Emergency Brake/Parking Brake

A binding park-brake cable can stick in the applied position and cause your rear brakes to wear out prematurely.

Depending on how far it’s driven while on, it may also heat up and ruin your rear brake drums, and even cook the hydraulic wheel cylinders, which can result in loss of brake fluid and decreased brake pedal engagement.

On most Toyotas, the park-brake cable activates the automatic brake adjusters. Consequently, if the cable is broken, the rear brakes get out of adjustment and become less effective.

Even if you are mostly parking on level ground, it’s a good idea to use the park brake regularly in order to keep the rear brakes in adjustment and to keep the self-adjusters from seizing up due to lack of use. Schedule an appointment for a brake service if you’re experiencing this.