Adjusting Rear Brakes

I think I have been ripped off by my local AutoNation Toyota dealer. They told me that my 2016 rear Tacoma drum brakes were not self adjusting. I have never heard of this but since I have never taken the Tacoma's brakes apart (I used to do them myself in my younger days) I could not verify this. They claimed the rear brakes were not touching the drums before service and only the front brakes were stopping the vehicle. It seemed to me when pulling the parking brake I would notice something wrong. I challenged them on this but they insisted and charged me $50 for cleaning and adjustment (they rotated the tires for free though). Oh, when I questioned why Toyota would not put adjustment in the maintenance schedule they told me Toyota leaves off necessary maintenance items to remain competitive when selling their vehicle. Leave off a safety issue??? Anyone ever heard of this or did they see a senior citizen sucker and take advantage?

 

These trucks are pretty notorious for braking with 100% front brakes because the rears don’t get adjusted regularly. The resultant overheating of the front brakes causes warped calipers and seized pistons.

 

The brakes do self adjust... Just not very well and in spaced out increments...


Your dealer was doing you a favor... lol..


I adjust mine on my own every other brake service if needed... I have a brake drum caliper... Makes it exact..

 

What's the procedure?

 

When you back up and hit the brakes, the self adjusters in the drum brakes will adjust, if necessary. Now, if the drums were maintenanced previously (after OEM factory install) and not adjusted correctly at that time, there is a possibility that the self adjuster was not working. Highly unlikely though. The line that the dealer gave you however is completely full of shit. The drums adjust themselves.

 

Prop rear axle on axle stand...

Crank E brake on and off a few times to set the shoes..

Remove wheels..

Use two bolts to jack the drums off..

Measure pads on each side for equality.. (just something I check)

Then measure drums..

Adjust each shoe set accordingly to its drum..

That how I do it..

You can do it from the backing plate, there is a rubber grommet, but I prefer this way.. Its accurate and I can clean my brakes if needed..

 

lol...

 

It does have an auto adjuster that could not have been set correctly, initially. You said the parking brake felt funky...included adjustment procedure.
I also included the service manual maintenance information. I guess Toyota could say, these things get discovered during a maintenance inspection, thus, no real service interval for adjusting.

 

@splitbolt with fsm screen grabs. Always on point buddy

 

Thanks so much to all who helped so much especially the folks who added in the manual information. Now I know!

 

ALL DEALERS ARE FULL OF SHIT..I HAVE A 2020 OFF ROAD 4X4 TACOMA AND MY E BRAKE HANDLED GO ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP TO APPLY SO THE TRUCK DONT MOVED AND THE SERVICE GUY TOLD ME IS OK....NOW I STARTED FEELING A VIBRATION AT FRONT WHEN APPLY THE BRAKE..MAYBE BECAUSE THE REAR BRAKE ARE OUT OF ADJUSTMENT AND I PUTTING TO MUCH PRESSION AT FRONT??? MY TRCK HAVE ONLY 4500 MILES.

 

POSSIBLY TOO MUCH HEAT ON THE FRONT AND WARPED ROTORS ALTHOUGH 4500 MILES IS NOT MUCH AT ALL. LACK OF FOUR WHEEL DISC BRAKES MAKES ME WANT TO SPIT EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT IT

 

I LOVE DRUM BRAKES!!

 

I agree.... I haven't seen 'non self-adjusting' drum brakes on anything built from the 60's on up. Even my 66' Dodge A100 van, with drum brakes all around were all self adjusting.
I will say though that the star wheel on the adjuster .. On different makes/models ... Some have pretty big notches on them (Meaning they don't 'adjust' as frequently) and others with very fine notches ... So adjusting more frequently.
Also to keep in mind ... It doesn't take a whole lot for the self-adjusters to not work. Any little part of the self adjusters that goes wrong .. No 'adjusting' ...And they have to be assembled just right, or it's a no-go... Also keep in mind that the insides of brake drums live in about the most nasty dirt/grime/brake-dust-filled condition as you'll find, so that doesn't help either.

 

i had two different dealers years ago when i lived in PA who told me different things about adjusting the E-brake. One dealer told me if was necessary for inspection another one said no....

 

I was told that frequent use of the parking brake will adjust over time. I park on a sloped driveway so I don’t really have a choice. Also I’m used to driving stick shift so I always pull the lever up whenever I park and put my foot on the brake when I start the truck even though it’s automatic.

 

9,000 miles 21 TRD OR

dealer wanted $55.

i declined for now

 

Rear drums on my Taco SUK.

 

Doesnt answer the question as to are we getting ripped off by dealers or do the rear parking brake really need adjustment so soon after purchase?

my 18 taco never needed this service and neither did my 01 taco