Dangerous brake issue. They go out on bumpy roads.

Update to my issue. Everything was fine for a couple days, then I was backing out of a parking space and the brake pedal went to the floor. I got out and saw leaking fluid for the first time. I thought when my dad and I bled the brakes, maybe he didn't tighten a breather properly, but I got under there and it was coming from the driver's side hard brake line that connects to the caliper. That's when I noticed that one of the main bolts that holds the caliper in place was completely missing. And the other one was loose. I was able to wiggle the whole caliper. It was loose enough that when I was backing up and turning, it must have put undue pressure on the hard brake line and caused a pinhole leak.

I can't believe I never saw the missing bolt when I was originally looking for leaks and my dad never saw it when he was helping bleed the brakes. Maybe it wasn't completely gone yet so it went unnoticed. Such a simple thing caused such big issues! Since replacing the bolt and the hard brake line, I've driven about 250 miles with no issues, but not much on particularly bumpy roads. Now I know the repair shop must have had the caliper off and didn't tighten the bolts properly. Never going to Tim's in Roscommon, MI again.

 

I never noticed such issues on my 2001 4runner. And what I experienced in the Tacoma recently was not a moment, but 3-4 seconds of no brakes. I'm hoping what I experienced was just an issue with a loose caliper and not a flaw in the system. I do quite a lot of driving on 2 tracks around my family farm.

 

Glad you have it solved - instead of the caliper pistons being pushed back by rotor movement like I suspected, it was movement of the caliper pushing the pistons back with the same effect - until the line cracked and began leaking.

I'm curious if you gave the offending shop an opportunity to correct their error to your satisfaction?

 

I'm going to call them today about that and other issues. It was Saturday when I saw the leak and they are closed weekends. Technically I'm only out less than $2 for a new bolt. The brake line was made out of leftover line that was lying around and reusing the fittings from the damaged piece.

Edit: I called the shop and discussed everything I was unhappy with (more than just this issue). I said I wanted a refund for my labor. He laughed a little and told me to email him every thing I had done. We'll see where this goes.