Steps to Engage/Dis-engage Parking Brake

The biggest conclusion is that (at least with my 4runner) it was absolutely necessary to take advantage of the adjustment under the center console. Adjusting it only at the star wheel was completely insufficient. That’s how far out of adjustment my parking brake was.

By the way, I do recommend adjusting at the center console, not at the pedal. The main reason is that I cant see what I’m doing at the pedal. In contrast, it’s very easy to see with the center console cover off. You need to see it well because you need to ensure you still have some slack in the line when the brake is disengaged.

I’m currently at nearly 80k miles and havent needed to adjust it since my last update to that thread. The parking brake will still hold firmly on a steep hill or hold against a fair bit of throttle with the pedal clicked down about 3/4 of the way down.

 

Part of the instructions posted in McSpazatron’s thread include backing off on the cable tension before adjusting the shoes with the star adjusters. This would imply that readjusting the cable tension is a necessary part of the process.

 

I think maybe somebody might have said it’s not necessary to adjust at the cables inside the vehicle because most cars aren’t as horribly adjusted from the factory, and it’s not part of the normal process. Really the cable should be set up at the factory correctly, the. It wouldn’t need to be ever touched again.

But mine was exceptionally bad, there was no way to adjust the shoes via the star enough for them to work properly.

As far as backing off the cable tension before adjusting the at the shoes…truth be told, I don’t remember the details. All I know is that I didn’t want to inadvertently adjust the cables so tight that it would prevent the shoes from releasing all the way. It was probably related to that.

 

I'm the one that did the e-brake adjustment at the pedal (and not the center console).

Mine too was terrible from the factory.

I overtightened it at first and quicky noticed some rear brake drag but I backed it off and it's working great.

No regrats!

 

How many clicks does yours take to hold the vehicle in place?

 

I'll have to count next time but I'm guessing 7 or 8.

I'll get back to you with an exact number.

 

In post 56 of McSpazatron’s thread, @auspilot quotes the parking brake adjustment procedure from the repair manual.

5 to 7 clicks is the specification.

 

The Toyota parking brake has been shitty since the 70-series Land Cruiser. So much so the Australians retrofit electronic parking brakes to them:

 

I am actually surprised to hear the inconsistency of the mechanical parking brake set up from the factory. both of mine hold the vehicles okay from the dealer, even on the steeper hills I park on. Granted the pedals do end up a little close to the floor and requires a firm shove of the left foot but properly adjusted they work just fine.

 

Yeah well the buck is supposed to stop at the dealer pre-delivery inspection. That’s where the inconsistency comes in.

 

Mild incline - 6
Very steep incline - 10

 

Toyota dealers are no better than other dealers, if consumers don't call them out on it, they will keep doing the bare minimum to get buyers on their way.

Based on the comments I have seen regarding parking brake on this forum, I can see a lot of people both (1) don't check them when taking delivery, and (2) don't bother adjusting them during ownership, instead just call it outdated and hope electronic parking brakes will solve it all.

It's not a toyota thing either, I have heard similar whining from Super Duty owners on Ford forums on "oh my, my mechanical parking brake is sooooo hard to use". ROFL. I saw a video today on F150s on how to put parking brake in a service position to allow rear wheels to rotate and work on brakes, I suppose. I lol'ed at how complex manufacturers have had to make a process to replace a simple foot press or pulling a latch, simply because even supposed grown men can't be bothered to manually use or adjust a parking brake on supposedly manly full size trucks, I guess we can't expect too much from 4Runner buyers either if full size owners can't even manage to use a similar parking brake set up.

 

The idea is to make sure that the weight of the car is on the parking brake before you put it in park hence the neutral first then the emergency brake...
Even if you put the emergency brake the car might go backwards a little bit if it's on a steep hill. So if it's in neutral first it's better...then after engagement of brake and no more rolling, park

 

How far is going to move? One inch? You guys are insane with these wacky OCD things.

 

I’m not sure if you’ve ever noticed, but sometimes it’s possible to set the brakes with significant tension/load on the driveline. This especially happens on hills if the weight of the vehicle is on the park pawl, or if you park with the engine still on high-idle. Then next time you shift out of park it’s kind of hard to move the shifter and pops into reverse with a loud bang. But, if you verify the car holds with parking brake in neutral, it also unloads the driveline as well. Then the shifts out of park will be nice and smooth the next time you use it.

It’s really not a complicated process, and it doesn’t take any effort or thought to do once you figure it out. Just like any other technique you use as a driver.

 

This makes me feel a bit conflicted…I get it, but I kind of wonder if the seller of this product knows it’s possible to adjust them correctly.

 

You can just not release the parking brake until after you shift into drive. The brake will hold you so there is no roll back. I do it on boat ramps.

