Pulsating Brake Pedal

Hello, 2 weeks ago I bought a 2017 TRD Off Road. The truck now has about 1,400 miles on it.

I've noticed that when I am coming to a stop at a stop sign, light, etc. there is a pulsating in the brake pedal when the truck gets down to about 30 mph. It pulsates until the truck stops.

Any idea what can be going on?

Thanks,

Steve

 

If your a person who brakes hard, it could be the ABS.

 

Rotors warped

 

You didn't bed the pads properly.

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-s...ions-and-procedures/stock-brake-system-bed-in

Rotors don't warp.

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/-warped-brake-disc-and-other-myths

It's possible that you could make a few hard stops, short of ABS engagement, and clean up the rotors.

Otherwise, at such low mileage, take it in for a warranty claim. Yeah, brakes are a wear item, so they may deny you, but then again, maybe not.

Also there have been some mis-cast rear drums (out of round) that folks have had replaced too. Just so you are sensitive to the pulsation location.

 

If at a stop after some decent braking, do not stand on the brake pedal. It will transfer an excess of material to the rotor causing an uneven spot that can be felt. You can sometimes see this as the outline of the pad on the rotor. This can be cleaned up by doing some hard, but not ABS, slow downs (50mph to 5mph).

Also, check your lug nuts for even torque. Even torque is needed to true the rotor.

If that doesn't solve it, it might be warped rotors.

 

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I had no idea about a bed in process.

The pulsation does feel like the pulsing ABS makes.

I'll try a few hard stops and see if that clears it up.

Thanks again,

Steve

 

I believe the operation manual states no hard stopping for the first 500 km or whatever that is in miles.

 

The pulsation is from the electronic brake booster only found in the offroad and I believe TRD Pro. Since the truck can apply its own brakes under crawl control it requires electronic booster and what you are feeling is the electronic aid, along with I believe manual hydraulics, system designed with rotor and drums and a bit of downshifting flares.

 

Does it almost feel like your truck is downshifting as you're breaking and coming closer to a complete stop?

 

Thanks again guys. It does not feel like it’s downshifting.

 

2017 Off Road here. I've noticed the same sensation the OP has. An electro-mechanical feeling pulsing in the pedal at odd times, when initiating braking and upon startup (sometimes).

I believe TacoRD16 is right.

OP, you have an Off Road or TRD Pro?

 

I had this going on in my OR, but it went away after I had driven the truck for a while, maybe 1k miles or so. I've read of others having the same issue, but can't remember any consensus being reached. I'd take it to the dealer, or just ride it out like I did and see if it goes away.

 

I have an Off Road

 

Or your front needle bearing is going out on the driver side which is starting to happen on mine with 24,000 miles. Only way to temp fix is switch to 4wd below 60 mph in a straight line and drive a few hundred feet and turn off. Usually fixes it for a few thousand miles. I'll replacing mine which I get new gears.

 

Jesus Christ there is a bunch of wild ass guessing going on.

OP, it's the brake booster. Does it feel a bit like a cell phone going off under your foot? If you get it real quiet can you hear something electric actuate when it happens?

You can induce the behavior by pumping the brakes. On the 3-4th push it will pulsate/vibrate.

Here's the thing: Toyota will tell you it's normal. That's half true. It shouldn't be too harsh or obvious; it shouldn't happen very frequently.

Mine was pulsating/buzzing like crazy (ie every other low speed braking press it was bzzzzt). They replaced that entire assembly and made it much less noticeable.

Good luck. It's a stupid design and Toyota should be embarrassed that they can't sort out something that's been "solved" for a hundred years.

 

I'll just add that this isn't a new thing for Toyota, it's just new to the Tacoma. My 2004 4Runner has the same system. I thought it was odd at first but it works well. The buzzing is the motor building boost pressure so it can apply the brakes when it feels the need. It's on the OR models because it can apply the brakes to individual wheels to prevent them from spinning and redirect power to the wheels that aren't slipping.

 

Thanks for the replies. Yes, it kind of does feel like a cell phone vibration/pulse.

I guess I’m satisfied in knowing it’s somewhat normal.

Seems like the booster should be something that turns on when using the MTS controls. To have it on all the time is a little annoying.

Thanks again everyone.

-Steve

 

Yup, brake booster. My OR did the same, and my 4runner pro does it too, just a little less noticeable than the taco did.

 

I have an off road. Just got it a few days ago and noticed the pedal will randomly pulse coming to a stop at low speeds. My brother has a 2003 4Runner and he says it does the exact same thing.

 

I just bought a 2018 OR with 50k miles. Truck did great on the test drive. Afterwards I tried out the crawl control just for fun. Ever since I’ve noticed this issue... I’m assuming the crawl control was never used by the previous owner and my tampering simply started the inevitable....

I imagine the brakes need a quick once over either way but it seems this issue pertains more towards the electronic braking.

Thank God for TacomaWorld... this site always gives me a course of action/piece of mind.