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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 15

#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.

#82 of 149 No brakes unless pumped 3-4 times HELP!!! by siennaman81

Jan 09, 2010 (9:21 pm)

I got a 99 sienna that I cannot figure out my brake problem that has been going on for about 2 or 3 months. Any kind of road condition i press the brake once to stop and nothing the pedal goes straight to the floor. Pump it 3 or 4 times and it stops fine and pedal is where it is supposed to be it dont drop at all. ABS works fine. Just replaced master cylinder and brake booster to no avail. Have bled the brakes NUMEROUS times and still not fixed. Any tips or advice to point me in the right direction??? No leaks anywhere and everything else works fine after pumped a few times. No noise at all when stopping. PLEASE HELP!!!!

#83 of 149 Re: right rear drum break sticking [knang8888] by knang8888

Jan 10, 2010 (12:16 am)

Replying to: knang8888 (May 25, 2009 2:04 am)
My front brake problem is finally gone. My front pads weared down after 2000 miles driving from the dealer's front brake job. The dealer offered to replace my front brake pads for free and replace my front rotors at $70 each (discounted rate). I believe the front rotors were resurfaced too much which cause the calipers to be over extended and locks sometimes . I did not have to replace the front calipers or any brake lines. After another 4000 miles of driving, my front brakes is still at 9mm and this is a good sign. My suggestion for those who wants to do front brake jobs, just replace the rotors instead of resurfacing them. My 2001 sienna has 194900 and the next project is to replace the rear and front shocks or struts. Not sure what my van has and I'm thinking to replace just the rear for now to save money.

#84 of 149 Re: No brakes unless pumped 3-4 times HELP!!! [siennaman81] by 1978transam

Jan 10, 2010 (8:44 am)

Replying to: siennaman81 (Jan 09, 2010 9:21 pm)
If you Google "bleed abs brakes" you'll find that the ABS side of the brake system can be bled. I don't know how that specifically applies to your 99 Sienna. Some systems require the connection of a diagnostic tool to the OBDII port to cycle the ABS controller during the bleeding process. You might be able to download just the section of the Sienna service manual that details brake service.

#85 of 149 Re: No brakes unless pumped 3-4 times HELP!!! [siennaman81] by ateixeira

Jan 11, 2010 (11:36 am)

Replying to: siennaman81 (Jan 09, 2010 9:21 pm)
My 93 Miata has a slave clyinder that failed, I had to rebuild that.
 
I'm not even sure if your 99 Sienna has one, but there may be other parts of the system you haven't looked at yet.
 
Do you have a shop manual for it?

#86 of 149 Re: Sienna Brake Failure from ABS Malfuntion [linea] by ckirk

Feb 08, 2010 (11:57 am)

Replying to: linea (Oct 27, 2006 5:39 pm)
I have experienced brake failure with 2004 xle awd. With no for-certain previous brake issues, in Nov, on totally dry street, was at 15-20mph when neighborhood dog strolled in front of us. I pressed brake progressively harder as the van barely slowed and the dog waddled just out of the way as we stopped just past him/her with brake pedal now to the floor.
   I had had an experience last winter on the freeway when I slammed on the brakes to avoid pile-up and the van seemed to be slowing gradually. I hadn't noticed ABS pulsing and wondered at the time if the brakes were working properly. I'm not sure about last years event, but the dog was for certain brake failure. Dealer said he couldn't duplicate failure and all was well with pads, etc;
   I've searched internet and have found linea's experience to be closest to mine. Any one else?

#87 of 149 Re: No brakes unless pumped 3-4 times HELP!!! [siennaman81] by rhapsody23

Feb 09, 2010 (9:54 pm)

Replying to: siennaman81 (Jan 09, 2010 9:21 pm)
I also have a 1999 Sienna, and I am experiencing similar problems. Sometimes when I press the brake it doesn't seem to go down as far as it should and it makes sort of a whirring noise. When this happens, I cannot stop quickly. Sometimes it happens when the streets are wet or icy or when I am going downhill, but sometimes it happens for no apparent reason. It feels as though the brakes are locking up. Once I had to put the car into neutral to avoid hitting the car in front of me at a stop sign. I took it to a tire and brake shop, and they said the ABS brakes are activating when they shouldn't (but no light is coming on). They wouldn't fix it because they said something about the computer needing reset. As others have noted, I too have spent more money on brakes for this van than for any other car I have ever owned. The car has over 220K miles and we have owned it for about four years. Does this sound familiar to anyone? The repair shop told me it was fine to drive, but it does not seem to be fine when I cannot come to a stop when I need to.

#88 of 149 Re: No brakes unless pumped 3-4 times HELP!!! [rhapsody23] by ateixeira

Feb 11, 2010 (6:18 am)

Replying to: rhapsody23 (Feb 09, 2010 9:54 pm)
I'm assuming a reputable mechanic has bled the entire system and there's no air in the lines?
 
Also, do you have the original brake master cylinder? I wonder if that's still OK.
 
220k miles - wow, all bets are off at that age. I'd be happy to have a van with that many miles on it on the road!

#89 of 149 Re: Sienna Brake Failure from ABS Malfuntion [ckirk] by jeffst

Mar 01, 2010 (11:51 am)

Replying to: ckirk (Feb 08, 2010 11:57 am)
I've had a similar experience and just filed a complaint with the NHTSA. You should do the same if you haven't already done so.
 
I have a 2005 Sienna XLE. It happened just last week, once to my wife and once to me while trying to stop at an intersection. The road was not slick. I pressed the pedal as hard as possible. No ABS pulsing occurred. The pedal did not sink to the floor despite the amount of pressing. I also tried pumping the brakes as I slowwwly came to a halt.
 
The brakes have otherwise worked fine. Since the problem is intermittent, my mechanic is having problems diagnosing the problem. He thinks it may be a vacuum issue. Have you had a diagnosis yet?
 
This is pretty scary.

Messages Page 9 of 15

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