 

I don’t think anybody releases the brake before shifting into drive…do they? That seems so wrong!

In any case, I never release the brakes until I’m ready to roll. And I still can get a bang if I previously set the parking brake with driveline tension. Maybe you haven’t experiences what I’m trying to get at?

By the way, do you use the parking brake when you’re launching the boat? How do you set it? Actually, does it even work under water? I’m curious, since I’ve never trailered/launched boats.

 

99% chance he more than anyone else knows it's entirely doable to adjust, being a presumably mechanically inclined person, but then he won't have a market to sell this product to. It's more beneficial to him to convince people there is a need for the product than to give people pointers on how to adjust the OEM brake cable tension. If people are too quick to give up on the factory set up and buy his device, why would he argue with success.

 

Your wheels shouldn’t be in the water when launching a boat.

 

I hardly see people use their emergency brake on steep driveways or inclines, which is not good .
Luckily the new cars have a sensor that will automatically engage the electric emergency brake if it detects steep incline. (ex: Volvo)
I always try to use the emergency brake on inclines...
In the old days where you have the brake handle between seats, it was much easier to bring a slow car to a stop (emergency) incase the brake pedal fails. with a foot brake like 4Runner it is still doable but harder. Now on the new electronic one press button brakes, I have no idea how you would do that....

 

The hand pulled center console brake handle is the best for the purpose, 200 Series Land Cruiser used it up to the end, as did the 3rd gen Tacomas and FJs. A lot better to apply leverage that way.

But now the focus is to clear up the center console so all the purses and murses have a place to go along with those gigantic tumblers, many vehicles don't even have a shift lever anymore for the sake of a pretty center console and column shifters are on the way out too because it's been around too long.

 

I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have a boat lol

 

​

• The parking pawl is very robust.
• There are few anecdotal reports of damaged parking pawls.
• The owner’s manual procedure for setting the parking brake:

1. 1. With the shift lever in D, depress the brake pedal.
   2. Set the parking brake, and shift the shift lever to P.
   3. Vehicles without a smart key system: Turn the engine switch to the “LOCK” position to stop the engine.
   4. Vehicles with a smart key system: Press the engine switch to stop the engine.
   • There is no mention of neutral.

• When we shift out of park on a hill and the parking pawl clangs loudly, we all wince.
• We imagine that clanging sound is causing either immediate or cumulative damage, but we don’t really know.
• We love our 4Runners.
• We invent and follow a procedure that prevents the scary clanging sound from happening.
  
• We feel better, knowing that we are doing everything possible to preserve and honor our beloved 4Runners.

Disclaimer: on hills I step on the brake, shift into neutral, set the parking brake, shift into park, turn off the engine, and exit the vehicle with a look of smug satisfaction on my face, knowing that I love my 4Runner more than the “clangers” love theirs.

 

It does not mean that putting it in neutral would not work or is a bad idea ..

If you do the neutral way.. the transmission would have no load on it what soever.. the weight will be on brakes 100%

Do what you feel is right for you ..

 

Exactly. it allows the driver to be sure the parking brake is holding the vehicle prior to any load its put on the transmission.

For me it's 2nd nature since half my vehicles are manuals and I always come to a stop, put in neutral, pull parking brake, turn off engine, then put it in 1st gear. Sort of standardized across the board such that transmissions are never holding the vehicle unless used as a back up in the unlikely event that the parking brake fails.

 

Uh ahh

Manual.. that explains it...
You must be old school like me... Lol

 

Old school....OCD....or as I would like to think, treat the vehicle with some care and that little daily routine can't hurt. Truth be told with so many 4Runners out there being driven by people who don't even use parking brakes, I'm sure it's durable enough to withstand significant wear on the pawl. But why chance it with mine, it's not like skipping that step in N is going to save me hours of time a year to allow me to learn another language or something, LOL.

 

I read a while back about the neutral thing, don't remember where, but started doing that not long after. I have a bit of a down slope from the street to my fence in the driveway, so once I come to a halt with the brake on, I put it in neutral, then apply the emergency brake. If I let off the brakes and the vehicle stays put, I shift into Park. Done. That way I know the e-brake is holding the vehicle, and not the parking pawl.

 

Yes, that's how I do with all my automatic transmission vehicles. I sometime tow about 11-12k with my F250 and it is critical that I get the truck to rest on the parking brake, else it's 20k+ of weight on the parking pawl.

I used to not do it as diligently and once some years ago with the 68RFE equipped Ram 2500 I had, the shifter almost couldn't move out of park, the weight of the truck plus trailer was square on the pawl. That nasty dragging screech to get the transmission out of Park, one time was enough for me to remember the lesson.