Handbrake won't let go

[brianm Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close brianm]

18 months ago my Prado wouldn't move (handbrake off) and the NRMA guy just gunned it and said he could feel one side let go then the other.
The mechanics couldn't find anything wrong! Hadn't given any trouble that I was aware of since, but my son borrowed the car last month and there was a noise underneath which he couldn't identify and which came and went.
He noticed when driving through creeks that there seemed to be a lot of steam and the right back wheel was very hot. Then things got worse,. more noises and hot back wheels.
Local Toyota dealer down south eased off the handbrake adjustment and thought that solved the problem but after 2 hours it started again and my son eased it off further and tried not use the handbrake (this isn't easy, the automatic thing to do when parking is to pull on the handbrake.)
Now I have it booked in to Chatswood Toyota but I'm not confident that they will find out what is causing this, with a casual drive round the block nothing will happen.
Am I Robinson Crusoe here or has anybody else had the problem?

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

Possibly a seized brake caliper piston which is not releasing?

[rbert Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close rbert]

Hi Brianm,

My 150 series Prado does the same thing, but I am not having the heat or noise issue like you.
My brakes lock up if I give the Prado a wash and then park it back in garage and not drive it for a few days.
I go to drive away and it wont budge until I rock it back and forth under load to release it.
What I have noticed after parking it after a wash is that the discs go a rusty colour and some how must fuse the pads to the discs, any other time they are always shiny. You can actually see the outline of where the pads were locked to the discs.
So what I do now is make sure I let the discs dry or ride the brakes a bit to dry them before I park it back in Garage.

[Dueler120 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dueler120]

I get this sometimes after a wash. No biggy, I just rocker her back and forwards until it frees up and lets go.

Cheers,

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Yea mine does the same thing. My drivers side rear seems to smell some times but been like it got 3 years so can't be too bad. I don't get the noise your referring too, I always take mine for a spin round the block after washing it to dry every thing out. I also open all the doors and cargo door and dry in around with the chamois to get any excess water out. It's surprising how much runs out when you open the doors after a wash.... Cheers Steve

[Guest Close Guest]

Maybe you need to serenade the handbrake with the song from Frozen: Let it go! Let it go......

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

That's a turn up for the books, a 120 series handbrake that won't let go. Usually they don't grip.

[120D4D Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 120D4D]

Maybe you need to serenade the handbrake with the song from Frozen: Let it go! Let it go......

Not you too Andrew!!

We've got frozen the movie, frozen the cd, even frozen on the ipod & iphones. Even my 2yo knows some of the words!!

[cfryback Find all posts View Profile Close cfryback]

An old Canadian trick for "frozen" handbrakes, release and drive backwards.

Typically, the handbrake is designed to stop the vehicle moving forwards - so moving backwards may release the "stuck brake".

Though, TBH, it wasn't until I moved to Aus that I even started using the hand brake.

[peter_mcc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close peter_mcc]

This is the same car as this thread - here.
The problem turned out to be seized hand brake cables - after some prodding Chatwood Toyota moved on from the "it's not adjusted properly" and found the right hand side cable was seized.