out that the shoe holder did not keep the shoes in place so I fabricated a clip to hold the shoes in place .. 2000 gm truck still working no shoes need replacing..

    10 years later I got a notice that GM was sued because of this failure .. another vehicle cover up..

    bleed your brakes check it out
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2020
    RunnerMan[OP] likes this.

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