Brake override malfunction

I had a brake override malfunction warning on my dash. Truck in limp mode. Checked the stop fuse and it was good. Had truck towed to Kona Toyota and they said the cause was etcs fuse in the wrong place. So they supposedly moved the existing fuse that was in the wrong place and also charged me another $14 for another fuse which wasn't needed. $161.26 total with labor. I am thinking they are making stuff up to get me to pay the diagnostic fee and not have the warranty cover it. How the hell can the truck be running fine the past 3 1/2 years with the fuse on the wrong spot? Mods are pod lights and alpine stereo and speakers installed over 3 years ago. Bottom line is the truck ran fine, then broke, and I had it towed. Kona Toyota is a scam dealership.

 

Maybe just maybe when you checked the fuse it was placed back on a different spot .

 

Yes I thought that too but I only checked the stop fuse after reading this forum. I never checked the etcs fuse. Also how would the truck be running before if the fuse was in the wrong spot? Don't know.

 

What is the Etcs fuse?

 

Electronic throttle control system

 

My friend figured it out. There was water in my third brakelight and the connection was all corroded but the light was still working. Cleaned and dried it and no problems after. I had the Recall done already but I guess it leaked. Funny before the recall fix didn't have any problems.

 

Great. I still have that open on my truck. Afraid to go let them touch it now.

 

How's it, Konagrn Just moved to WA for school, born and raised West Side B.I. Finally got my dream truck upon arrival, 2020 DC 3.5, came w/ 4" lift, fox 2.5s on all 4 corners, pod and ditch lights.19k mi, new 33s. She ran great for the first 2wks, put in 5.29s to solve the gear hunting from ECGS (complete diffs, didn't want to mess with any spider gears or shims) and went to start after the install and had this brake malfunction, 2-4 wheel selection malfunction, and one other one.
No limp mode, she wouldn't even crank. So i called AAA to take to Toyota. 6hrs later when the tow truck driver arrives, damn thing started just fine. No warnings, dash lights, nothing. Went for a drive, about 10min later did it again. Must need a battery. Changed the battery. Worked great for a min, again. Then same shit. Must be the Alternator, maybe? $500, multiple hrs & bust up knuckles after, ran perfect.... until now. 2 hrs later. Same bullshit. Imma try the cycling of the ignition and check the brake switch in the morning. I'm bummed and hope this is a small hiccup in a long and fruitful relationship like in had with my '02... which had 300k and still going strong. Sounds like this is a pretty common issue, tho....

 

Check that brake switch, it seems to cause some weird symptoms
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/brake-override-malfunction.513254/

 

You said you had recall work done on your brake lights? And ultimately that's what the problem ended up being? Mine def feels like it's something similar, as it's inconsistent at best. I'm going to check the brake pedal switch here momentarily.

 

There is a recall for 3rd brake light, it’s basically a plastic cover plate they put over it, probably leaked before recall was done

 

Did you try resetting the ecu by connecting the battery cables together? My truck showed brake malfunction even after the dealer so called "fixed it by moving a fuse" and I found the battery cable reset works mostly. I think our trucks are very sensitive to any electrical glitch. Also check your stop and etcs fuses. I did a test. I pulled the etcs fuse while the truck was fixed and running and it went I to limp mode. After I put the fuse back and the truck still stayed in limp mode. Only until connecting the battery cables for a couple minutes did the truck come out of limp mode. I just wanted to prove that the dealer was mistaken in saying the fuse was in a wrong spot because I put the etcs fuse back in the correct spot and the truck can still stay in limp mode if you don't reset the ecu by connecting the battery cables. The dealer said they moved my fuse to a different spot so why did the charge me for another fuse? Doesn't make sense.

 

Were your pod lights a recent addition?
I had the issue when hooking up bestop 3rd brake light

 

No. They were on for years.

 

My truck has the pod lights too, i think. Mounted on either side where the hood meets the windshield? Mine also has what I can only assume is an antenna? Idk, it's a black 4" tall & maybe 1.5" dia cylinder mounted just next to the passenger side pod light. Also, there are two additional square pods mounted in the aftermarket bumper and those ones are tied somewhere into my reverse lights as they come on when reversing. I was thinking all these additions are each a potential cause for my woes. I checked the 10amp stop fuse, it was OK. There's a stop relay too I was going to replace. I'll try the the reset tomorrow. The 6 times ignition cycling didn't do anything for my situation. So I just disconnect the terminals and touch them together for few minutes to do it?

 

Yes I did mine for 5 minutes.

 

Sooooooo, listen to this shit. After a new battery, alternator, a rental car for nearly 2 weeks, and countless research hours, still the problem continues. I finally get a chance to check your suggestion, and BAM! BOTH taillights have burned out bulbs. The middle ones, which at first glance look deceptively NOT broken, but upon closer inspection, the shorter of the two filament are both missing driver and passenger. Thank the lord, I finally got it! Thanks to you, Konagrn! I'm texting the wife, 'Babe! It's all good! Figured it out, the stupid bulbs are.... nvm, don't worry, it's fixed!'
Off to oriellys, grab a couple packages of bulbs, change em out... and nothing. What the hell.... That one hurt. Thought for sure, given both bulbs being busted.... ok, maybe it just needs a real REAL reset, like from Techstream. Yeah. That has to be it. Get on TW, my man Tony the Tacoma Whisperer aka tonered, a true Saint came willingly on a Saturday morning no less, armed with a laptop, cable, techstream and a positive attitude, to set my girl up right... and 4 hrs later, with literally every conceived troubleshooting tactic he and a jabroni could think of, it came down to " k, listen to the electrical ignition hum as I pull on these wires..."
But I'll be dammed if that didn't figure it out: the big meaty wire off the starter, yeah the metal connector was resting on TOP of the bolt meant supposed to be bolted THROUGH it and to the block. Crazy thing is, it had to have been that way since B4 I got the truck 2 months ago. I'm the only one that's wrenched this thing (that I know of, I guess) since I bought it and I sure as hell didn't un bolt that thing. It must have been, shit, I don't honestly know how it worked fine for 3 weeks driving on the busted ass 405 going 80 without a hiccup. Crazy, right? Oh, btw runs beautifully again... not an error to speak of... FML

 

@tonered is great to have around!

 

Awesome bradda. So the battery reset worked? Glad you got it running!

 

I'm stoked that it is running well.

How do you like the gears?

CV sorted?

Sometimes. Well, rarely. Hahaha!