#Brake Issues/Problems/Questions
Rookie
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 40
Likes: 17
From: CA
I got my 2011 about 2 months ago. This happened to me about a week after I got it when I had to hit the brakes pretty hard to stop quickly. I didn't feel like I hit them hard enough to do anything other than just stop quick but the pedal kind of lost its feeling for a second and the tires skidded for about 5 feet and then it came back. Scared the crap out of me. Never had a car behave that way before.
Pole Position
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,669
Likes: 223
From: DE
Exactly how you described...I know there were some recalls for rx and other Toyota vehicles for brakes booster/ but nothing for gx or 4runners
This has happen to me as well a couple of times. I have a 2011 base. My issue is normal breaking over uneven road/pothole or train tracks and the ABS is activated with a rumble but it’s like it brakes hard at first then releases which adds more distance before full stop. It doesn’t happen often but like the poster says it’s friggin scary. It literally takes control of the brakes then suddenly gives it back.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: AL
So I got the GX back and its just as I suspected. They adjusted the play out of it, but the deep braking they say there is nothing wrong that they can find. Computer says it's all good. Needless to say I tested the GX and the play is gone, but the actual braking and where it engages is still the same. I needed to go home so I left.
If I decide to bring the issue up again I'll have to measure where the brake engages and compare that to the other GX's to prove my point to the dealership. I'm sure they suspect a problem and there are probably many reasons why they don't want to address it. I know it sounds like I'm being picky, but if you were in our GX, you would instantly know what I'm talking about. I should have gotten smart and asked a random person there for their opinion of the GX's, but i wasn't thinking then. Oh well, case is closed for the time being.
If I decide to bring the issue up again I'll have to measure where the brake engages and compare that to the other GX's to prove my point to the dealership. I'm sure they suspect a problem and there are probably many reasons why they don't want to address it. I know it sounds like I'm being picky, but if you were in our GX, you would instantly know what I'm talking about. I should have gotten smart and asked a random person there for their opinion of the GX's, but i wasn't thinking then. Oh well, case is closed for the time being.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 42
Likes: 17
From: CA
Did you ever get this spongy brake pedal problem resolved? I have the same problem on my Lexus Certified 2018 GX with only 18,000 miles. It's been this way since I bought it 3 months ago. It reportedly had 7mm left on the pads when I bought it. I took it in today, and they said it was operating as it should be for the size of the vehicle. They made some program adjustments to the ABS, but there was no improvement. Of course they said it was a 'large vehicle and takes longer to stop in some situations'. My husband has a Yukon that's so much bigger and heavier than this car, and he has no problem braking with his. Just curious if there's a next step...
Pole Position
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 2,674
Likes: 1,429
From: WA
I do not believe this has been interjected in this ongoing thread. If the brakes were "Glazed" by the previous owner, they would exhibit symptoms very similar to what the OP has described ... and would elude many of today's mechanics who fall short beyond the obvious, or what the diagnostic computer tells them.
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 4,513
Likes: 345
From: In your head
I assume by glaze you mean weird pad transfer....Either safely at your own risk and others find a empty stretch of road and bed in the brakes without stopping or have the rotors turned (uber safe).
With increasing brake performance it comes down to a few simple things:
1) Make sure the system is fluid filled, 100% functional, and "sealed".
2) Brake feel can be modulated with better brake lines or increasing the brake booster performance (not recommended)
3) Braking capacity starts at the tires 1st, and then ends with caliper and rotor surface area. If your running the widest contact patch, and still unsatisfied then jump into a Bigger calipers and solid rotor diameters.
With increasing brake performance it comes down to a few simple things:
1) Make sure the system is fluid filled, 100% functional, and "sealed".
2) Brake feel can be modulated with better brake lines or increasing the brake booster performance (not recommended)
3) Braking capacity starts at the tires 1st, and then ends with caliper and rotor surface area. If your running the widest contact patch, and still unsatisfied then jump into a Bigger calipers and solid rotor diameters.
Pole Position
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 2,674
Likes: 1,429
From: WA
Brake glazing occurs when the brake pads are pushed beyond the temperature limits of the friction material, so become hardened and therefore become less effective at generating friction. Excessive panic stops, riding the brakes, lots of city driving ... or in some cases repeated long downhill braking can all cause glazing ... or can be caused by a sticking caliper where the brakes constantly drag even when the brakes are not applied.
This is not obvious by inspection ... pad thickness looks good, the rotors look good ... so the only way to inspect for glazing is to remove a pad and look at the friction surface, but even then glazing may not be visually obvious.
Who knows, the last owner may have been a "two foot" driver who never understood why the brake light bulbs kept burning out
The fix ... new pads and rotors (that are properly "bedded" from new).
This is not obvious by inspection ... pad thickness looks good, the rotors look good ... so the only way to inspect for glazing is to remove a pad and look at the friction surface, but even then glazing may not be visually obvious.
Who knows, the last owner may have been a "two foot" driver who never understood why the brake light bulbs kept burning out
The fix ... new pads and rotors (that are properly "bedded" from new).
Last edited by ASE; Feb 14, 2020 at 09:31 PM.
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 4,513
Likes: 345
From: In your head
Brake glazing occurs when the brake pads are pushed beyond the temperature limits of the friction material, so become hardened and therefore become less effective at generating friction. Excessive panic stops, riding the brakes, lots of city driving ... or in some cases repeated long downhill braking can all cause glazing ... or can be caused by a sticking caliper where the brakes constantly drag even when the brakes are not applied.
This is not obvious by inspection ... pad thickness looks good, the rotors looks good ... so the only way to inspect for glazing is to remove a pad and look at the friction surface, but even then glazing may not be visually obvious.
Who knows, the last owner may have been a "two foot" driver who never understood why the brake light bulbs kept burning out
The fix ... new pads and rotors.
This is not obvious by inspection ... pad thickness looks good, the rotors looks good ... so the only way to inspect for glazing is to remove a pad and look at the friction surface, but even then glazing may not be visually obvious.
Who knows, the last owner may have been a "two foot" driver who never understood why the brake light bulbs kept burning out
The fix ... new pads and rotors.
Lead Lap
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 4,857
Likes: 1,413
From: GA
Sorta knew where this was going with the glazed thing. I grew up with a Shade Tree mechanic father and remember being told to take the brake pads off and scuff them up on the driveway.
That was a long time ago though.
That was a long time ago though.
Pole Position
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 2,674
Likes: 1,429
From: WA
While roughing-up the contact surface may appear to improve friction for a very very short period of time, this does not change that the brake pad material has hardened from overheating ... assuming the issue was overheating.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 544
Likes: 134
oh yea, the brake engagement isn't linear at all. After a year of owning it, i'm still haven't quite gotten used to how the brake engages. the last brake travel before coming to a complete stop is very aggressive!! My passengers always complain about the sudden stop feeling but I never intend to brake that way. I've learn to release the brake pedal a little bit before coming to complete stop to minimize the sudden stop feeling, but it's a hit and miss every now and then.