Frozen E Brake

It’s good to have a bunch of this in your truck and garage. Yes I know it doesn’t work on really thick ice on your windshield.

 

I think this is total bullshit! We are talking about a $35,000 vehicle built in 2016 and Toyota cannot figure out how to buid a e brake on their Tacomas that does not freeze and lock the rear wheels!!!
This crap is happened to me more than three times already on my 2016 TRD OR. It has been to the dealership 3 times. They worked on it twice. The first time some newbie fucked it up worse and I ended up overheating the brakes and wheels when I drove it.
Today is cold and snowing here in the Colorado Front Range and it is stuck again.
I do not accept that the only solution is not using the e brake in winter. Maybe if more of us with this issue called Toyota Corp. they would find a proper fix. Absolutely ridiculous!

 

Yep, was a sympton on all five of my Toyota trucks.... all the way back to 1986.

 

Curious, is it only the pads getting stuck or also the cables?

 

Maybe they could make it part of their advertizing!
Buy a $35,000 - $55,000 Toyota truck but do not use the e brake in winter!!!
Disgusting.
I paid for the f..ing thing and it is warrantied to work and I am going to bug them until they fix it or find a solution!

 

We have had some cold weather here in NH and I use my e-brake every day & night. In fact, we just had some flooding, which my road flooded, and I drove through the water over the road on the way home after the pats game. (live in NH, but hate the Pats, so not very popular). That night, it got below 10F and my truck was a fucking Popsicle in the morning. Started it, scraped the windshield, got in and went. I have not had this issue - what causes it.

 

I am not an expert and it is so cold when it happens that I am not inclined to lift the vehicle, pop the wheels and look at it. The pads are deginitely pressing agsinst the drum and locking the wheel. It appears some people think that the cable becomes trapped (frozen) inside it’s protective sheath. Maybe it is not weather sealed properly and water gets in but not out? Although the service tech thought that if water got in it would eventually drip out shen it watms up.
But mine was just serviced and supposedly the drums surfaced. The week was warm and I did mot wash the undercarriage and after sitting all day Sunday today it is stuck!

 

And this is part of what is so weird, not all trucks appear to have this issue.
They sold over 200,000 apparently last year. I bet a lot of them live in areas with cold winters and snow. Go figure??? If a large number had the problem I supposed they would have figured it out by now.

 

https://parts.olathetoyota.com/blog/5288/toyota-cold-weather-car-maintenance

 

I think it says in the owners manual to not use the E brake in cold/wet/icy weather, if it didn't its common knowledge not to use the e brake on any car/truck in these conditions or risk having a frozen brake pad to the drum, this is taught in High school drivers Ed classes across the nation.

 

Your right. Park the vehicle and move the shift lever to P (automatic transmission) or 1 or R (manual transmission) without setting the parking brake. The parking brake may freeze up, preventing it from being released. If the vehicle is parked without setting the parking brake, make sure to block the wheels. Failure to do so may be dangerous because it may cause the vehicle to move unexpectedly, possibly leading to an accident. From page 274 if our manual - https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM04013U/pdf/OM04013U.pdf

 

That’s wierd- if you grease the cable around the opening to the sheath, and as far in as possible (do it with the enrage on and off), I wonder if that will help keep water out. Not sure about the pads though, melting ice dripping onto the drums getting inside them? Perhaps try riding the brakes just a bit before parking for the night, as long as you are not on ice!

 

It’s just a normal drum brake issue, which is why only a few really cheap cars and no other truck available in the us automotive industry still uses drum brakes.

 

yet Toyota Tacoma still outsells all mid sized trucks in the USA, 2 to 1, go figure?

 

Well I guess I had to own a Toyota to learn about this. I am 68 and have owned many other brands and trucks and al, with rear drum brakes and never had this happen until this winter on my 2016 Tacoma.
It did not happen last winter and drove through lots of snow and cold weather overnights.

 

So is this happening more to AT's or MT's. I would guess MT's and I have one, but guess I'm lucky. I'm serious my truck was covered in ice after romping over my flooded road ~8 to 10" water. I was psyched cause it cleaned off the bottom the truck after all the road sand and salt we have on our roads or at least that was my wracked train of thought

 

Google "parking brake frozen in the winter", you'll get all kinds of models affected and recommendations on what to do.

Not just a Tacoma thing, Toyota thing or drum thing.

 

Same temps? What else might be idifferent between 2016 and 2017? Brake pads?

 

AT here. Has happened to me twice within a week and a half! 1st time I had it towed to the dealership. After having it 29ish hours!? I was told the cable froze with water and dirt, $75 +tow. Second time I tried like hell to get it unstuck but ended up getting my wife to pick me up. When I get back from work (railroad ) I'll try again. Hopefully I can figure out where to pull on the cable?
Edit.. Funny thing is this is my 2nd winter with the truck. Never happened last year

 

Is there a bad seal on the cable where it enters the sheath?