Rear brakes hanging up?

This happened to me once before about a year ago. Today, it happened again, but it wouldn’t let go. I was on the verge of calling a tow truck to send it to the dealership.
Put it in drive after removing parking brake to move forward to put the trash can next to the garage. No dice. Wouldn’t move. Tried leaving on park for a bit, then shifted from drive to reverse and back again a few times...still wouldn’t move.
Put it back in drive, and throttled up and it started to move but I could hear the tire groaning so I stopped. Put it back in park and scratched my head.
Then, I felt a suttle “thud” through the chassis and it moved like nothing happened.
Since I back in where I park, it would appear that the left side drum brake is hanging up.

That said, I use my parking brake every day, so it’s not like it hasn’t been used and prone to seizing up. Any thoughts? My parking spot is on a slight incline but I park there every day and this is the second occurrence. Truck is ‘18 TRD OR.

 

Rock or dirt stuck in the drum? Might be worth pulling the wheel and drum off to inspect and clean it.

 

Gosh, seems unlikely though. Just drove it yesterday and no issues at all- haven’t been off road for the last month to do trail maintenance due to homeschooling. The only thing I can think of is rain and the fact that it had a bath to wash the bug guts off.
That said, my wife’s car and everyone else in my circumstance in my neighborhood in similar conditions haven’t seen the same issue. After thinking about it, it seems that the most reasonable problem is that the drum is hanging up- likely due to either surface corrosion or weak return springs?

 

I was about to ask if you had just washed it. The rear drums have been known to lock up after getting wet from a wash, especially if you leave the parking brake on. A few minute drive to dry helps.

 

Probably the rain and bath.
The parking brake lever still feels 'normal'?
Same number of clicks?
Increasing resistance all the way up?
No slack before you feel it engage?

 

Feels normal, not too tight. Will continue to monitor, thanks for posted. Was just curious if anyone had had same issue- if not, might just be moisture from the wash and PNW rain as you’d suggested.

 

It's caused by water getting into the drum and causing the brake pads to "stick" to the drum. It's never happened to me after driving in the rain but has happened numerous times after washing. It's a common problem.

Absolute worst case, jack up the truck, remove the wheel and bang on the drum with a hammer. No need for a tow.

 

Mine does it too. Never that bad though. Usually it won't idle forward but a quick touch of the gas you hear it pop and away she goes. I don't use my parking brake though.

 

My ‘18 TRD OR did this exact thing one time. It was right after a wash, parked, backed in, p-brake on overnight. Got it to release by gentle rocking.

I still use the p-brake regularly (2 clicks) but not right after a wash unless I’ve driven around a bit and things are dried out. Has not happened again.

 

Its happened a couple of times to me. Usually a couple of hours of letting it sit after washing. I made it a habit of going for a little drive after, but the last time I washed the truck it didn't help. The last time this happened to me, I tried pulling the parking brake while shifting from Drive to Reverse, pulling the parking brake lever up and down multiple times. Nothing worked until I manually wriggled the parking brake cables by the drums. I don't know if it was coincidence or not but after doing that, the brakes released and I was on my way.

 

This happens to me after a wash, but the last time it was very difficult to break loose. I did a lot of F to R to get it to let go.

 

Dealer informed me when i took delivery of the truck toyota is still having issues with the parking brake system. I assume its those cable levers sticking in the rear drums?

 

Thanks guys for all the responses. So it sounds as if maybe it’s the parking brake cables and not the brake shoes themselves? Interesting.

I thought about changing the shoes out for something aftermarket but clearly that won’t help then.

I’ll try working the parking brake a few times right after washing it and see if that helps, but will be hard telling since it’s a blue moon thing (at least for me).

 

The cable sticking in the outer casing sounds like a good possibility. I'm wondering if adding a good amount of grease to the cable as it exits its casing would help lube the cable and prevent water from wicking up the cable and into the sheathing (Rust and corrosion due to water intrusion ??) Just my thoughts ...

 

This happened to me a few days ago as well! I had washed the truck and it was parked for about a week (because of the virus and working from home now). Needed a good amount of throttle to release them. It's strange, because I've washed the truck in winter before and have never had this issue. Although I did go from a 60 mile daily commute to 0.

 

Good call and definitely worth a try.

 

You’re likely on to something there. After my last post, I thought about that as well. I washed it at the end of a “staycation “ and hadn’t commuted (I’m an RN so work from home isn’t an option). Maybe it was a double whammy of no driving plus the wash job. On top of the fact that it’s clear that our trucks are prone to this.

 

This is making more and more sense to me .... I had to have my 2012 GMC Sonoma E cable changed by the dealer multiple times!. I believe the dealer installed the cable with a "sag" in the cable near the connection point to the drums. Water entered, collected in the sag, and corroded the cable inside the casing - and there you go.

The comments on having to "Rock" many times and sometimes quite forceful leads me to believe it not the shoes sticking to the drums - the shoes are being HELD to the drums as the cable does not release at the brake drum end.

Now, some cables are designed to be used "dry" (cable inside casing dry) but many have a light lube/grease added.


IT acts like the cable is dry (or poorly lubed) and there there should be a "Bootie" /bellows on the end of the casing with lube to prevent water entrance.

Also check for "Sags" in the cable sheathing that can be a collection point for water .... JMO

Pic of Bellows f/ Google

https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/parts/tusk-cable-luber-p?s=42781