Tacoma Brake System Question

Hi Everyone,

I hope I am posting this question in the right area. If I'm not then I apologize as I am new here. But my question is this..

I recently (on or about March 27th 2017) purchased a 2017 Tacoma 4cl SR Double Cab. I noticed about a week ago that when I press my brakes, it has a slight vibration as if it's rubbing against something. However..and this is the weird part. It only happens when I press down on the first inch of braking. After the first inch or so, the vibration goes away. This issue happens about 90 percent of the time. If I have not drove the truck in a while then this issue will not occur for the first 10 minutes or so of the drive and then eventually it will come back.

I have done some research on this to the best of my ability and the only thing I've found is that other people with similar issues has said it's the brake booster and that when they took it into service, they told them it was normal. On another forum, someone has said that the brake booster hasn't broken in enough and it should go away over time or I'll get used to it over time. I am having trouble accepting that as I have never felt this in any of my other cars. But then again. They were cars and not trucks so I guess that's why I'm asking all of you.

I already made a service appointment but here in Hawaii, Toyotas are really popular and it's a month wait time for a non emergency issue. Hoping someone here can shed some light and put my mind at ease.

Thank You All in advance!

 

You probably don't have a Booster issue, most guys have trouble adjusting to the Off Road Tacoma Boosters as it is not a traditional style type.

 

My Tacoma isn't a 4X4 though. It's just the 4 Cylinder 4 X 2. Does that change anything?

 

You just have a traditional vacuum style Booster.

 

So its just the tip?

 

LoL umm yeah pretty much. It's smooth after the first inch of pressing.

 

Take it in. It's not right. Dont let anyone tell you its right.

My truck had a weird vibration/ pulsating buzz that would happen on almost every other press. They claimed it was the brake booster system (and it may have been), but it is muuuuuuuuuuuuuuch improved when they replaced the entire brake system.

 

It was so irritating. I hope they can get your situation resolved as well. I'm out of town for work, but when I get back I could probably post my service documentation--so you can show them that its fixable.

I guarantee they will say its normal. Ask them to drive a bunch of other trucks with you so you have evidence that 1. it doesnt happen on the other trucks 2. It's not nearly as bad on other trucks.

 

Great advice! Thank you very much. Glad I found someone who experienced the same issue.

 

I have the same issue with my 2017 tacoma db trd off road 4x4. What happened with your vibration issue? Dealer told me it was normal but we've had other toyota trucks and never experienced this issue.

 

op confirmed it's JTT

 

Could you clarify?

 

It took them two days to figure it out but they said it's a faulty master cylinder. I can't tell you if it worked or not because I'm still waiting for the part to come in. I'll keep you guys posted after I bring it back and test drive it.

 

Thank you for responding, please keep me posted. I don't even have 500 miles on the truck and can't believe this vibration is normal.

 

You're very welcome.

 

Okay sorry this took so long for me to update but I finally got my truck back and after they replaced the Master Cylinder (They said it was an internal leak) it is much better. To be honest, I still feel it a little but it's no where near as bad as before.

 

Thanks for your update. Bummer it still isn't completely right. Here's my update, I took my truck into Toyota and the mechanic kept it because the vibration was happening while in park. I don't think the mechanic found it to be "normal". They gave me a rental car and after keeping the car for two days insisted that the vibration is normal for "Hydroboost Brakes". They drove a similar model on the lot and said that truck did the exact same vibration, thus they called it "normal". I believe Toyota knows this isn't a hazardous braking issue and thus have called this "vibration" acceptable. I did find out that only the TRD Off-Road and TRD Pro Tacoma have the Hydroboost Braking system. I have questioned people with the same model and so far it's 50/50 about the vibration. I am going to continue to pursue this as I've never had this issue in a truck and I find it hard to believe Toyota would find this acceptable. If anyone knows the cause, how to fix this vibration or has the same issue, please post.

 

What happened to you is what I was hoping they wouldn't tell me because I have read in other forums of people saying the same thing (normal for the brake booster) however, some of the people that were told that in other forums said they didn't accept that for an answer and the mechanics ended up doing what they did with me (changing the Master Cylinder) and they pretty much said the same thing as me after it was completed.

Maybe you can try call the service dept and try ask them to check for an internal leak in the master cylinder.

Not sure if I mentioned this but the vibration used to happen for me too when the truck was off. That's what I showed the mechanic and that's when he said they'll inspect the master cylinder.

 

I appreciate your information. I am going to continue to pursue this issue with the Toyota dealership and will update this post when there's any news. If 100% of the Tacoma's with this brake system had this issue, I'd let this go but considering half the Tacoma's don't have this issue, I don't find it acceptable to be a part of the "vibration" half.