Factory brake controller issues.

I had my IBC reprogrammed yesterday (2016 SR5 4wd, 10K miles). I will post when I get to try it out. This was quite a hassle. I scheduled the service two weeks ago. At that time I told the scheduling lady that I wanted the TSB performed and offered to give her the TSB number. She said they had it but would need to check the truck and determine the issue on their own. I said fine as long as the TSB was performed before they were done. My wife took the truck in yesterday at 10:30am and handed them a copy of the TSB. An hour and a half later she calls and says they state nothing is wrong and we owe $99 + change for the troubleshooting they performed. I spoke (nicely) to the service rep and asked if he had read the TSB. He said no but the technician hooked to a known good trailer and the controller works. I then read part of page #1 to him, which seemed to perturb him a bit, which started to perturb me as well. He said he needed to talk to the technician and call me back. He called back and said they would now perform the TSB and there would be no charge. I expressed my displeasure with the attempt to charge my wife, told him to get it done and get her on her way. He was less than happy, but so was I. My wife said he was a little pissy when he hung up, but they took it back in and she was on her way not too long after. I had told her to get his business card or name and title because I would need it for my survey report to Toyota. She said he was very cordial as she left and gave her his card.

 

Please let us know, would love to hear if this works!

 

Seeing as I got my 16 used, with the purpose of towing our travel trailer, I need to set up an appointment to have my IBC flashed. I had not heard about this problem before reading this thread. I have not hooked up my trailer yet, but won't now until the flash has been done. I'm glad that I joined this group.

 

I just had the brake control tsb done on my '17 trd pro last week. I don't feel much of a difference at all. When driving I feel that the trailer brakes work decent. At low speeds (under 25) I can hear and feel the trailer brakes apply enough to tug at the truck with the gain set at 6. But when rolling at low speed and I squeeze the manual lever for only trailer braking, I only get enough braking to bring me to a very slow stop even with the gain set at 10.

Before the Tundra I had a '15 trd pro tacoma with an aftermarket brake control that I used to tow with, and to be honest, I never really played around with the brake control manual lever to see what it would do.

Just for reference I tow a '17 jayco 264bhw that weighs in at 4750 from the factory. This weekend I scaled out at 3860 on the steers, 3840 on the drives and 4940 on the trailer tandems. I just bought the trailer new and have owned it for about 3 months.

Is the manual slide supposed to actually completely lock up the trailer brakes?

 

UPDATE: Results of the flash update on my 16 DC 4wd are in. I feel little or even no change from before. Still using the electric over hydraulic on my electric brake equipped camper. An aftermarket controller is in my near future.

 

I did the TSB flash this past weekend. I have not gotten up to my trailer to hook up since then. I'm hoping that it works. I have a camping trip planed for next month and will see how it does on that drive. If not I will be looking for an aftermarket one.

 

After watching youtube videos on electronic trailer brakes, it appears that new brakes should be adjusted after 500 miles. A brake adjustment for trailer brakes looks pretty basic and easy. I think I'll try that first and if I don't get better results I will look into an aftermarket brake controller as well.

 

Appreciate the information! Will have the Tundra brake controller re-flashed during the next free service at the dealership! Tow a 4950lb travel trailer, will report back about difference after re-flash.

 

I had the TSB applied Monday when I was in for my free service, I hooked up the trailer, a 2000 pound car hauler, it was empty, I could feel the brakes the first time with the IBC gain set on 5. Jacked it up to 7 and the trailer brakes would pull on the truck. Next is to try with a load. Looks like a major improvement.

 

Do your trailer brakes lock up when squeezing the slide lever?

 

Trailer brakes do not lockupm when squeezing slide leaver, but I do feel the brakes slowing the truck. I towed with about 2000 on the trailer yesterday, cannon and Gator, the brakes do work, but not as good as the Prodigy P2. May reinstall it, but will give it a little longer to prove itself.

 

Well I hooked up my Premier travel trailer and took it to Toyota. They installed the new TSB and now I have breaks. They advised that because of the anti lock breaks on the tundra the breaking will be different than an aftermarket break controller. I noticed the trailer Did stop better with the new TSB modification.
I purchased an IPA Electric Brake Force Meter with Dynamic Load Simulation and Circuit Testing meter. I Hooked it up and tested my break system. It does apply full break voltage during a panic stop and increase voltage as you apply the breaks. I am running my IBC at 8 and it works well. This will not give you the same breaking as The tekonsha p3 but now it does work.
The IBC is controled by the vehicle ECM. The tech plugged in his computer to the obtII port and installed the TSB. Took about 15 min.

 

FYI: I just spoke with my Toyota dealer. They said this is a known issue and that some trailers require the use of the electric/hydraulic setting. It still gives proportional braking. I hope they are right.

 

Took the truck in for the 15k check and brought along the TSB number for them to check the brake controller. It just so happens we went camping last weekend in Tennessee which is about a 6 hour drive from here. So, the memory of my braking experience is still fresh.

I have never really noticed the brake controller being "bad," but certainly it lacks the obvious feel from my old P3 controller in the last vehicle.

Anyway, they did the usual things at 15k and said they had checked the controller. (I'd reminded them twice not only about the controller but also gave the TSB number)

Took the 23-foot camper this evening to be winterized and a few other things. NO difference in braking that I could tell. Like it said it wasn't "bad" before, but would have preferred a better range. Keep it on "9" for gain all the time. Maybe there is a difference and they are a good dealership, but if it was changed...it is way too subtle for my old butt to feel.

