Brake Squeal

Hey guys,

GF’s 2021 Venture was bought brand new. A couple hundred miles into having it the passenger side front brake squeals something horrible for the first few times she uses it whenever she drives. Time of day or weather conditions do not matter. The squeal is ear piercing. It goes away after she uses it two or three times until it sits over night. Any advice would help. Trying to avoid a long stay at the dealership one day if we can pinpoint it before going up there. Thanks!

 

Are you in cold weather? Have you had the vehicle for multiple seasons of weather? My first thought would be the cold is affecting the surfaces creating friction. I had a car that would do it as well after sitting for a few hours/days.

 

remove the front brake pads see if its a mess.. compare left and right pads..
new pads could be stuck then the squealing.. drive the vehicle a mile then touch the rotor .. if the rotors are the high temp on the pass side it is a sticky..

 

Sticky piston? Warranty item.

 

Yea it only has 2,900 miles on it. And it only does it the first 2-3 times she hits the brakes. Then the rest of the ride is good. Even if we go eat then drive back home, no squeal. Only after its sat for a few hours or over night.

 

Mine does the exact same thing. I haven't taken it in yet, but will let then know when it goes in for the 5k service. I haven't pinpointed a side or if it is temperature dependent.

 

Maybe have someone stand outside or a few times for the first drive of the day and try to locate which wheel it is. I’m going to film hers tomorrow (watch it not work) that way she’ll have something to show them. We live on the 3rd floor of the apartment complex and I can hear it inside with everything shut at 0530 every morning she leaves. We live in GA and the weather is warm, cold, cold, mild, hot, cold. It does it no matter the temp or humidity.

 

Mine does that any time I park outside overnight. Never found a fix, nor a real problem for that matter.

 

cold temps is not an issue .. I live in cold winters 10F ..
so check for the rotor temps all should be the same when driving it for a few miles. if the rotors are hot pads can stick or the brake fluid could have air in it on new vehicles.
I BLED MY BRAKES TOYOTA NEW.. THE REAR BRAKES HAD AIR IN IT .

 

It only does it when she first drives it after its sat for several hours or over night. So the rotors are cold. After 2 or 3 times pushing the brakes it’ll stop.

 

Yeahhh, that's just brakes. We try to make them quiet with designs, shims made of various materials, grease, etc... but at the end of the day, some brakes will squeal and others will not, all else equal. It's just the nature of harmonics and metal on metal action. My 2020 Venture with 6000 miles just started squealing, too. And like yours, only in the morning when it's cold outside, and it goes away after I use them a time or two. Especially if it doesn't persist, I would ignore it, because unfortunately there isn't a fix other than chance. You could replace the pads and rotors.. might change, might not...

 

my 2016 4runner still has the OEM factory brake pads.. no noise

 

2021 Nightshade does the same thing left front, picked up in January and did it form day one

 

Mine does it after it sits for a long time, not everytime, but eneough that I notice it, after hitting the brakes 1 or 2 times it goes away.

 

Front passenger brakes on my 2020 TRD OR have also squeeled since shortly after purchase. Same as yours, it disappears after several stops and then reappears after several hours or overnight.

 

2021 ORP here with close to 3k miles, mine gets squeaky in the drive thru at a partial pedal.

 

Hi fellow brake squeakers Just bought a 2021 TRD Off Road, and almost have 1000km's on it. (Canada, eh!) Brakes started squealing after about 300km or so, like most people in the morning and after sitting for a few hours. Took it to the dealership last week and they drove it for 5km and no problems. As I was driving off the lot (2-3 hours later) squeal for a bit and again after a few depressions, gone.

Yesterday was the last straw. 4 people at a crosswalk and just leaving work at 4:30pm and as I slow to a stop SQUEEEEEAL. I don't usually get embarrassed but OMG. I called my sales guy and said he can keep the truck until its fixed! (I was actually nice about it cause he's a good guy).

Service Manager called me the next day, and I have an appointment and loaner car setup for Thursday morning. I'll let you know what happens.

Check out the video! Victoria, BC Canada.
https://youtu.be/rNjPguGA2nk

 

I understand, but I wouldn't let it embarrass you. Your brakes are functioning fine, it's a beast! I hope they can "fix" it for you, but without gobbing grease all over your pads, there isn't much that can be done.. at least by Toyota. My suggestion, if you can't bare the noise, is to try aftermarket pads and or rotors. That's a lot of money though for a squeak!

 

My 2020 ORP had the same issue, began at about 1k miles. I told them about it during my 10k service, and Toyota service told me it's common and just "corrosion" that wears off once you start driving it. I know this really isn't acceptable but it's not done it much since the service. Hope yours improves.

 

Mine has the squeal as well, and first time I get in there myself I DO plan to unapologetically gob on the grease LOL, (so to speak). To be more accurate, this is the stuff Im talking about...

it works pretty good when you put some between the shims and the pad. It sets up as a soft rubbery material that damps out or outright eliminates resonance/harmonics. And I was just joking about gobbing it on....doesnt take much and should be a “clean” solution. Or at the very least, it will help

 

My ‘21 was doing it if it sat outside at night. Put lift on and while wheels off hit it with brake cleaner. Haven’t noticed any squeaking since

 

Ya it’s probably from that tire shine crap they spray all over the tires....

