2008 tundra brake failure - Toyota Tundra Forums : Tundra Solutions Forum

RSWhitefish · #1 (**permalink**) 01-29-2009, 11:18 PM

I just bought a 2008 tundra..drove for 30 minutes in light 8" powder snow with a fair amount of light brake action down a mountain for 15 of those 30 minutes. Parked. 7 Hours later at 6AM I tried to back out of driveway and the vehicle felt stuck..like a brake was applied (it wasn't); suddenly with a thunk the wheels began to move as I applied more gas. Now backing slowly down my driveway I applied brakes again (going 2-3 MPH) about 6 feet from a rock wall..no brakes, no skid, felt like pushing a power brake with no brake fluid..bam into wall. After driving away I applied brakes lightly as I drove and no response for about 50-60 ft. then fine...almost as if they were wet or frozen with a sheen of ice..has anyone ever heard of such a thing with the tundra? Is it possible the snow melted on the hubs (it was 8 inches and fluffy) and then froze (temps didn't get above 10 degrees)? Thanks for any info. Had mechanics check..nothing...removed wheels and checked hubs and test drove...nothing...??
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ArtM · #2 (**permalink**) 01-30-2009, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RSWhitefish

I just bought a 2008 tundra..drove for 30 minutes in light 8" powder snow with a fair amount of light brake action down a mountain for 15 of those 30 minutes.

Coming down from Big Mountain, per chance?

I use my gears for coming down long grades. Sure saves the brakes - as they don't get a chance to get hot. Came down the East side of Going-to-the-Sun Highway last summer. Geared down and the truck idled down from the pass just as pretty as could be. Hardly used my brakes at all.

I had something similar happen with my brakes recently. We got one of our wonderful East Slope Chinooks after a snow build-up. The warm temperatures cooked the snow right off. Roads and streets were really sloppy. I had a ball playing in the big puddles - spraying water everywhere. That evening and night the temperature dropped like a rock to sub-zero. The next morning I had to "break the ice" so to speak. Truck was froze up. I had to get on the gas to pop the truck loose out of the driveway. Brakes were a bit goofy, but cleared up and were functioning fine after a couple of blocks. Been fine ever since.

MEvang · #3 (**permalink**) 01-30-2009, 08:53 AM

Very hard to say, and you may never be able to duplicate what happened. We can speculate, as stated, the long drive down the hill would have likely created a lot of heat. If the wheels were packed with snow when you parked the residual heat would have likely melted some of the snow pack. The water could have run down into you brakes and then froze back up. This would explain the locked up brakes when you when to move the truck.
In wet humid weather rotors can rust over quickly and this may have been why you could not stop. There has also been situation were internal engine moister can condensate the inside of the brake power booster hose or check valve. This can freeze up and cause a temporary lose of power brake assist. As the under hood temperature increases this moister quickly melts off and the problem disappears. Just another possibility.
Mike

RSWhitefish · #4 (**permalink**) 01-30-2009, 03:12 PM

Thank you both for your thoughts and the reminder on gearing down. So far Toyota says it probably didn't happen but that I slid on ice into the wall..even though photos show no slide marks in the snow...

MEvang · #5 (**permalink**) 01-30-2009, 09:14 PM

I hope you didn't do any damage! Not long after I got mine I backed into a post for a poll I didn't see. Caught the non-supported end of the bumper and drove it into the bed. I got fixed but was none too happy about it all.
Mike

Jowett Engineering · #6 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 08:53 AM

MEvang has got most of it nailed, but the latter part of the problem is most likely a remaining glaze of ice over the entire rotor surface. I have experienced this in similar situations to your's, as well as when washing/spraying road salt off vehicles on very cold days. The symptoms are exact and any vehicle with disc brakes may experience it if conditions are right.

RSWhitefish · #7 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 12:29 PM

I know how frustrating that must have been. A week after getting the truck, I turned a bit sharper than I should have (bigger than my old F150) and scrapped some of that "white lava" snow drift into the door for a nice dent..now a week after that I've bent the bumper up and in about an inch with the "ice brakes"...now reading about all the woes others have had with the "sticking" accelerator with the 08 tundra and the bed bounce...every experience either of these? Pretty frightening if you google "known 2008 tundra problems"..should have googled this topic before the purchase as now I don't feel safe driving my 5 year old around in the rig...RS

Mike Donofrio · #8 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 02:07 PM

Just a thought...moisture in your brake lines could've frozen, preventing normal movement of fluid. A few panicked applications of the brakes forced it out. One drop or two of frozen, expanded ice in the wrong place could act like a blockage.

Unlikely your brakes had lots of water in them if they were hot after coming down a grade. Unless some sort of phenomenon happened where the brake pads/shoes absorbed moisture and froze solid, effectively reducing the drag coefficient of the brakes to nil.

Did the mechanics drain and flush your brake fluid? If not, this might just be a cheap way to go. Do you have ABS, did it activate? Were any of your wheels 'locked' or 'frozen', as much as you could tell? Right after the little 'event' you could look at the imprints the tires made to see--like did each wheel plow up snow and skid or did the ABS do it's thing?

MEvang · #9 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 05:30 PM

This pretty close to impossible, you would likely need a concentration of water of 60% or maybe more.
Water cannot pool in brake fluid, this is by design and why brake fluid need to be somewhat hygroscopic. If you put a drop of water in a gallon of brake fluid it will be evenly dispersed through the entire gallon. Brake fluid is also an anti freeze, this is to ensure there is no way it can freeze. With his truck being a 2008 there is little chance there is any moister contamination anyways.
Mike

RSWhitefish · #10 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 05:56 PM

Thanks for the ideas. The tracks showed no sign of skid or slide: visible tread marks the entire way to rock wall; no snow bunched or pushed into a pile from a non-moving tire. I'm told 3 mph or so is too slow to activate ABS as well. Thanks.

ArtM · #11 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RSWhitefish

Pretty frightening if you google "known 2008 tundra problems"..should have googled this topic before the purchase as now I don't feel safe driving my 5 year old around in the rig...RS

I knew of most all the problems before buying - but bought anyway as Toyota is making good on most all issues. And not all Tundras have problems. I actually believe it is a small percentage. Ford, GM, and Dodge have problems as well - but good luck getting them fixed.

No need to feel unsafe driving your 5 year old. Tundra is a very safe, and quite reliable, vehicle.

MEvang · #12 (**permalink**) 02-01-2009, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RSWhitefish

Thanks for the ideas. The tracks showed no sign of skid or slide: visible tread marks the entire way to rock wall; no snow bunched or pushed into a pile from a non-moving tire. I'm told 3 mph or so is too slow to activate ABS as well. Thanks.

True, and you would have know if the ABS activated, you would have felt a kick back in the pedal.
Mike