Brakes went out on my truck!

No, it's the point that he was going to let you drive it home. What if you couldn't afford to get a tow or didn't have time to wait for the tow truck? They should have insisted you keep it there. When I took mine in for the spring TSB they had me promise that I wouldn't load the truck with anything and offered to keep it there until the parts get in. They said that if it's bottoming out, it could cause me to have driving issues thus causing an accident.

 

These trucks have brakes? Whenever I haven't drove the truck for a while, I almost crash into other cars...brakes are shit IMO!!

 

First I can't believe your jackass dealer refused to work on it when it happened to him. WTF?

Second- What your describing is an ABS issue. Most likely the ABS module saw a sensor reading drop out, thought the wheel was locking up and went to work. I would bet if you duplicated the condition with someone monitoring the wheel speed sensors on a scan tool they will see one go to 0mph when the others are reading the correct speed. It could be a sensor, wiring or a problem with the module itself. Definitely not normal, though.

GM had a similar issue a few years ago. Rust would build up between the mounting flange for the front wheel speed sensor and the hub. This would cause the sensor to pull away from the tone ring which would drop A/C voltage output from the sensor. When going slow (5mph or less) the sensor couldn't produce enough voltage so it drop to 0mph and the EBCM would fire. We had people bumping into shit left and right around the shop. GM fixed this issue via recall.

 

That was one of the ridiculous things about the whole ordeal, he kept telling me that he didnt think I should drive it, but would then say that he wasnt sure anything was wrong with it...

I asked him if he'd drive it down the road, maybe go use it to take his kids to school. He declined the offer

 

You need to call corporate again. And soon.

 

I thought it was interesting that as I started to tell the service manager what happened, I told him I wasnt sure how to accurately describe the sound the truck was making and was about to compare it to abs kicking in, when he interupted me and told me "I know what you're getting at, it was the VSC actuators engaging..." So I say, yeah thats exactly what it was, now that you mention it. You've had the problem before, i guess?"

His response "Nope, you're the 1st one"

Me: "You mean other than all the people who crashed their Prius' and Corollas and shit, right?"

Him: "Sir I cant say that your issue is similar or dissimilar to any other issue..". blah blah blah

 

Yeah but how many times a day your truck gets to drive on dirt Or snow Or ice ???

Toyota service writers are trained Jedi employing Jedi mind control tricks

"These aren't the droids you're looking for."

"There is no failure of Toyota quality"

 

It pisses me off that they can't own up to it, when they know something's legitemately wrong with it.

I hit a concrete pole at a couple miles an hour and dented the shit out the flimsy plastic bumper.

Had the dealer said, "ya know what, you're right, we see the problem too. We're gunna fix your brakes/abs sensor/vsc module/whatever the fuck the problem is, and replace your bumper. We're sorry about this and glad you're ok" I would've been over it already and going about my business. But no.

 

I have a sneeking suspicion that the truck's mechanical issue will be fixed under warrenty but they refuse to replace the bumper.

Guess I have an excuse to get a Relentless bumber after all. And will have Toyota pay for it once the lawsuit I intend to file gets settled.

 

Sure sounds like ABS. It seems like all the Gen 2's have really "soft" brakes. There was a big group buy a while back for steel brake cables and some folks think they helped.

it'd be nice if they just did a TSB and were done with it.

 

I haven't had the problem myself. I've fixed a ton of GM's though and had it happen to me in customer's vehicles. Luckily I've never hit anything or anyone. It will spook the hell out of you when it happens as you've discovered.

I would make sure you're dealing with the service manager and not just a service advisor. Service advisors won't typically go to bat for you on warranty stuff. It's usually the managers that force the advisors to do their jobs. If the SM won't do something for you take a walk up front and see if you can find the GM or even a new car sales manager. Sometimes they jump on the service department if they're worried about future sales.

[rant] You'll get lip service from every dealer. They care about selling cars and that's it. It's the service departments that typically make the money and keep the doors open but they usually only care about their show floors. And the manufacturer's don't seem to mind it being that way unless people refuse to buy cars because dealership service dept's suck. I've worked for GM and Hyundai. Dealt with Chrysler, Toyota and Ford. With few exceptions, they treat you with indifference and feed you as much bullshit as they can to get you to go away. [/rant]

 

You should have driven it around the parking lot and driven through their plate glass front window, as you were mashing the brakes, of course. That would have gotten someone's attention.

Seriously, I hope they own up to the problem and get it fixed for you.

 

If this happened in my '95 I would shift into N and pull out the emg brake while keeping it twisted .. WTF are we supposed to do with the foot emg brakes?

 

That is not an emergency brake. They are now referred to as a "parking brake." For liability reasons, I'm sure.

 

I thought about finding a landcruiser and driving into it... But cooler heads prevailed

 

If you crashed Land Cruiser that would be upsetting . Should have crushed to another new Tacoma