T27 Avensis electronic parking brake issue

[Tuomas44]

Hello. I had my rear brake pads replaced a few days ago on a repair shop that is not an official Toyota repair shop. The next day I'm getting the check electronic parking brake light and the epb won't engage. I can hear it trying to engage. Weird thing is it works randomly but most of the time engaging epb doesn't work. Do I have to take it to Toyota for resetting? I tried to push epb button for 10 seconds while ignition ON. No luck. 

[Bper]

Hi Tuomas,

It's possible that the EPB issue is purely coincidental and unrelated to the brake pad replacement. However, it's also possible that the repair shop might have inadvertently disturbed or damaged a sensor or wiring related to the EPB during the brake pad replacement.

A faulty sensor in the braking system could be sending incorrect signals to the EPB control unit, causing malfunction.

Damaged or loose wiring related to the EPB system could be causing intermittent connection and malfunction.

In some cases the EPB control unit itself could be malfunctioning.

I would take the car back to the Toyota dealer that replaced your brake pads. Explain the issue with the EPB in detail and request them to inspect their work for any potential connection to the recent repair. They should have qualified technicians and potentially the necessary diagnostic tools to identify the cause.

Hope this helps😄

[Tuomas44]

Thank you. It was not a Toyota dealer that did the work. Just a universal car repair shop. But I will certainly give them a call after weekend. If the problem is a faulty sensor do I need to replace the whole epb system or just the sensor? The epb system is ridiculously expensive. I looked this problem up and some people here on this forum said epb might be needing calibration after changing the pads. Is this true? Car is 2010 model.

[Bper]

12 minutes ago, Tuomas44 said:

Thank you. It was not a Toyota dealer that did the work. Just a universal car repair shop. But I will certainly give them a call after weekend. If the problem is a faulty sensor do I need to replace the whole epb system or just the sensor? The epb system is ridiculously expensive. I looked this problem up and some people here on this forum said epb might be needing calibration after changing the pads. Is this true? Car is 2010 model.

Hi Tuomas, I would look on the positive side that it will be something simple. Let them take a look and see what they say.

It is possible that to he EPB is faulty and this has been highlighted on a few previous posts but doesn't mean yours is.😄

[Cessna]

I recall reading on this forum that the pistons must be wound back into the calipers in the correct fashion, and that the EPB often needs to be calibrated after pad replacement. It is common for people to not do these things or not do them correctly. You can ask the garage that did the work about them, but it may be best to go to a good Toyota specialist or dealer and ask them to sort it out.

[avetoy]

44 minutes ago, Cessna said:

the pistons must be wound back into the calipers in the correct fashion, and that the EPB often needs to be calibrated after pad replacement

Winding back to the correct position is important and the calipers/pads are worth to check. But I still believe that the repair shop did not do the pad job for the first time...

I don´t know about the calibration...  I have done the pad job several times; only pushed the brake pedal before using epb...

Don´t know about the epb sensor either... As far as I know there are only the abs sensors at the wheels.

 

[Konrad C]

From my experience with my own car, I suspect the pistons may have not been wound back to a set position! This will cause the inner pads to forced at an angle and jam within the caliper. 
Read the following - 

Basically the piston cut outs need to be horizontal, so the pins on the rear of the pads are within the hollow arrea and not touch the piston face. Also make sure everything is moving and everything secure!

[Konrad C]

9 minutes ago, avetoy said:

Winding back to the correct position is important and the calipers/pads are worth to check. But I still believe that the repair shop did not do the pad job for the first time...

I don´t know about the calibration...  I have done the pad job several times; only pushed the brake pedal before using epb...

Don´t know about the epb sensor either... As far as I know there are only the abs sensors at the wheels.

 

You beat me to it. I was typing when you posted. 👍🏾😂

[Tuomas44]

Actually I was wrong. The parking brake engages even when the error message comes on. My best bet is the repair shop didn't wind the calibers to a correct position. How to fix this? Remove break pads and wind the calibers to a right position, put brake pads back, press brake pedal a few times and apply epb? Can this fix my issue? 

[mekanieker]

If the new brake pads have been installed correctly, you should always first pump the brake until you feel resistance and only then operate the EPB and not before

[Tuomas44]

Originally I took the car for service because right side brake pads were rubbing the disc and getting hot. At first it seemed changing brake pads and cleaning worked. I got the error epb error codes go away by doing as follows:

Connect obd pins 4 and 13. Turn ignition on. During The first 8 seconds press, pull, press pull epb button and press, release press release brake pedal. Then disconnect jumper wire from obd. Yellow warning light should come on. Turn ignition off. Connect obd 4 and 12 pins and turn ignition on. Do not press clutch. During 5 seconds press, press, press, release release release epb button. This cleared all warnings. 

But then I noticed tire was getting hot again. The problem was parking brake mechanism located in break caliber not releasing fully. Cleaning and oiling it and working it back and forward with hand helped. Break caliber only a few years and 50k km old. Left side never had this problem. Looking up this from internet I found this is very common especially on right side break in cold environments. Probably because it's located very close to exhaust pipe and being exposed to temperature changes. All working now 👍

[Jim-p]

1 hour ago, Tuomas44 said:

Originally I took the car for service because right side brake pads were rubbing the disc and getting hot. At first it seemed changing brake pads and cleaning worked. I got the error epb error codes go away by doing as follows:

Connect obd pins 4 and 13. Turn ignition on. During The first 8 seconds press, pull, press pull epb button and press, release press release brake pedal. Then disconnect jumper wire from obd. Yellow warning light should come on. Turn ignition off. Connect obd 4 and 12 pins and turn ignition on. Do not press clutch. During 5 seconds press, press, press, release release release epb button. This cleared all warnings. 

But then I noticed tire was getting hot again. The problem was parking brake mechanism located in break caliber not releasing fully. Cleaning and oiling it and working it back and forward with hand helped. Break caliber only a few years and 50k km old. Left side never had this problem. Looking up this from internet I found this is very common especially on right side break in cold environments. Probably because it's located very close to exhaust pipe and being exposed to temperature changes. All working now 👍

If you need to replace it, make sure to choose a good brand. Don't go cheap like I did, only for the parking brake mechanism to fail on both new calipers less than a year later.

[Tuomas44]

1 hour ago, Jim-p said:

If you need to replace it, make sure to choose a good brand. Don't go cheap like I did, only for the parking brake mechanism to fail on both new calipers less than a year later.

Probably have to replace it in the future. I'll keep this in mind, thanks!