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Steady On the Brakes- 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited March 2016 in Toyota
imageSteady On the Brakes- 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

While our long-term 2016 Toyota Tacoma may be well suited to off-road duty, there's a problem with the brakes that makes it a bit less loveable in the city.

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Comments

  • desmoliciousdesmolicious Member Posts: 671
    1/ Can you compare it to other TRDs?
    and
    b/ do the non TRDs do that?
  • ebeaudoinebeaudoin Member Posts: 509
    The TRD Off Road has rear drums, correct? Would that have anything to do with it? Or perhaps they just need to be more broken in?
  • nate001nate001 Member Posts: 102
    Whatever the reason for the brakes to grab like that, if it's the TRD package, or the drum brakes or something else, Toyota made a big deal when this vehicle launched that it still had drum brakes and it was better because of it. So they should have made sure that they worked flawlessly across all the trims since would be under extra scrutiny because of the comments that they made.
  • longtimelurkerlongtimelurker Member Posts: 455
    edited March 2016
    Oh, yeah...drums are so much better for off-road - I guess the problem with that scenario is that the front discs are going pretty much everywhere the rear drums are.

    Seriously, though, sounds like the discs and the drums don't have the same release point when you come off of the pedal. Probably don't have the same engage point under application, either. And no, for serious off-roading that is not gonna be good.
  • growlerguygrowlerguy Member Posts: 5
    " this thing isn't an ideal city truck, at least not in TRD Off Road trim."

    You seem surprised that to optimize performance in one area you give up something in another area.
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,745
    It's unlikely that the rear drum brakes have anything to do with the sensation. If the rear suddenly grabbed, the most likely result would be that the rear tires would skid. You can test this by going somewhere safe (large empty parking lot, rem; No brake lights when it does stop) and use the parking brake to stop the truck right at the end of the stop. (Back off the regular brakes as the parking brake is then applied at the end of the stop)
  • 5vzfe5vzfe Member Posts: 161
    I think this is more of an issue of how Toyota designs the mechanisms that act between the pedal and the brakes themselves. On my 4runner it's tricky to come to a gentle stop as well - it's possible, but it requires a fair amount of finesse. The brake pedal itself is a little squishy and weak for about the first inch of travel, then you feel the brakes "bite" and from there the pressure is smooth and linear. My issue is that the pedal travel is shorter than you expect and this is where it's tricky - there's just too small of a window between full braking power and just enough to hold the truck in place, so you need to know just when to back off.
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    Don't be so quick to beat on the drums. They are small, simple, and effective for rear axle where they provide 20% or less of the braking.
  • longtimelurkerlongtimelurker Member Posts: 455
    moparbad said:

    Don't be so quick to beat on the drums. They are small, simple, and effective for rear axle where they provide 20% or less of the braking.

    Even a pickup configured as this one is for off-roading rather than towing or hauling is much more likely than a car or even an SUV to be used for towing or hauling, has a much higher payload or tow rating relative to its GVWR than a car or SUV (for the most part), and when it is used for towing or hauling, the rear brakes then take a much higher proportion of the work than they do when the vehicle is unloaded.
  • maxtitanmaxtitan Member Posts: 10
    It's probably the brake booster. TRD Offroad have a hydraulic brake booster instead of a vacuum booster. I rather have a hydro booster even if it means a little more grabby brakes.
  • csubowtiecsubowtie Member Posts: 143
    longtimelurker said:



    Even a pickup configured as this one is for off-roading rather than towing or hauling is much more likely than a car or even an SUV to be used for towing or hauling, has a much higher payload or tow rating relative to its GVWR than a car or SUV (for the most part), and when it is used for towing or hauling, the rear brakes then take a much higher proportion of the work than they do when the vehicle is unloaded.

    It's not about static weight, it's about weight transfer. Have you ever noticed that semi trucks still run drum brakes? So do dump trucks. Unless your tow ball or payload are below the front wheel centerline, any time you brake it's trying to transfer weight to the front tires and off of the rears. The harder you brake, the more effectively the front tires grip the road and the more work the front brakes do. And if you're not braking hard enough for the weight transfer to be a big issue, then who cares, the rear brakes aren't working to their full potential anyways. Stop harping on drum brakes just because they were found on older cars. It's like the people who complain about pushrod engines, or cars with torque converters instead of dual clutch. Just Buzzwords man.
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