Toyota car and truck forums

I have 2001 Rav4 iam having break problems, when driving the excelleration slows down and wheel starts to vibrate around 40 is as fast as it will go until it comes to a complete stop. this is when the hot smell comes from the wheel area and your can feel extreme heat the vehicle will not go into reverse or forward. by accident i set there for a good 45mins and then i tried to drive and it moved i slowly limped down the road to have it checked out they changed pads, then it happened 3 mons later changed pads again no help changed caliper not help, changes abs sensor module no help what is wrong with the break seizing up and getting really hot ive had it in the shop many times no one seems to know why its getting hot and stopping the car from moving.

At anytime - did they flush out the old brake fluid when they did the brakes? Chances are - the fluid is contaminated with moisture and potentially causing problems with corrosion. Could be an issue with the ABS unit - fluid has to be regularly replaced or damage to the ABS unit may occur. A problem of the ABS system locking the brakes is a common issue when the brass valves inside go bad.

I would also be looking at mechanical issues - bent wheel or damage hub causing excessive vibration in the wheel assembly. This could severly shorten brake component life. Rotors and calipers should always be replaced in pairs - key points have to be greased for proper operation like greasing the sliding pins with high temp disc grease, greasing pad/caliper contact points on torque plate (this is what holds the caliper). The choice of brake fluid is also important - should be DOT 3 or better, but not DOT 5 (silicone based) - will cause braking issues. If this is an intermittent problem - I would have them scan the ABS computer for any preset trouble codes - ABS system could be confused and will try and lock the brakes when not needed.