Have you done the TSB? With the TSB, they also replaces the original brake pads with a different part #. What parts were you using? Aftermarket or OEM? Did my TSB when I got 20K. I am at 42K now with no pulsation. This is on a '15 SE.

 

Brakes pulsation and vibration

If you guys are experiencing any brake pulsation at 20K or less, you may want to bring it to the dealer for TSB 0045-14. It also needs an upgraded brake pad toyota part # 04465-45040. This TSB is suppose to be for 2011-2014 Toyota Sienna but my 2015 SE has the same issue and the air vent is...

www.siennachat.com

 

I have not done the TSB because I have over 120,000 miles on it and they would probably tell me to pound sand. I never really started having any problems until after 75K. I do all of my brake jobs myself and use after market items. I'm wondering if I should just buy the upgraded pads from Toyota and cut out the part for better air flow myself. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

Cut by any sharp knife/ cutter...etc...and buy a good brand non OEM or updated part from any reputable stores.
If you did read about this topic, others bought Hawk pads or other good brands with nice reviews.

 

Why didn't Toyota tell me about the TSB in July 2014? I purchased my Sienna in September 2013.

 

I've read it somewhere about the same topic, even he asked to the Tyt dealer, they didn't know till he showed the printing paper about the TSB.

 

The pads and rotors I typically buy are Auto Zone. Not the cheapest ones but not the highest priced either. I will check out the Hawk brand. Definitely going to visit the local Toyota dealer first and see if I can complain my way through it.

 

The pads and rotors I typically buy are Auto Zone. Not the cheapest ones but not the highest priced either. I will check out the Hawk brand. Definitely going to visit the local Toyota dealer first and see if I can complain my way through it.[/QUOUTE]

Try this first. You will never know. Try different dealerships too. You will be surprised that one dealer does not honor it and the other dealer will honor it.

 

Cutting the flap for more air flow to the brake rotor can only help you so much. Brake pulsating every 5k sounds like you may not install your brake rotor correctly or there are some other underlining issues you’re not aware of. Before you install your brand new brand rotor, did you take a wire brush or a polycarbonate disk and clean off rust built up on your hub? You can always check the run out on your brake rotor and see if you have excessive run out. If that’s the case you can index the rotor and check the run out again.

 

I did clean the rust build up off. This past set of brakes and rotors was done with a buddy of mine who is a certified mechanic to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. Unfortunately same results...

 

Every 5K is way too often, I would recommend taking the car in and have a complete brake job done professionally and start fresh, that includes, flush the brake fluids, re-surface the rotors, clean and lubricate the guiding pins. Another thing you may want to try is re-bedding the brakes, this is a process that will naturally occur but that also depends on driving style and geographic location ( Flat vs. Hills ) can also be done to speed up the process. If you don't know what bedding the brakes is, here is a video:

brake bedding procedure youtube - Bing video

 

As stated, the TSB addresses an airflow issue that is essential to prevent overheating of the rotor. It's a heavy vehicle and the rotor/pad size (sweep area) probably should have been sized larger. Heat leads to material surface reactions and eventually non-uniform changes in rotor thickness. That's what creates the sense of pulsation.

To address this:

1) Do the flap modification yourself to increase airflow. It's really a no-brainer. You'll get the best looking (cosmetic) job if you remove and modify, but they can be cut in place with a $5 set of shears.

2) Consider resurfacing and/or replacing the rotors. Once they are damaged, it can be hard to recover them. Cast iron had micropores, and a certain amount of brake pad material transfers into the surface. The action of "bedding the pads" is maybe the single most important part of a brake job to ensure long-term success and good stopping action. If the rotor has been contaminated by silicon carbide or other material, the pad transfer, eventual wear patterns, surface oxidation, coefficient of thermal expansion, etc., will all vary across the surface promoting judder.

3) Toyota recommends resurfacing even brand new rotors, ON THE VEHICLE. Why? because new doesn't always mean perfect. Also, if the hub surface isn't perfectly flat, you will begin life with rotors that move in an oscillating pattern and that will only get worse over time.

4) Do you own a torque wrench? 76 ft-lbs, and in a pattern, going around 2-3x to seat the wheel correctly and uniformly. Your rotor gets sandwiched in-between the hub and the wheel. If not done right (uneven or way over clamping force pressure), you actually bend that rotor at 5 pressure points, which only becomes worse as it heats. If you apply mechanical stress to a metal and then heat cycle it, it takes a new shape! Any time a shop touches my wheels, my Job 1 is to loosen and retorque those wheels ASAP. I use an impact gun with a torque stick around the hub 2x (first to about 10 ft-lbs, then to 50 or so), and then final setting by hand with a torque wrench.

5) Make sure the pins and sliders are all working, and that the pads move freely within the carrier. Drag = HEAT!

6) Driving practice: One thing I try not to do is sit at a light with my foot pressing any harder than absolutely necessary on the pedal. Hard pressing hot surfaces together promotes uneven material transfer.

 

That is some excellent information! Wish I would have found this forum years ago. Thanks for everyone's help! Much appreciated!

