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Return of Sienna Squeaking Brakes + Thump...

Well, I took our 2001 Sienna (with 95K miles) back to Sullivan Tire of Manchester, NH for the third time in the last eight weeks this morning. When they originally replaced the pads and turned my rotars at the end of April, I immediately noticed a ton of squeaking in the top 25% or so of brake pedal depression (at typically low speeds), and an intermittant "thump" when backing up. About a week or two later, I took it back and pointed out the noises, and after a couple of hours they called me back to say that they had "adjusted" some things that should take care of it. A few days later the squeaking was back. Then a week after that, the van vibrated so much at highway speeds that my wife pulled over fearing she had a flat tire; the boys from Sullivan Tire came and picked my wife and kids up and took another look at the van, and said that the rotars were warped because my wife "must have stomped on the brakes in the first 200 miles after repair." They spend a couple hours machining the rotars again and the vibration (from brakes not releasing properly in back?) has not returned.

But the squeaking and the intermittant thump still obtained, so I took it back this morning. I even demonstrated the incredible squeaking for one of the techs, who was surprised that the amount of racket it was making with only 1500 miles (likely less) of driving since the initial repair. After a couple of hours, they called me back and said it was fixed (they said they installed new composite brake pads and new rotars). When I asked the counter guy what happened and how all this could have been avoided, he took a deep breath and commented in an incredibly patronizing way, "..How can I say this, but you need to make sure your wife doesn't stomp on the brakes in the first 200 miles after repair." I'm just glad my wife wasn't there or he might have been stomped. When I rode with the tech this morning he said the stomping comments are not true, that by the time they're done they've already "seated" the breaks properly. The counter guy explained that the manager would mail me the paperwork since he had to account somehow for the $400 in extra costs today's repair cost him at no cost to me, but the brake stomping comment has been said to me a half-dozen times by everyone I've dealt with at this shop. Is it bogus? My wife drives a minivan with three children under 5-years of age. She's not racing in Louden. Do I have a right to be irritated by this question of "stomping"?

Thanks, mothy

Reply to
mothy
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It sounds like 100% pure BS to me. They used cheap brake pads the first time.

Reply to
someone

Agreed! If you are not savvy about automotive systems, take someone with you who is. It will eliminate about 95% of the BS, plus it is fun to watch them squirm.

Reply to
Truckdude

The squealing and thumping sounds are probably both caused by aftermarket brake pads. There are some very good aftermarket brake parts, but I am not willing to experiment to find out which ones are good and which ones are not good so I always stick to parts branded by the company that made the vehicle, known as original equipment manufacturer, or OEM parts.

In my experience with Toyotas, a rotor that has been machined will tend to warp fairly easily, causing vibration when braking.

The line about not stomping on the brake pedal in the first 200 miles is totally incorrect.

I predict that the pulsation/vibration will re-appear in less than 6 months, and that the brake pads that they installed most recently will have a shorter life unless they installed OEM pads.

IMO, the best compromise between performance, quietness, and life for brake parts are OEM brake parts. Next time you need brake work, go to a dealer or an independent shop that will install OEM parts.

Reply to
Ray O

Ray O,

Here I thought I actually penned an entire note without misspelling "brake" at least once (I did it again). Thank you everyone for your comments. I have learned my lesson the hard way, and I will take it to the dealer (or a shop that uses OEM parts) from now on. The extra 25% I would probably pay would have paid for itself in the amount of time I've had to take off work and in the amount of aggravation I've experienced. In a couple of weeks I'm going to be completely replacing the brakes front and back on my '88 Toyota Pick-Up with my dad, as well as a snapped e-brake cable. I'm hoping that the experience with someone like my dad who knows what he's doing will allow me to do more of this work myself from now on (or at least speak intelligently about the same).

Yours, mothy

Ps. Ray O, that vibrati> > Well, I took our 2001 Sienna (with 95K miles) back to Sullivan Tire of

Reply to
mothy

Good luck with the work on the pickup. Remember to use OEM brake parts when you work on it!

If the brakes are not releasing, they will heat up the rotors/drums and warp them. The repair shop should have checked to make sure that the the caliper slides were moving freely, or the rear drums (if equipped with drum brakes) were cleaned and adjusted properly.

Fortunately, there are several good Toyota dealerships within a reasonable drive of the Manchester, NH area. I am not familiar with the current Toyota dealer in Manchester, but the old Queen City Toyota had one of the best service departments around. The Toyota dealers in Concord, Keene, Claremont, Nashua, and Rochester were also very good.

Reply to
Ray O

Like a phoenix from the ashes (or is that a phoenix from the asses), I was on the highway last evening and the Sienna steering wheel started vibrated very rapidly, meaning the steering wheel was kicking back in forth quickly about an inch in each direction, not that different from riding on rumble strips. It was so quick I took my hands off the wheel and it looked blurry! It felt like a tire was deflating! So I quickly pulled over to check out the tires, and nothing was wrong. I guess I finally experienced what my wife had talked about again and again.

Resuming the ride on the highway this condition did not repeat itself. As soon as I can afford to, I guess I should forget my friends at Sullivan Tire and take the van to Toyota? I've spent $450 at Sullivan and they claim to have put in $400 more of their own money (not sure if I believe that). Do I need to be sure that Sullivan really put new rotars on the van like they said? Do you think brakes not releasing caused that? It happened suddenly at highway speeds (perhaps within

5-10 minutes of stop-and-go traffic) then did not repeat itself once I resumed. Are my rotars (perhaps the new rotars) now warped? I swear I could offer a service for car owners where I would stand outside repair shops and hit them in the head with one of those enormous Galligher hammers. It sure would feel better than this!

Yours, mothy

Ray O wrote:

Reply to
mothy

Now that we have a better description of the vibration and when it appears, I doubt if it is related to the work that Sullivan Tire did, although the thumping noise probably is.

A warped rotor usually does not give intermittent vibration - it will give a vibration under the same conditions almost all the time. Unless the rotor is very badly warped, it will not give a vibration without applying the brakes.

A random vibration while the vehicle is moving is usually related to the steering, suspension, or tires. I recommend that you bring the vehicle to a Toyota dealer for diagnosis and repair.

Reply to
Ray O

...aaand SOON!...gee, a strange unusual problem like that on a high speed busy highway is damned scary...

Reply to
Gord Beaman

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