Is there a special break bleeding procedure?

I had to replace my hard lines from the caliper to the soft lines. I have new calipers, pads, drums, and shoes. My pedal is now soft. We tried bleeding but didn't start from the passenger rear. I asked a shop yesterday and they said that there's a special 25-step procedure to bleed Tacoma brakes correctly due to the abs system. Every video that I've watched just says to bleed them normally starting with the one farthest from the master cylinder. Can anyone confirm that I need to take my truck to a dealer to have the brakes bled "correctly"? Thanks!

 

Need to bleed the air from the abs,, dealer, techstream or slam the brakes on dirt to activate the abs

 

yep, last time i did my lines, i got them functional. then took them to the local tire shop. and had them to a flush and bleed. since I didn't have the Toyota ABS programming, plus i wanted completely fresh fluid in my brand new lines.

 

What is the toyota abs programming?

 

just like Ford, they have some special valving in the ABS module and that needs to be "reset" or allowed to open up to get the brakes feeling better.

 

If you get air in the ABS module, it is impossible to cycle out without deactivating the pistons in the ABS pump. The ABS programming (never heard it called that) allows the tech to properly bleed the brakes.

 

Im learning something new here...

 

Do I have ti go to a dealer to get this done?

 

well I guess programming isn't the best way to describe it but you need a special software tool to get the module to cycle the air out. force of habit when trying to explain the workings to people when they would come through the shop.

 

no, any quality shop should have the proper tool (Techstream or high end diagnostic reader)

 

I’ve had the same issue. Fixed it myself (well, with a helper to pump the brakes in the truck). Regular old school bleed first. Then brake hard on a dirt road a few times (this activates the ABS and allows trapped air back in the lines). Then regular bleed again. Worked for me. On several cars actually (even after totally replacing an ABS module once).

 

Did you let the fluid drip out of the lines? Air may have gotten way up the lines. Bleed again with more fluid volume.

 

You can also prevent air from entering the ABS module by not emptying the brake reservoir completely. I'm basing this off memory but there should be a little lip in the reservoir that you dont want to let the fluid go below. I believe as long as you keep the fluid level above half then you should be good to go. I err on the side of caution and keep the fluid level at or above the 'ADD' line when I bleed the brakes to prevent this from happening. Hopefully someone can correct or confirm for me.

-J

 

This.

Of course use common sense, don’t go on a 2 hour drive to get to a dirt road.

 

My dealer did a brake flush including the ABS module for under 100$. Considering its the Wash DC area I thought that was pretty fair.

 

Damn. I'd pay $100 to have a firmer pedal again.

 

@Woofer2609 they did a brake flush and rear brake clean/adjustment for I wanna say like 125$. According to them the bleed was half of it....the rears REALLY need to be adjusted for the best effect. I am a believer as the are worlds better.

 

pressure can be upped on a bleeder to bleed ABS. Usually.

if you didn’t introduce air into it then the ABS is fine.