Before you ask, yes I've extensively searched with no luck in regards to finding a quick solution.

Anyways, here's my problem.
On my way home from work today I caught the scent of what I thought smelt like burning brakes. Thought it may have been a car next to me, or some big rig ahead of me in traffic. Get home to check my brakes visually, and noticed extreme heat from coming from my front drivers side brake, but not the passenger side. Obviously there was more brake pressure being put on the drivers side rather than disbursing the force equally. Eventually pull the wheel off to visually check the pads, everything seems to be fine and there is plenty of pad life left. Put the tire back on, and took the car out for a spin. Went down the street to do a few quick braking spurts with my hands off the wheel. Didn't notice any pull to one side or the other what-so-ever, problem seemed to be fixed. But now I noticed, that only when I brake really hard an indicator light comes on in the dash. It's red, and looks like a oil lubricant canister. Checked the brake fluid itself and it seems to be fine. Fluid is not at Max, but more so at the Min level. I havent touched my brakes in months, so I'm assuming there shouldnt be any leaks and if there were i didnt see any. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

I have the same problem!! I could smell something burning and didnt know what it was..i guess i have the same problem as you.. any help would be appreciated!! A little red oil can light came on for a split second as well.

 

Glad I'm not in the dark here haha. Upon further investigation, I noticed that without applying pressure to the petal, and going <5 mph, it would stop on its own. Meaning, the brake is sticking. What's going on here? I havent done anything to my brakes in months, and it all of a sudden started today.

 

Might have a sticky caliper, and the oil light is representative of low oil in the car so under an extreme stop it can come on as the oil has sloshed forward possibly making the sensor think "Where the hell did all the oil go that was here just a second ago?" . When you did your brakes did you bleed the brakes at all? maybe try bleeding a little through and see if that can help anything, if not you may need a caliper.

 

Alright, so I've concluded that my problem is a sticky caliper. What I ask is, what can cause this to happen, and is this covered under warranty? Because honestly, replacing a caliper shouldn't be under the normal wear and tear items. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated thanks.

 

Well this is a bunch of BULL SH*T. Took the car into the dealership yesterday, only to wake up to a call this morning from the tech service statement that BOTH my calipers need replacement. Not just the one, but both Because the service tech said the other side was sticking as well. Don't you think I would have noticed that? And now they want to charge me $977 for a brake job. Christ, it's calipers, not pads and rotors, shouldn't that be covered under warranty? Toyota Corp. is definitely going to get a call over this one.

 

GEEEZZZ THATS ALOT :/
If i may ask.. What are the symptoms of a sticky caliper..how can i know for sure?

 

everytime i see this i always ask when the last time someone lubed up the sliding pins on the caliper. That is what I've seen causes this. But if the piston or the sliding pins are SEIZED in the caliper, then forget it, you need new one.

 

I wouldn't waste my time with new calipers from Toyota they're way overpriced on everything. Try Napa for some calipers. Just checked for an 07 tC.. $72 + $39 core (refunded when you return your old ones to them). that's for each caliper.
$977? Tell them it was their fault for not servicing them at the 15,000 and 30k services. but good luck arguing with Toyota, doubt you'll get anywhere with them. Better off spending the $72/each and fixing it permanently.

but I keep telling people you gotta lube up the sliding pins every year or two on this car. They seem to need it a lot. Design must be causing it.

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Thanks sciontc_mich, im gonna do a thorough inspection today on my brakes. Gonna bleed the brakes and getting new brake pads while im at it. Most likely itll be a sticky caliper. Thanks for your help everyone. Much appreciated.

 

Alright, quick update.
Haven't made an effort to contact corporate about the situation, but in the mean time I fixed the problem myself. All I did was go down to the local auto parts store, buy two caliper rebuild kits that only consist of new O rings and seals. Pulled everything apart, including the cylinder from the caliper itself, cleaned off the residue (black in color) from both cylinders, lubed everything up and put it back in with a clean re-bleed of the lines. Since then have noticed no problems what-so-ever. Brakes work perfectly, no sticking issues at all and have even noticed a dramatic increase in gas mileage. Total cost to me was $27 bucks. No need for new calipers, they shouldn't ever have to be replaced anyways. All is said an done here.

 

YAYYAY YAy!!! I finally figured it out! So i removed the brake caliper and still noticed that the rotor was spinning just fine.. As soon as i put the wheel bolts on the rotor would not spin at all!! Turns out i have a bent Rotor -_- . GOnna buy a new one. Problem should be fixed. I guess i jumped to conclusions about the sticky caliper... as far as how the hell the rotor was damaged..no idea.

 

Glad to hear you fixed it yourself man. Good work.

 

Was recently coming to old posts I made to review and came across this one.

Just as an update, since doing the caliper rebuild myself, and it being three years later since doing so, have no issues at all. This is also after doing a routine replacement of the pads and rotors (R1 Concepts).

Cheers!

 

I am having this exact issue currently... the pass. side isnt hot at all, but the driver side is burning and i just had new pads replaced... so the rotor is f#*ked?? my mech just had my car on the lift, and he tore the ENTIRE caliper apart... no sticking or issues with the piston!!??!! even cleaned and lubed it up fresh less than a week ago...

Driving home today and i noticed the isues is back!!!

 

Welp... at -5 degrees... the distinct smell of burning pads from my car this morning is not how I want to have my morning coffee... to the mech we go yet again...

 

Common issue on the tC - it's not the piston sticking, it's binding of the caliper on the slider pins. As discussed previously in this thread, they need to be lubed - otherwise, the calipers do not 'release' when no pedal pressure is applied. The pads stay in contact with the rotor.
Seems to be especially bad on the rear, at least it is on mine. There are two pins on the fronts, but only one pin on the rears. On mine, the rear pin was completely frozen in the caliper. Fixed it once, found it happened again later, really bad on both rears, and slight sticking on both fronts. So I lube all of the pins now, front and rear, every time I rotate the tires - every 10K miles. I do have 184,000 miles on the car though....
Another sign that the pins are sticking, pedal will not be firm, even after bleeding. That's how I found mine were sticking, pedal went almost to the floor.
Easy to tell if they are 'free' or stuck - on the rear, remove the caliper retaining bolt, and the caliper should easily pivot upwards on the pin. Once up and away from the rotor, you should be able to easily slide the caliper in and out on the pin. If the caliper won't pivot up, or is very difficult to move, good chance the pin is sticking / binding in the caliper bore.
Same on the front - if you remove both of the pads (or just one), this will give plenty of space for you to be able to slide the caliper in and out on the pins by hand. Should slide easily. It it doesn't move, or is difficult to move, the pins are sticking.

 

^^ I fully understand the "sticking pin" part... within the week it has been torn down and pins lubed... sooo what gives?? Im thinking its something in the brake line, preventing the fluid to "escape" back into the system.

 

I know your thread is pretty old so I’m not sure if you even still get on here. But If you do see this, did u figure out your brake issue? I recently do all four wheels rotors pads calipers and hoses because I bought a used 2008 tC on my passenger front my caliper isn’t releasing all the way. Brand new and lubed pins but the OEM hose looks short to me on the side after the clip to the caliper. Thinking line is too tight to release the fluid all the way. Wouldn’t have thought to look at that My husband said that’s what he was thinking after he took my wheels off to do the clutch a couple weeks after I did the brakes Not sure what to do other than make my own or possibly try a different brand.

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