Is the Dealer Blowing Smoke About the Parking Brake

I have a 2022 ORP with about 3500 miles on it. So far I like the vehicle a lot. This weekend I had it parked in the driveway which a small incline. When I parked it, I put the vehicle in neutral to let it roll back on the parking brake before I shifted it into park. The vehicle rolled back and the parking brake never really engaged. Fast forward to this morning I took it to the dealer where I purchased it and was told by two separate people that there is nothing wrong. One of them even said that the parking brake is designed to work in conjunction with the park gear. Its's not meant to hold the full weight of the vehicle on a hill, if I was concerned just turn my wheels. I feel like this is BS. Anyone else have this issue with their 4Runner? Is the dealer service department correct?

 

Parking brake should be able to hold the vehicle still. Even at an inspection, they put it on and try to drive the car.
Push it stronger, see how it holds. Mine needs a good, serious push as well.

 

I haven’t tried relying on the brake while in neutral, but I do think it’s just not that strong. I had a local shop adjust mine and they said you can push the pedal to the floor pretty much no matter what you do, just the way it’s designed.

 

mine is very easy to apply and holds my truck on a hill. just a few clicks from the pedal and it holds.

 

Mine will hold if you slam it down pretty much as far as it will go, then like 2 clicks more. It's significantly more effort to use it than most other vehicles I've driven.

 

For whatever reason they come poorly adjusted. Most all of them need to be tightened. So yes, the dealer is full of shit

 

and this is how i apply my parking brake:

place in neutral
apply parking brake
release brake pedal so the parking brake is holding the vehicle
repress brake pedal
shift into park.

if you don't let the parking brake hold the vehicle its still being held in place by the transmission pawl, which defeats the purpose of using the parking brake to hold the vehicle in place.

 

yeah, i wonder if mine has already been adjusted (since i bought it used). with my old Infiniti, i had to press it all the way down to the floor to get it to hold on an incline.

 

I have a very steep section of my driveway. When I have an occasion to park a vehicle there I always chock the wheels.

Partially related to the topic at hand....One time I had my Tundra parked and running in very icy conditions (transmission in PARK, parking brake ON) on that particular steep section while I was spreading salt and I watched it start to slide down the driveway (towards my bridge and creek) with the rear wheels locked and the front tires turning. Just about the scariest thing I've ever seen.

 

https://www.nationwide.com/lc/resou...y brakes work,should your primary brakes fail.

According to this article, your emergency brake should be able to be used in an emergency, I am going to say you need to have yours looked at.

If dealership refuses, give Toyota a ring, im sure they will help ensure your safety features are working properly.

 

I can guarantee you that the parking brake in the 4Runner will not stop your truck in an emergency. That is laughable.

But it should be able to keep you parked on a hill.

Adjustment as easy, but you have to remove the rear brake rotors to do it.

Also remember to turn your wheel when parked on a hill.

 

It's because of your adorably tiny calves

 

Fool I may as well have CHF for as fat as my calves are

 

Then I guess it’s not an emergency brake.

 

I’d be happy if mine was just a good parking brake. It feels like the weakest such brake I’ve experienced (though admittedly I haven’t much tested it) and I just paid $60 to have it tightened.

 

No, it’s a parking brake.

more modern cars don’t even have the little drum parking brake, they just lock up the rear disc brakes electronically. Fun fact, these can literally get frozen in place if it’s cold outside.

 

Well I guess google is wrong

 

Yes they are.

I have never owned a large SUV with a cable operated handbrake or foot brake that could stop the vehicle in an emergency.

The most I could expect from them is to hold a vehicle on an incline.

 

Google? Wrong? What??

 

I’m just glad I have never had to test that theory out. Sounds like a harrowing experience.

Now, having said that, when I was 19 I drove my 1984 GTI for months without any brakes. Just lots of downshifting, yanking what little grip the hand brake had when in first gear and even using the sidewalk or median as a place to come to a stop.

And I was in Worcester, MA during that time. I would travel back to Maine in the early morning hours to avoid traffic. Can’t believe I never got in an accident.

