Slight vibration when braking

I've taken a look through some older posts and it seemed like I was on the right track but after reading them a lot of people were saying that they felt the shake/vibration in the back of their truck.

To me, it seems like it's coming from the front. It only happens at fairly low speeds (sub 20 MPH if I were to guess). I noticed it as I'm slowing down to pull into my driveway or something like that. It's not absurd by any means but it just doesn't seem right. I can feel it in my steering wheel a little bit too. It's not loud just an annoying little shake. I don't feel it when driving fast and braking only when I really start to slow down.

Anyone have any ideas? I suppose it could be similar to what I was reading but it seemed odd because mine didn't feel like it was coming from the back.

 

Welcome to the forum from Eastern North Carolina.

When I first got my 2019 SR5, I read several posts about braking vibrations.
I could barely feel a very slight vibration in mine. Certainly not enough to be concerned about.
Sometime (didn't notice when) since then the vibration has gone away completely.
It "seemed" like it was coming from the front.
I don't know what it was, but I suspect it was the front brake pads seating themselves.

 

It’s the drums. Confirmed that they can get out of round and have issues. Toyota looked at mine and said they are out of round from “heavy” braking.

 

Hm, interesting. Did they fix that under warranty or did you have to pay for it? Mine is a 2017 but I've only had it since April.

 

They just don’t make the drums very well — mine shook terribly at only 200 miles - thankfully they didn’t try to blame me for that

 

They didn’t fix it at all. They just cleaned it and it seems to brake a little better now with less vibe

 

Guess maybe I'll make an appointment and see if they do anything. Kind of a pain.

 

I had to have my front rotors and pads replaced by Toyota under warranty cause I started to get really bad vibrations at around 20k miles. I am a little harder on the brakes than most. Happened again at around 45k and I replaced the stock rotors with Brembo blanks. The OEM rotors are known for warping.

 

Indeed. And drums are a bitch to work on

 

I also have warped rotors and shakes like hell - they told me at my 20k checkup that it isn't covered under warranty!! Is it??

 

Yeah, it's a flaw, not maintenance, bring it in..

 

My 2018 TRD OR DCSB was pulsing under moderate braking when I first got it. Wouldn't do it under heavy braking so I didn't think it was the front rotors. Plus, rotors on new trucks shouldn't warp that fast under normal use. Turns out the issue was the rear axles. Toyota apparently got a bad batch from their supplier and it makes the drums wobble, and results in pulsing and vibration at the rear of the truck under moderate braking. One of the senior mechs at my dealer said the way to test for it is to slowly pull up on the e-brake at 30 to 40 MPH and see if there's pulsing or vibration. They replaced my axles under warranty, no issues since.

--JQ

 

Hey i have 29k kms on my 17. Mine shudders hard when braking at high speeds. I believe i have a warped rotor. Paid toyota to look they said brakes are fine. 2 other shops say for sure a warped rotor. Toyota saying its not under warranty and i need to buy all new pads also...wtf???

 

It’s pretty easy to check if the rotors are warped with a dial indicator...depending on manufacturer 1 to 3 thousandths of an inch is acceptable more than that they are junk. I would ask Toyota what the run out of the rotors was or they just eyeballing it? The symptoms you describe sounds like a bad rotor. You can reuse old pads on new rotors provided they are in good shape if they tell you different just trying to steal your money.

 

I asked them to take it for a test drive. Mine got bad enough to where it would shudder under moderate braking at around 40 mph. They replaced it with no questions asked.

You could try asking them to take it for a test drive, and to test drive a new or used one on their lot for comparison. I would also ask them to measure the rotors like mentioned above. Worn pads will not cause shuddering. It sucks, but sometimes you just need to hassle them.

 

They basically told me to go f@$k my hat.
I called toyota coporate.
Wow
Someone already called me back feom the dealership to discuss it further...

 

So sometimes I think I feel the slight vibration, sometimes I don't. It's definitely not consistent. Sometimes it seems to happen when everything is cold or during a shift (I have a manual). I did speak to the dealer and they weren't able to replicate it. Even when I drove with the service manager I couldn't replicate it. They did say it could be just a characteristic of the vehicle, but also said to monitor it and if it gets worse to bring it back.

 

Wow, hope you get it resolved.

These rotors on tacomas are crap and I have heard from many people that they warp rather quickly. After the second OEM set started warping around 45k, I replaced them with Brembo blanks. Time will tell if these develop issues, but so far after 15k miles I have not noticed anything.

 

I will be doing a slotted style if they dont replace them.

 

Dealer replaced my axles and the vibration while braking went away.