 

I am replacing my brakes and rotors every 5,000 miles because of pulsation. My wife mostly drives the Sienna and she is not hard on the brakes. I own a 2013 Sienna SE and would love any information or help yall can throw at me.
Thanks, Mike

There is something seriously wrong if you are replacing pads & rotors every 5K. Under normal driving, the pads alone should last at-least 30 - 35K. Have your brakes evaluated by a professional to check for stuck pistons/callipers or dried pins. if you have to change the rotors, check for runout after mounting followed by a full brake fluid flush

As for The TSB mentioned above, it doesn't do much. You can do it yourself with the van parked on flat ground in less than a minute. Use a tin snip to shear the plastic dam and you are done.

 

When I change my rotors and brakes because of pulsations, they are still like brand new when I remove them. So when I say I'm changing them every 5 - 7K it's not because they are worn out or worn down. The last set I switched out Auto Zone replaced them under warranty. So I've switched out 3 sets in the past 15 months. So probably around 20K miles total. A mechanic did my last set because I thought I was either missing something or doing something wrong. Needless to say, they are pulsating again.

 

When I change my rotors and brakes because of pulsations, they are still like brand new when I remove them. So when I say I'm changing them every 5 - 7K it's not because they are worn out or worn down. The last set I switched out Auto Zone replaced them under warranty. So I've switched out 3 sets in the past 15 months. So probably around 20K miles total. A mechanic did my last set because I thought I was either missing something or doing something wrong. Needless to say, they are pulsating again.

If you have a copy of the tsb, a newer/improved oem brake pad is also part of the tsb. I believe the newer design pad has slightly different geometry which suppose to help with cooling. There’s a possibility aftermarket may be still using the old mold.

 

When you hear "bite the bullet" its never a good situation! But, I 100% agree its time to visit the dealer. I never go to the dealer unless its a recall or they are offering a free trip to Hawaii with every oil change! Again, I appreciate the feedback and understand forums are like Doctors. They diagnose off symptoms and hope its the right call. Thanks again to everyone and I will place this site in my favorites.

 

="13siennaSE, post:......forums are like Doctors. They diagnose off symptoms and hope its the right ....

For me, before I bought cars I asked or at least have searched several topics or issues on the particular car I wanted to buy. I almost bought Odyssey but the guys in the ody forum are cool, they told the true about certain years odys have had transmission over heating problem. After that, I have read many about siennas here before I bought mine. There were 2 siennas, 2015( mine now) and 2017 one. Its about $1,250 different with higher mil, I chosed this one than 2017 for the transmission updates " issues". And I m happy. Thank you guys🙏👍

 

I had this problem on my 06 Sienna, until I changed the front hubs & bearings: too much runout.

 

Ok..didn't think about that. Thanks for the tips

 

 

I have a Honda Odyssey with a similar problem. At 80K miles I am on my third set of rotors. The problem is with a braking system that was not properly designed for the weight of this vehicle. I would definitely do the modification to get more air flow to the brakes, that will help. Much like yourself I did the brake work myself. My first set of rotors started pulsating at 15k miles. I first tried buying some cryo treated rotors, they too started to pulse about 20k miles later. It was wasted money. My third set is doing well after more than 20k miles. The difference is that Honda updated the rotor design by adding some cooling holes to rotor. I found an aftermarket rotor that had this design change, most don't, and since then the brakes are working fine. You should check photos of the Toytota rotors and make sure the replacements you buy match the design exactly.

 

I had similar problems with a complete brake job on my son's Camry after approximately 5,000 miles the brakes started to pulse. I searched extensively for a solution. Virtually everything was suggested and entailed either a lot of work or a lot of expense and sometimes both. I knew that I had done the job correctly and used quality parts so I was reluctant to tear it all apart to find my mistake. Of course going to a stealership was totally out of the question. One day as I continued to research for a solution I ran across this:

" Some drivers who are especially light on applying their brakes can cause a buildup of residue on the rotors which can eventually cause pulsation when applying the brakes. To overcome this problem take the vehicle out on a straight stretch of road and accelerate to 60 mph and apply brakes hard (but not hard enough to cause the wheels to lock) release brakes at 10 mph. Repeat several times until pulsation stops. You will notice a definite smell as the residue is burned off the rotors"

I had never heard of this approach but after thinking it over for about 5 minutes I thought why not? It took 3 runs from 60-10 mph accompanied by the burning odor to cure the pulsation. My son is very pleased that his Camry is back to normal and I am pleased that I continued to search for a solution other than disassemble.and throw more time and money at the problem. So give this simple fix a chance first before doing anything else/ You have nothing to lose but everything to gain..

 

The process you describe is what some call bedding in the brakes. You should do that with new brake pads. I did that on my most recent rotor replacement. I didn't get the smell, but the brakes did get very hot.

 

Thanks for all of the information. Storm coming through right so I should probably wait a bit to attempt the "bedding". I'm gonna post a video of a noise our Sienna is making on another thread. I've never heard it while driving so my wife took a video of it. Please check it out and let me know! Thanks!