I don't know, maybe when they built the truck in November of '16 they had already updated the software???

 

Nope. I called my dealer several times about the problem and they said they never heard of it before. And then that it was working but I just couldn't tell - Even though my truck could barely stop the trailer. There was absolutely no action on the electric brakes when the truck brakes were applied even when set on 10. Finally, I called my dealer and ask them to verify that they have the capability of doing t-sb-0231-17 before making the appointment. I then needed to tell them that is what I wanted done, not ask, tell. It appears the criteria Toyota uses to check the controller only verifies that it does what they want it to. Not that it will actually operate the electric brakes on a trailer. My appointment is on 10/27/17, I will post after I test it.

 

That's why I like this site! Looking forward to reading your experience...

 

I had the firmware update on the brakes done on Oct 27. I needed to do a few things on the trailer before doing the drive test. The electric brakes now work when I press hard on the brake pedal (they always worked when I moved the lever). But, they do nothing in light to medium braking, and only have an effect on heavy braking when I set them over 8.5. If I had to pay for the firmware update I wouldn't bother doing it. It would be better just to use the money to add an aftermarket electronic brake control controller - Especially if driving through the mountains, etc. One bright spot is if I need to brake hard I will have brakes. Not even close to as good as my Tekonsha controller, though. I have my 18 month checkup next week so I am going to ask Toyota to confirm they actually did the update and explain my lackluster results. Nothing will come of it, but at least they will now about it.

 

Ok, this is a weird one. Noticed the brakes seem about the same with the camper, maybe a bit better. However, now the truck brakes seem really "grabby" below on anything beyond light braking. Is this the case....or should I see a doctor about a possible brain tumor?

 

I have a 2017 TRD Pro. I took it in to Toyota with the printed copy of the TSB and asked them to do the flash update. After keeping it for an hour they came back out and told me the TSB didn’t apply to my vehicle so they did nothing. My controller will operate two ways. 1.manually and 2. If I use hydraulic over electric setting. The trailer brakes are extremely grabby at low speeds and don’t seem to work at all at high speeds. It seems like my prodigy had some kind of progressive braking feature that prevented this. The built in controller is very convienent but I sure do miss my Prodigy. I only have a 3000# trailer so I’m not too concerned but curious if anyone uses a separate controller and is there a harness to plug into. My Tacoma had one but it was a pita to find.

 

I went back to my Prodigy and an very happy. etrailer.com has a kit to plug and play into the tundra and ESPtruck.com has a great kit to mount it in place of your factory unit.

 

They said they fixed it and the paperwork says they fixed it...but my trailer, apparently, can't read so it behaves the same to me.

 

Same here. The paperwork says they did the TSB update, but it made no difference. I wish I knew how to check if they actually did the update. Should find something out when I bring it in next Wednesday. Otherwise I am removing the Toyota controller that I paid for and junking it, then installing one that actually works. Also, complaining to Toyota for reimbursement. My last test drive with my trailer the truck brakes smoked a little and the trailer brakes were barely warm. I only felt brakes over 8.5 and then only when hitting them hard. The trailer brakes work fine with another truck.

 

Has anyone noticed trailer brakes being "grabby" when not in tow/haul mode. When I shut off my truck at the campground office, tow/haul turned off. I did not realize this when I started the truck and drove on to my spot. Every time I tapped the brakes, the camper tires would lock up. I turned tow/haul back on and it stopped.

 

This is really discouraging as I just bought a 2016 specifically for towing my camper. Has anyone been able to get Toyota to reimburse for the purchase of a brake controller?

 

I'd say no to that one.

 

I figured that. I guess I will keep my prodigy if it doesn't work and reqwire it.

 

So about a week ago I towed to Grayson Highlands in the Virginia mountains and electric just didn’t seem to have the braking power, but electric over hydraulic did seem to grab and brake.

This doesn’t make sense to me because my trailer brakes are electric, it’s a single axle 3,500 lb camper, and my previous controller and taco combo would almost lock up. Didn’t even come close with the electric setting, but would with electric over hydraulic.

Any issues using electric over hydraulic? I’d prefer to leave the IBC rather than installing the prodigy.

 

Well, I brought it in to Toyota saying the brake controller was dangerous and it almost killed me and everyone else on Highway 61 in Northern MN. On the electric setting it does absolutely nothing and extends the safe stopping distance. Using the electric/hydraulic setting a gentle press of my pedal locked my trailer brakes and sent my truck and trailer sliding down the highway sideways. Not a nice feeling. This is going to kill someone, if it hasn't already. I told my dealer and they said everyone has the same complaint. I am contacting toyota telling them it is not a good idea to kill off their customers.

 

What’s killing me about this is that we are almost on 2019, already have 2019 Tundras out, but for the life of me I can’t find a harness adapter to install a p3 on a 2018 Tundra. I really dislike the idea of having someone splicing wires, but unless I’m just missing it, I may not have a choice.

 

My dealer said they could install an aftermarket controller for $550. I said I already paid for a controller and I am still in warranty. That I shouldn't need to pay twice for a part that came from the factory defective. I talked to corporate and they said they will discuss with the dealer on what to do. They did seem concerned that I almost killed several people. I also told them that their computer software only showed if the controller met their specs. Since it is obvious that their specs are wrong the computer test is meaningless. I agree, if there was an adapter for tekonsha then I would just put one on. I will post what Toyota's final deal is. I won't be paying %550 to fix their deadly mistake.