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Toyota Sienna Brakes

149 messages,  Last post on Apr 04, 2013 at 1:48 PM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Van

Messages Page 9 of 16

#72 of 149 Mr. by leon23

Nov 06, 2009 (11:40 am)

I have new purchased Sienna XLE on 7/2007, 14,000miles on it, my wife drives it as house wife car. At last week regular service at Toyota dealer, it was found that needs to change front and rear brake pad and rotor, front 3mm and rear 1mm left. This is my fourth new Toyota cars, and I never hear such thing before. My questions are how often this early brake problems happen to Sienna? Should I seek second opinion? Should dealer cover this problem although brake is not included in warranty? The repair work they quoted for me is over $1150,00. Thanks.

#73 of 149 Re: Mr. [leon23] by 1978transam

Nov 06, 2009 (12:37 pm)

Replying to: leon23 (Nov 06, 2009 11:40 am)
I have a 2004 Sienna LE with about 89000 miles. I replaced the front pads at 40000 without turning the rotors, Cost was about $50. I replaced the front pads and shims and had the rotors machined at 75000 miles. Cost was about $125. A brake job at 14000 seems very premature. Does your wife "ride the brakes"?

#74 of 149 Re: Mr. [1978transam] by leon23

Nov 07, 2009 (8:41 pm)

Replying to: 1978transam (Nov 06, 2009 12:37 pm)
Thank you very much for the information. I have never seen such thing before either. The Toyota dealer insists that there are no other mechanical defect to cause this premature brake problems, they decline to pay for those repair job, but would like to ride with each of us to see our driving habbit. I told them this is our fourth Toyota car, we have trade in our previous 3 cars at 40k-50k and never have brake problems. Should I send the van for second opinion? I am afraid that this problem will happen again if there are some defects some where, that the dealer did not find out. Can malfunctioning ABS cause extra wearing of brakes since the dealer said the calipers are "fine". Thanks.

#75 of 149 Re: Mr. [leon23] by ateixeira

Nov 09, 2009 (8:51 am)

Replying to: leon23 (Nov 06, 2009 11:40 am)
I have an LE purchased 4 months before yours, with 28k miles. My brake pads aren't even worn significantly.
 
I'm very gentle on the brakes, though, coasting to red lights to save gas for instance. This also helps my mileage.
 
Your case does seem very unusual, but warranty doesn't cover wear and tear items like brakes, clutch, etc.
 
Your van is a bit heavier, but I agree with the poster above who asks about her driving style.

#76 of 149 Re: Mr. [leon23] by 1978transam

Nov 09, 2009 (9:31 am)

Replying to: leon23 (Nov 07, 2009 8:41 pm)
ABS does not apply the brakes. It modulates the the application of the brakes to prevent wheel lockup. I believe VSC has the capability to selectively apply the brakes to prevent a skid.

#77 of 149 Sienna brake problems by leon23

Nov 10, 2009 (11:12 am)

Thank you guys out there, those message really help me a lot. Today we went to dealer for driving test since the Toyota rep likes to see our driving habit to make sure we do not drive with foot on brake at the same time ( I never heard of this kind of driving). After that, the tech did show us the wearing of the pads, I just can not believe my eyes, 3mm in fronts and 1mm in rear. the rear rotors have been unevenly wearing and needs to be changed as well. The dealer gave me a deal, Toyota will pay the front pad and rotor repair, I will pay rear pads and rotor replacement, which cost $580. I even do not know whether this problems could happen again or not, because nobody knows the reason except Toyota. I guess that I either pay for it to get it done, or may fight for lemon car?( In MA, under 150k, if there are serious problems, but I do not know this brake early wearing belongs to this category).

#78 of 149 Re: Sienna brake problems [leon23] by yatesjo

Nov 10, 2009 (12:15 pm)

Replying to: leon23 (Nov 10, 2009 11:12 am)
That the rear brakes would show much more wear than the front brakes is VERY abnormal and competent tech should red flag that right away. The front brakes do most of the work stopping the van and should wear much faster than the rear (my personal experience on FWD cars is replacing front brakes twice as often as rear).
 
Is it possible you wife has been driving with the parking brake on? The parking brake only applies to the rear wheels and driving around with tha on would wear the rear bakes very quickly.
 
If you wife insists she doesn't drive with the parking brake on the does she see the VSC light very often? The VSC system applies the brakes at individual wheels when it senses a loss of traction or control. If the rear calipers are good and the system isn't over pressuring the rear, then the VSC is the only other system I can think of that could be causing so much wear on the rear.
 
Also, what is your fuel economy like on the van? My 2008 LE runs around 19-20 MPG in town and 25 on the highway. If your brakes are applying constantly then you should see a hit in fuel economy.

#79 of 149 Re: 2004 Sienna Rear Brake Shoe Thickness [ateixeira] by csmith6789

Nov 13, 2009 (6:58 am)

Replying to: ateixeira (May 26, 2009 11:38 am)
I have paid $2,000 for brake service since buying my 2002 Sienna van. Now the shop wants to replace the front struts and shocks, saying that they are weakened due to all the weight of the van during stopping transferring to the front brakes/axle. Before dRopping another $ 900 into the front end, any advice out there?
 
CS
 
PS: There is a lot of good info at:
 http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/toyota/sienna/r52713/comments/page-3/

#80 of 149 Re: 2004 Sienna Rear Brake Shoe Thickness [csmith6789] by 1978transam

Nov 13, 2009 (8:31 am)

Replying to: csmith6789 (Nov 13, 2009 6:58 am)
If the struts are worn you will likely notice the front or back of the vehicle bouncing up and down while driving. One purpose of struts is to dampen the up/down movement of the suspension. If your back is sufficiently strong, you can duplicate this up/down oscillation by lifting up and pushing down on the bumpers several times and letting go. The car should stop bouncing up and down within one cycle if the struts are good. The shop should be able to demonstrate this. How long do you plan to keep the vehicle?
 
As vehicles age the coil springs weaken and sometimes break. To replace the coil springs the struts must be removed to access the coil springs. If you are replacing the struts have the shop check the ride height and also the coil springs for cracks and corrosion.

#81 of 149 Re: Sienna brake problems [yatesjo] by leon23

Nov 15, 2009 (10:33 am)

Replying to: yatesjo (Nov 10, 2009 12:15 pm)
Thank you very much, Yatesjo. You are really good at it. I am going to let Toyota dealer to check the VSC since we do have tough winter in MA. It is odd to me as well as common knowledge for such unusual wearing, but Toyota insists there are nothing mechanically wrong. They agree to pay half the cost for replace both front and rear break pads and rotors. I am going to do it next Monday. Then trade in this van since I do not trust it anymore.
I do have very similar MPG as yours, that is why I believed what the tech told me. I do learn a lot from you and really appreciate it.

Messages Page 9 of 16

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