Brand new to the community 2020 Tundra SR5 brake question.

I have a question about my 2020 Tundra SR5. Bought new Sept 2020, put about 4,200 miles on it and stored it inside for 4 months. I live in northern MN. Got home in April, made sure battery was charged, started right up. When I drove it, the brakes kinda pulsated when braking. Called the saleman, he said it could be "lot rash", when a vehicle sits rust/corrison can get on the rotors and cause this pulsing or roughness. He checked with their service department, was told that with some driving and "riding" the brakes this would smooth out. I put about 1,000 miles on the truck and it did get better, however, when I step on the brakes it still has a pulsing action. Took it to the closest dealer, they said they'd replace the front rotors. Rotors not in stock have to order and contact me back. My question is that how can a rotor warp with only 4,200 miles ? Thank you.

 

Welcome . The rotors probably didn’t warp but the corrosion on the rotors probably caused the pulsating . In other words the corrosion was a little too bad for the brakes to get rid of it completely .

 

It seems there are a lot of complaints of stock rotors warping. Mine started shaking really bad when hot by 20k miles. I changed them and now the new aftermarket ones with 15k miles on them pulse when stopping.

 

In the OPs case, I am sure it is related to sitting and non use. Even stored inside, the moisture in the air will cause corrosion and rust to form on the rotors.

I would suggest an Italian brake job, do some hard braking.....basically "rebed" the brakes with about 10 hard brake cycles. Speed up to about 40-60 MPH, then brake firmly and steady down to about 5mph....do not actually stop however. Get back up to speed and repeat that a few times. That will help to wear some of that crud off and will likely smooth out the brake function.

But yes, Tundra do have some funky brake pulse and shimmy issues compared to other vehicles. When replacing brakes, many upgrade to cryo treated rotors. Ensuring lug nuts are correctly tightened can also help because it they are overtight they can cause rotor warp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRcvZFcmCLU

 

Not sure how to reply to individual responses, however, I do appreciate the feedback. I have put about 1100 miles on the truck since we got back, have done some backing up and applying the brakes fairly hard, however, have not tried the 40-60 MPH braking. The dealership said it's covered under warranty and rotors are on back order. Thanks for the info, it's greatly appreciated.

 

My trucks don’t see many miles a year but I have had similar problems with my Tundra and my old 2017 4Runner. The longer they sat the worse they got. But unlike your case after one highway run they were fine.

Truthfully I have seen the same problem with my Toyota commuter cars as well after going on vacation for a week…

I guess it’s just a Toyota rotor thing and they are noisy as hell.

Good luck OP!

 

My 2017 has 29k on it and the fronts are warped pretty bad, the stock rotors just dont seem to last long. Im going with R1concepts Geomet rotors when they are back in stock.

 

Must have went downhill. Had an 04 with 90,000 and never had anything done to the brakes. All what it came with from day 1. Hauled a lot of coal and other stuff. Two directions where I live too. Up or down. Maybe it's your driving habits?

 

Rodtheviking, thanks for the input. You mentioned my driving habits. Well, where I live we have no coal to haul, our driving is pretty much flat, no hills or valleys.

 

I did take my truck to a dealer, they ordered new front rotors, had to wait a month to get them installed, will find out next week if that fixes the problem. Thanks for the replies.