Parking brake failed state inspection (1 Viewer)

[prharper]

Took my truck in for annual state inspection to independent shop before Thanksgiving. It failed the inspection with a note: parking brake not holding under light acceleration. Diagnostics recommended $145. I declined and went straight to Toyota dealer without appointment. My service advisor said probably just needs adjustment. Made appt after Thanksgiving break.

Last week adapter the failed inspection, I lifted the rear and pulled off both rear wheels. Accessing the parking brake adjuster through the disc hole is a little tricky as you can't see it. I pulled off a wheel spacer and the drivers side rear rotor to better examine the parking brake. Vehicle has 46k miles and the parking shoes still have a decent amount of compound. The inner rotor did have some rust and mud in it. Used a wire brush to clean it out. Put back together and made adjustments per FSM to both rear wheels (didn't visually inspect passenger side parking brake) and did not have to adjust parking brake cable. Pulled parking brake lever far back and hard, put truck in drive and it did move with a slight amount of acceleration.

Is this normal?

Fast forward, kept my appt with Toyota. Went in there this AM with a spare set of new rear Toyota rotors just in case. Ordered new Toyota parking brake shoes last week also just in case but they have not arrived yet.

I always cringe going in to the dealer. Anyway, the service advisor gave me an update and said my parking brake was fine and the tech who looked at it is their State Inspector. I said ok, have him do my state inspection. $20 later and I passed state inspection without any other charges from the dealer.

When you all pull the parking brake hard and put in drive with slight acceleration, does it hold? I'm thinking maybe the passenger side rear parking brake may need visual inspection. Glazing? Maybe recent Woolwax type of application mist got into the inside of the other rotor?

 

[bloc]

They didn’t pull hard enough.

The factory spec is 5-7 clicks with 45# of pulling force on the handle. Mine was carefully adjusted to five, less than a week before the inspection, and a state inspector failed mine as well. I explained the procedure for adjusting and showed him how it works, and he said it seemed like he had to pull too hard but ultimately passed it.

These trucks have a lot of torque, and most vehicles like this don’t have a pull handle. I think they just aren’t used to how it has to work for us, even when it works exactly as designed.

 

[CharlieS]

What @bloc says. Even with a properly adjusted e-brake, the 5.7 has the torque to overpower them.

 

[cboyd]

In Massachusetts, I failed this on my 100 and my 200 - they claim that at idle, the parking brake should hold the vehicle on level ground.
For my 100, the rear adjuster was frozen and all i had to do was get it freed up and make some small adjustments to allow it to hold.

On my 200, i took it to the dealer and asked them how they previously approved it given same requirements. They checked it and said it was fine, and issued me a sticker. Perhaps the fact that the truck was warmed and at normal idle was part of the trick. I could see a cold-start high-idle cause them to state it wound not hold. That particular shop is only 2 mins from my house.

So, it’s clearly all up to the discretion of the inspector - this is one time I prefer the dealer, as they do more 200‘s than any Indy shop and will likely offer to adjust something with a shop tech before failing it.

Mass is a major pain in the butt…

EDIT: the Indy shop claimed that my 100 swingouts and accessories were blocking the taillights… So in this case, i had to pull off my Jerry cans and hi-lift jack. They were not blocking, but it was close enough for them say so… so i feel like a lot of CYA Going on, especially now that every inspection station has cameras and photos taken with the inspection

 

[prharper]

Good feedback guys. I've taken my truck to the same independent shop the last three years and it's always passed inspection. Noticed this time a young kid did my inspection and failed me over this parking brake.

Anyway, I figured the Toyota dealer would get to the bottom of it and they passed me. Got there at 7:30 AM and another 2016+ LC 200 had just pulled in before me. The advisor said that's a rare sighting.

I'm impressed the local dealer didn't try to upsell me routine maintenance and other items. Given my brake pads are new and tires still have decent tread, it would be hard for them to call those out. I do my own PM and fluid changes. I'll go back to this dealer for future State Inspections.

 

[TeCKis300]

I do believe that the 5.7L has easily enough torque and gearing to overpower the parking brake.

That said, I need to adjust mine. Pulled up hard on the last click, it will just hold the car alone on my mild driveway. I noticed the last time I parked on a slope when towing at over 15k combined weight, that the parking brake didn't feel very confidence inspiring. Chocked the wheels on the trailer which is best practice, but I need to re-adjust the parking brake.

 

[kcjaz]

I don’t have any state inspection to deal with here in KS but I do have a chronic parking break issue. I’ve had to have it adjusted several times to be able to hold the vehicle on an incline in neutral. It’s works for a while then eventually “loosens up” and won’t hold the truck on an incline. It never has been able to hold the truck on a flat surface with any amount of throttle in gear. Most people do not understand how hard you have to pull up on it. My plan is to personally look at it while I’m getting some other projects done.

 

[AnyMal]

I don’t have any state inspection to deal with here in KS but I do have a chronic parking break issue. I’ve had to have it adjusted several times to be able to hold the vehicle on an incline in neutral. It’s works for a while then eventually “loosens up” and won’t hold the truck on an incline. It never has been able to hold the truck on a flat surface with any amount of throttle in gear. Most people do not understand how hard you have to pull up on it. My plan is to personally look at it while I’m getting some other projects done.

Parking brake is a weak link on the platform. Undoubtedly. Its extremely common for it not to hold the truck but can be fixed.

Although mine is different, i spent quit some time getting it right. Itll hold on an incline in drive with zero rubbing when released.

In your case, adjust the inner threaded rod FIRST, then in the rear drum, clean and lube everything (you should have plenty of pad left), then SECOND tighten down the star gear until the wheel locks, from there THIRD undo the gear around 5 notches until it rotates smoothly. If you hear some SLIGHT rubbing, its perfect, it will wear and seat itself as you drive anyway. Same on the other rear wheel, and in this case order shouldn't matter. You should be tight tight when you pull lever at 6 clicks. If so, you did it right.

 

[Cincodemustache]

Good thread and info. I'm just glad others use the parking brake too. My wife makes fun of me and ignores my rant about parking pawls holding 6-8 thousand pounds of weight without the parking brake.

 

[cboyd]

You might have the last laugh. I’ve seen a parking pawl get stuck in a rather nasty incline way out in the middle of nowhere…parking brake first and shift to park second - especially when Offroad.

It took some creative work to get released. I’m not even sure how it was freed up - everyone was happy it was!