Anti Lock brakes?

Enjoyed my ride up until impact.
Moved from 1st to 2nd gear in heavy traffic. Glanced over to a restaurant beside the river, turned back to traffic and vehicle in front of me had passed through the traffic lite and stopped.
I slammed on the brakes only to slide like I was on ice into the back of her. She was able to drive off, while I on the other hand have been waiting over a month on my 2009 4cyl, 4WD, access cab, 25000 mile truck to be repaired.
The roads were dry, good grade of black top, no lose gravel / debris.
Any one had a problem with the brakes on their late model Tacoma?

 

stock tires, and what speed?

 

Speed was low - 18 and 30 MPH.
The stock tires were replaced around 18,000 miles with a similar sized Michelin. Tires were ready for their first rotation.
Thanks,
Cleon

 

Assuming the bed of your truck was empty, or nearly so, you were at a severe disadvantage to a typical car for stopping distance. The ABS is really going to assist you in maintaining steering control of a vehicle during a foot stomp braking action. In many situations, ABS will not shorten your stopping distance. You might want to go out to a safe, empty parking area and test out your stopping distance and control at various speeds.

 

Jere,
Thanks for your input and the reminder of truck short comings.
The information that I was trying to seek is if anyone had experienced a lack luster braking experience with the 05 to 11 Tacoma.
I purchased the 09 4WD for me when I gave my son my 2001 Tundra at Christmas 08. Later in Spring of 09 my wife liked my Tacoma so much better than her 07 Jeep Wrangler that she trade the Jeep in for a 09 Pre-Runner.
My Tacoma is still in the body shop since I wrecked it in mid June. We took her Pre runner to the Gulf of Mexico beach / Texas / South Padre Island, had a blast. Coming back to LA via Houston for a Astros / Pirates game on Sunday 17 July her truck did the same thing when I slammed on the brakes at one of the fast "yellow" lights I've every witnessed in my life.
It took a lot of self doubt out of my life. I new I'd hit the brakes hard when I hit that car, but continued wondering if I was wrong. The brakes on her Tacoma did the exact same thing. Did not slow the vehicle at all for about a car length and a half, then really pulsated the tires, slowing the vehicle rapidly.
What a load of *&^% brakes.
Thanks,
Cleon

 

Well said.

 

Its crappy ABS system.

 

There's two common factors between the two brake 'failures' you experienced. Both were Tacomas, and both were driven by you.

Are you absolutely sure that your foot actually hit the brake pedal and pressed down hard? I only ask because one of the classic presentations for some neurological disorders that affect the limbs is when someone swears they hit the brakes but the car didn't stop. Their brain says "hit the brakes" and the leg doesn't fully respond, but the brain still thinks it hit the brakes.

 

Agreed with your explanation of the ABS system, however I feel like the ABS kicks in too soon in the Tacoma. I've quickly learned that the Tacoma doesn't have as short of a stopping distance as my previous vehicles and have adjusted my driving style accordingly.

 

not on my ’07 DC short bed TRD OR 4wd. i even have done a test to see how hard you can hit them before they start looking up. ABS did good i thought at about 35MPH and with nothing in the bed. and if you ask why i did it. i wanted to get a fill for the truck.

 

x2

Let your wife and kid do the same test, see if they have the same results.

My 08 has always stopped really well since the day i got it. The pedal is a little soft, and that's supposedly normal on these trucks, but it sure as hell can bring you to a stop fast if you stomp on the pedal. Even now, I'm nearing 60K miles on the original brake pads/rotors and they still work great nor are they squealing yet. At last tire rotation (55K) the pads were still pretty thick.

 

I hate that I don't get bite from my tacoma brakes at full stop. Maybe it's the abs. My corolla also has hawk brakes and new rotors and bites hard. One day in my tacoma, on the way down a hill at good speed I had to stop hard. I was surprised how bad the stop was.

 

Morning All,
Hope every-ones Turkey Day was as fine as frog hair just like mine!
The body shop that repaired my vehicle did an excellent job on painting the exterior. The devil is in the details though. Doors were not as tight as I liked, leaked rain water inside cab until third trip back to body shop, radio from factory was lack luster after the impact the radio was kaput - it would work occasionally but was not dependable.
So I traded for a 2011 F-150. 17.4 MPG around town and when ya hit the brakes it stops.
Happy Holidays

 

Too bad the body shop didn't take care of the damage properly but congrats on the new truck! I actually don't mind the new F-150's, they have a lot of nice features. Which engine did you get?

 

Which should I address first?
The body shop did a great job of making the damage disappear - no complaints about that. The internal problems that lingered were hard to tolerate. Radio would come and go in a willie-nillie fashion, the sublime smell from extended moister conditions from poor sealing in the firewall. I will say that after I knocked the poop out of the truck it certainly seemed to stop a little better.
All that being said, I suppose that I was digging for information about problems other late model Tacoma owners have had with the brakes on their vehicles. I believe that there is a technical problem with the brakes. The brakes will make you extremely leery of the vehicle if it ever happens to you - believe me on this one - With the higher road noise, smell, radio and other little things along with the suspect brakes my Taco had to go.

F-150 XLT is 4 door, 4WD. 5.0 V-8, short bed.

 

Enjoy.

 

I don't like the ABS brakes in Toyotas. My old 89 325is has ABS brakes and if you stomp on the pedal it would throw you into the dash if you weren't belted. Same for every other car I've had in the last 25 years with ABS. In 98 I bought my first new tacoma and waited a month for a truck to come in equipped how I wanted without ABS. But that's no longer an option. My current 05 as well as the last 05 I had senses the slightest amount of slippage (not hard in a pickup with nothing in the bed) and throws the ABS into a tizzy which makes the truck stop like it's sliding on ice as the ABS pump groans away. My 00 4Runner is the same way, but it takes more to engage it with weight over the back tires. It's downright dangerous in the snow. One of the first things I did when I got this truck was put the ABS fuse on a switch. With the ABS disabled the truck stops great, even in the snow. I leave it on most of the time so I don't have to stare at the warning lights but whenever it's slippery out I shut it off. No more rolling into intersections for me!

 

2001 ABS was great... no issues.
2005 ABS was scary, wouldn't stop the truck on wet or gravel roads. Dealer said that was normal!
2010 ABS is great... not at all the same as the '05 even though the same model of truck. Works fine all the time. Maybe because it is A-TRAC equipped and uses a hydraulic brake booster?

 

My ABS works well in a panic stop situation on pavement , but is terrible and increases stopping distance in snow .

I'm going to do Crom's ABS bypass one of these days .

 

My ABS saved my ass the other day when some high school ass hole about ran a stop sign (on a gravel road) to beat a bunch of buses .I was on blacktop doing the speed limit around 45-50mph. He nearly T-Boned me if it were not for my evasive brake/ swerve maneuver. Hitting brakes ,swerve left, release brake ,truck handled perfectly. Normally I try not to swerve unless it is unavoidable . Have almost hit many a deer ,brakes are great on the Tacoma !