 

Actually, this is a great idea to try. If it works, that would probably be cheaper than the drive to the dealer.

Probably dont even have to take the wheel off, Just aim the straw at the pads and douse it

 

KmanQ.

Keep us posted. Sorry to see this issue. I have other cars that squeal a bit after siting but my gosh that’s awful.

i am bummed researched this vehicle so much for a year and never read so many issues as I have today. Brake squeal, bearing differential issues, paint peeling.

I was putting a lot of faith in this plant in Japan turning out great quality. I wonder if things when downhill with Covid.

 

brake cleaner will KILL paint/rubber seals .. use only on METAL .............

 

I think it’s a matter of perspective and what you consider a serious problem. I have an 06 Sienna that had a couple of quirks like poorly programmed shift point at a few miles per hour, steering wheel creaking sounds when cranking lock to lock when it was cold outside, weeping (not dripping) transmission oil. After a period of adjustment and observation, I decided those issues were nothing I needed to act on. 15 years later, the Sienna still has these same quirks, but has otherwise been absolutely reliable and well mannered, comfortable, and useful. No nasty habits, and solid as day one. I gave it normal preventative maintanance, and everything still works as it should.

Compare to an 2011 Kia Optima I bought new. Beautiful materials, wonderful initial quality, but oil would turn black at 3000 miles, and couldnt make it to 7500 mile intervals without adding a quart (direct injection). Very annoying ride quality, tranny needed repair at 80k miles. Engine under constant threat of recall for complete replacement.... Got rid of it after 7 years.

Or take a 2001 Mazda protege5, also bought new. Beautiful interior, impeccable handling, absolute blast to drive. Zoom zoom baby! No obvious initial quality issues. By 9000 miles, the clutch chattered like crazy (“they all do that” they said). By year five. I was seeing perforating rust on the hatch, oil pan that was paper thin due to rust, doubtful looking subframes (due to rust) and rear brake pads that always stuck (due to rust everywhere). Got rid of it after 5 years, what an absolute piece of crap that car was.

All this to say, the initial quality and feel may tell you less than what you think it tells you. When I decided on the 4runner, I was banking on longevity of the drivetrain (relatively simple non-direct injection engine), general robustness, and frankly, the toyota reputation for reliability. Living in the rust belt, I knew I would need to commit to take extra care with the frame, so it wont be rusted through in 15-20 years. I had read about the bearing issue, and decided the risk was not a deal breaker. I got the off road version, partially hoping the manual transfer case meant one less actuator to go bad.

It still has to prove itself, but so far Im very happy with it, and look forward to having it for a loooong time. If I need to repair the bearing in the diff, so be it, and hopefully it wont happen again.

None of this matters though if you are not comfortable in the car. So make sure you get plenty of seat time before commiting.

 

I have had a similar thing happen with my 2021, about 700 miles on the clock so far, only happens first time I drive it in the morning for the first one or two stops. Was thinking it's a combo of it being brand new pads and when it is foggy in the morning but will see how long it persists. Hadn't thought about tire shine gunking it up but other than the night I bought it it's only been washed with tire shine once.

 

Yes someone somewhere pointed out if we do enough research on any vehicle we can get scared off. We have to take a risk sooner or later an make the best decision we can. I think many of us though try much more so now that these rigs are so darn expensive. I remember buying an Accord after a ton of research with a few bad reviews. I had all sorts of noises from the door seals and many visits, then the 5th cylinder blew up at 37k. To my surprise Honda stood behind it and replaced the engine at 7yrs and 37k and they earned my respect and I have purchased several others and family did also.

Hopefully these manufacturers read these posts. I remember years ago seeing a sign "It takes years to earn a customer and only minutes to lose one" and there is a lot of truth to that statement.

 

That's the stock Toyota 4runner "time to use the brakes" alarm. Only vehicle I have owned with such convenience.

 

OK.... Sorry it took so long to write back.

I had dropped off the truck on Thursday (last week) as I think I mentioned previously, and got the call to pick it up Monday. They had actually finished Friday late in the day, so 2 full days working on it.
(They gave me a courtesy car (2021 Corolla w/350km on it) for the 4 days.)

The Service Manager said he had the shop foreman work on it himself and the video help tremendously. They proved it was the front brakes making the noise and replaced the front pads, and took a bit off the rotors. The most interesting is the Manager said they removed the stock shims (thin) and replaced them with a heavier Anti-Squeak Shim Kit. They also made sure the brake pads were applying pressure equally.
Pad Kit, Disc Brake - 04465-35290
Shim Kit, Anti Squeal - 04945-0C030

I have been driving around everyday since Monday and not a mouse squeak, nothing !! It is almost 100% humidity here is Victoria BC, and was -2 C last night, and nothing. Just like 99% of all other cars on the road.

All I have to say is please don't pass your truck off to "oh well" or "it will get better". Get to the dealer and they will fix it, if they believe you. That was originally the problem as they couldn't repeat the noise the first time I was there. But of course not, because I drove it to Toyota and the squeal was long gone.

Best of luck to those with the same issue. I wouldn't be surprised if Toyota issues a service notice or changes the manufacturing process in 2022.