 

My dad did that with a 1981 Jetta diesel Wolfsburg edition.

The brake cylinder just happened to crap out and he somehow managed to drive 30 miles home just using the transmission and parking brake, then he drove to the mechanic the next day.

My 60 series Land Cruiser had such a low first gear, if you managed to bang it into first, the thing would stop like you threw out an anchor.

 

Lol. The looks I’d get approaching red lights were quite stern.

 

That’s a pretty big pile of bullshit they served you up. It’s incredible a dealer wont address a customer’s issue, for what should be a PDI step (anything safety related should be).

Mine came poorly adjusted from the factory. It’s hard to tell when you get it because you dont know how it will be when you get it bedded in a little. Anyway, I think I adjusted mine at around 10000 miles, and again at 15,000 miles or so to get it really dialed in. It’s not super hard procedure to do, but a dealer probably wouldnt take the time to dial it in even if you paid them. And dont be surprised if you have to do it again, as parking brake adjustment is a regular upkeep/maintenance item. The cables stretch with use. They just rust and break or become inoperative with disuse.

Will a parking brake stop a 4runner in an emergency? Well, will your regular 4runner brakes stop you if you were going 200 miles an hour? No they wouldn't if you just dropped the anchor at that speed. They would probably melt.

Same thing, the parking brake will work to stop you in an emergency, but you have to use it wisely. Dont expect to come to a screeching halt at 70mph. But a well adjusted brake, if you bleed off speed with some downshifting, should get you stopped once you slow down a bit. Energy multiplies by exponents with speed. The energy carried at 70mph vs 50mph is huge. Yuge! Scrub some off first if possible, then use the e brake. Around town, I check my brake every once in a while to verify how long it takes me to slow/top. Of course it doesn't happen quickly compared to an entire hydraulic four disc brake system. But it will stop, well adjusted.

Just dont go testing this every week, the brake shoes are generally thin and will wear out. Maybe verify it to stop from 30mph every couple of years. If you dont use it to park though, you’re on your own…total crapshoot if they’ll work when you need them.

It’s good to view the parking brake as a redundant system, both for parking and emergency use. None of us are perfect, and if we ingrain redundancy in our driving habits, we guard against our own eventual screw ups, because we all screw up at some point. People get killed in driveways when folks have a brain fart and leave it in neutral in a moment of distraction.

Ever see that youtube video of the jeep that fell off black bear pass with a passenger on board? The guy got out to help someone, left in neutral, and apparently was not in the habit of setting the parking brake. His lady payed for that oversight.

When I saw that video, is when I went out to check if my parking brake would hold the 4runner on an incline. That test was failed until I adjusted it.

If your e-brake cant hold the vehicle on an incline, you either adjust it, or rip out the system and throw it away to save the weight.

 

Update: I tried mine today on a decent incline while in neutral. It held well. The pedal doesn’t feel like there’s much tension in the system, but it seems to work. I hadn’t even pushed it down near as far as it will go. I’m surprised by those who say they only need to press it a couple clicks. My wife’s Passport is like that, but not my 4R. Still, I think it’s working fine since local
shop adjusted it.

The important thing is it works, not how tight the pedal feels.

 

It’s adjustable, and I’m guessing most aren’t even properly adjusted from the factory.

I have to smash mine to the floor and there isn’t much resistance.

 

So i tried mine, and was in shock, I mash my pedal all the way to the floor. Also put it in neutral and started rolling with no resistance. Put it in drive truck lurched up an incline with parking break set. So what I learned was mine do nothing.

 

Are they not still adjustable with the "star wheel" through the opening in the back? I didn't think they needed the rotors removed.

 

*Internal drum for the parking brake rotor, my bad.

 

my driveway is a slope . so when the ICE storm is a coating on my drive way asphalt I put it in 4wd then put it in park . front /rear wheels lock up .. my drive way is not a very steep slope ...
I do use the park/emergency brake on a steep slope. because the transmission has a wear issue on the lock park pin ...

 

the parking brake shoes, have a lot of work , hard to change those shoes...