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If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.
Last april the brakes started to pulse. When I slowed at highway speeds (as entering an exit ramp) there was a pulsing in the brake pedal. I brought it in and was told I had mud in the tires. They cleaned out the tires and things were better.
This spring I had a flat tire and when I brought it in for repair I was told that the rear brake pads were shot and it was "metal on metal." They replaced the pads.
I had not heard any warning squeal.
Now, a few weeks later, the pulse is back in the brake pedal. It mostly happens when slowing down on the highway. There is also a very faint whine when I accelerate at slow speeds, and I am not sure that is related.
Any thoughts?
I ahave the same problem with only one difference. When the car is drivin more than the 5 mph and the ABS start to apply the brake, only the slip light and a sound come on.
Do you guys think it is the same ABS problem or this is different ?
thanks in advance for your help
I have 2004 AWD SIENNA. A week ago, when I started the car in a freezing morning and drove in subdivision road, the slippery light and beep came on and the break acted here and there on the wheels. At the very beginning, I thought the road was slippery. But it was not the case. There was no way my van was skidding all the time. I was only driving at 10 MPH. Then I realized the VSC was wrongly activated. Whenever I get to more than 10MPH, VSC got activated and broke the speed down to 5 MPH. I could only drive at 5MPH without getting VSC activated.
Then I realized I could not drive this van on the road. I parked it back in garage. The next day, my wife drove it out of the garage and got the same symptom. We put the van back to garage for another 3 days before I was about to call a tow truck to tow it to a dealer for examination. I tried it again. Miraculously, the problem went away.
I went to the dealer and talked to the service adviser, he said he knew nothing about the problem (recall etc.) and asked me to bring the van back for service once the problem happens again.
I have to correct the title of this thread. It was not the ABS (When break peddle pressed, break pulses when wheel blocks, no light or beep in this case) that was activated, it was VSC (slippery light and beep comes on, break activates). It was not traction control either (only light will come on, no beep). All three features are controlled by the same module.
My van appears to be working correctly now, but I dare not drive it far away from home. I know the problem is not gone. It will come back at the most inconvenient time. I do not want to be stranded in a snow storm at -30 degrees F that I can only drive at 5MPH (That is what the weather is like here in Chicago at this time of the year). I do not want to be thousand miles away from home when the problem happens again.
I read someone wrote that the dealer cleaned wheel sensors and recalibrated the system and got the problem fixed. I went under my van and inspected the 4 speed sensors (The only sensors that are exposed to the outside). I did not find visible unusual dirtiness, snow, ice etc.
I would be more than happy to get the VSC feature disabled when it false activated so that I could drive the van to the dealer instead of getting it towed, or I could drive home. VSC is just a nice to have feature, not essential to the van. I have been driving a car with no ABS, Trac control, VSC for more than 10 years. The dealer and Toyota 800 number told me there was no way I could disable VSC.
I did some reading and found there were 2 VSC related relay blocks in the fuse box under the hood. They have "VSC MSR" and "VSC Fail" printed on them. I tried to remove one of them and then both of them. The ABS and VSC light passed the start up test and went off. They come on once I drive for about 50 feet. Now the van can drive without ABS and VSC. Mission accomplished.
After I put the VSC relay blocks back and drive for about 50 feet, both ABS and VSC light went off. The ABS and VSC are back again.
I have to make a disclaimer even thought I am not claiming anything. You do whatever you do to your car/van at your risk. I am not telling you what to do. I am just sharing what I think I would do when the problem occurs.
After I found out how to disable VSC, I drove my van 200 miles away to Wisconsin Dells for 3 days. It made the round trip no problem.
I have to be cautious to see when my Sienna will fail again.
You may want to look for something like that.
Could also be the bulb but when you are in there you'll know.
Took to dealer and checked ABS and flushed brake line.
Didn't fix problem. The sound will stop if I pump the brake pedel.
However, it will do it again when I press on the peddle. It happens every 7 out of 10 times I push on the brakes.
Any ideas as to what the problem is or where to start?
Thanks
Oct 24'09. 190K miles reading. Well, i heard some metal to metal noise and I took it back to the dealer. They replaced my front pads for free as a 1-time courtesy but I have to pay for front rotors replacement for $176. My frustration started after the initial front brakes job on Dec '08. The dealer also mentioned that the master cylinder will need to be replaced and my calipers will need to be rebuild b. This is suggested because the dealer feel that the front pads will wear down fast and I will be back for pads replacement in a few months. I declined the estimate of $500+. Should I get this done at the dealer or should I try another non-delaer replace place. Any advice out there?
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.
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.
CS
PS: There is a lot of good info at:
http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/toyota/sienna/r52713/comments/page-3/
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.
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.
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?
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?
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!
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.
Thanks
Just like old tires that still may have some tread left, you're better safe than sorry.
Even at 60k miles I've seen brakes that were caked with black brake dust, a total mess.
I also had to buy a rebuilt rear caliper on my Miata, though it was old at the time it only had 70k miles or so.
They should be clean and well lubricated so they move freely.
I'd have the system bled to make sure there are no air bubbles in the brake lines.
It is a heavy vehicle, so give yourself plenty of space to stop, also.
Actually I am much more irritated by a very rapid wear of both front and rear pads, I have to change them every 10-15k miles in a mostly "suburban" driving, and as far as I could gather, this is also pretty typical for Sienna. I think maybe its Camry-like brakes are just inadequate for a minivan. Or maybe this is the electronic brake distribution thing, like with newer Honda Accords. This second hypothesis might explain why not everybody experienced this (not all Siennas were equipped with this option back then). Anyway, can't wait to see the reports about brakes of a next generation Sienna.
Back to Sienna, this is not that the brakes would not completely release. I checked the wheel heating right after the trip, it is OK. The fuel consumption of my Sienna is pretty lousy in mostly "suburban" driving, about 18-19 mpg, but that is mostly in line with CR and others experience. (Only most people call this "city driving", whereas it actually is not. City driving - it is, by correct definition, stop-and-go somewhere in Manhattan.) We are getting 26-27 on a highway (and 28 when we purposely observe speed limits), so brake mechanics is not a problem.
BTW, tires are also gone too soon. I blamed lousy OEM Dunlops for lasting only 20k and installed Yokohamas, but the improvement is just marginal. I did some research, and found that many-many Sienna users have exactly the same complaints about brake pads and tires, much more than owners of other minivans. But then again, many other Sienna owners report better longevity.
Other than that and 3 problems with doors, Sienna is a very pleasant vehicle, and when I hear complaints about "disconnected feel" and "numb steering", always some old proverbs come to mind, but I don't want to inadvertently offend anyone.