Soft, Spongey, Mushy Brakes

Hi all, new to the forum...love my new 2010 Double Cab Tacoma, but periodically experience a significant variation in braking power. Have seen threads on the topic, experienced by others. Dealers ALL say "it's normal." yet it sure doesn't feel normal, nor does it feel safe to not have the responsive stopping power of other cars (ie, my wife's 2010 Pilot). Anyone else encounter this?

 

Welcome to TW...

are you pumping your breaks or just applying steady pressure? Pumping them can cause a mushy feeling

 

Get the brakes bled somewhere other than a dealer?? (like your own driveway) and see if that fixes it.
If not- Take it to the dealership and compare with some other trucks....see what else you can do.

A new set of pads and lines with some better fluid may help too.

 

Got the same set up, and noticed basically the same deal...before I made the purchase, I read somewhere to expect that to a degree. Brakes work fine, just seem to be a tad soft. I also read that on the auomatics 2nd gear might be in "search mode" when slowing down and then accelerating, which I've also found to be true to a degree...no probs though...brake pedal feels like a little chunk of 2x4 to me; love the thing though!

 

No, my 2009 brakes are mushy too. They feel like brakes did on a 70's era detroit car with power brakes... mushy, mushy, with no feel to them. I agree. It's just the way they are.

 

Thanks all for the good replies. Comforting to know others share this. Noticed to other related "mushy brake" threads, so apparently a common occurrence.

 

POB,
Have you tried bleeding your brakes? I have the same problem with my 06, mine will also make a clunking noise sometimes when i realease the brakes? Does yours do the same? can anyone explain the clunking noise. It frustrates me so much. I really hate driving my truck because of it. I took it to my mechanic and he said tacomas are notorious bad breakers but man. Im gonna try bleeding my brakes this weekend to see if it helps, otherwise IDK what im gonna do man... Please any help is appreciated.

 

thats the way they feel,you will get used to it after a while

 

I think most of this is due to Toyota using Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) feature and Brake Assist. EBD optimizes brake pressure at each wheel for greater control under braking, especially when cornering. The Brake Assist system is designed to determine if the driver is attempting emergency braking. If the driver has not stepped firmly enough on the brake pedal to engage the ABS, the system supplements the applied braking power until pedal pressure is released.

 

Goodridge SS lines and Hawk HPS pads made the improvement I needed to be happy. They gave me firmer pedal feel and better initial 'bite'. I got mine at AutoAnything.com. The stock brakes are mushy and vague.

 

Does anyone know of any adjustments i could make to the brakes to dix this?

 

What SManZ said above is the best choice. There are no adjustments to be made, just upgrade the parts.

 

I had the same issue with my 2010 Taco, but never really had an issue with my 08. I asked the Service Manager what his thoughts were on it and why it was so much different than the 08. He said it's normal with the 2010s until you get a couple of thousand miles on the truck before you will notice a difference.

It does seem to be improving somewhat after getting a few miles on the truck and working the brakes "hard" a little.

 

Welcome to TW. Nice to see a New England local on here.

sorry to hear bout the brakes. i have no problem on my 2008 reg cab.

I would also have them bled to see if it improves it at all. but if 2010 has that electronioc braking system, then i bet thats the reason

good luck

 

This could be the case if new pads haven't bedded into the rotors but I would think this is something that'd be done at the factory.

Bedding brakes isn't hard. You just need to find a spot to do it. There's a bunch of different methods, speeds, and cooling times. In general you get up to a low speed and brake firmly a few times, then go up to a higher speed and do it a few more times. I just stop about 6 times from 25mph and then get up to 60mph and brake firmly down to 45 a few times. Check your mirrors and make sure no one's behind you.

 

Took my 2010 DC LB back to dealer for same problem with brakes...they say normal. Hope it improves because it is annoying. Will try some of the tips!

 

My brakes were mushy and didn't feel like they gripped well. I just replaced my brake lines with goodridge ss brake lines and OMG it made a huge difference. Ask anyone who has replaced their brake lines and they will tell you it's worth every penny. I'm starting a group buy, check out the link in my signature.

 

How much does a brake line replacement like that cost?

 

I set up an amazing deal on the SS lines, only $80.00(delivered) for all 4 lines. These are goodridge lines not that other cheap stuff that breaks in 3 months.The install is really simple, you just need to know how to bleed your brakes. So to answer your question, as little as $80.00.