Knucklebus

Parked outside? It could be overnight flash rust breaking loose.

jonathancl

I would just wonder about the actuator's longevity.
The driver door lock actuator is prone to failure because it's used every time you use the car.
It's not unreasonable to wonder about the same wear on the parking break actuator.

Has anyone reported a parking brake failure?

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Just don't turn the car on, the engine is used every time you use the car. I'm concerned about the wear.

I'm sure you can find some cases of a part failing on the car, but that's not necessarily what will happen to every car. Not every Lexus over 200k miles has a door actuator failure. Just use the car and all it's features as much as possible. In most cases Toyota/Lexus will last a very long time before any part fails, that long therm reliability is part of the reason we bought the car.

I'm at 108k miles and no failures or issues at all other than replacing the sunroof seal.

thallium

I do and it's loud enough I always feel like it's going to make people look my direction to see what happened.

thallium

I've never used parking brakes on automatic cars in thirty years of driving unless I was on an slope which is very rare. I do set my brake if I happen to park on a slope. I guess I wouldn't mind using the auto parking brake but since I see little need to use it I worry the wear on it may make it fail prematurely and then I won't have it when I actually need it. I have gone years without parking on a slope. Recently however I've gone to a local Circle K more that for some reason has a steep slope on their parking spots and I use it then.

About the only scenario I could see the parking brake being useful on flat parking spots is the extremely rare case that somebody rams my parked car which could break the parking pawl or having my car towed and the tow truck drags the drive wheels for some reason. I used to watch a youtube channel that just posted videos of illegal parkers at their business. They have signs all over the place telling people they'll get towed but it's close to some nightlife spots and people do it anyway and sometimes the tow truck has no choice but to grab FWD cars from the back and drag them out of the spot before they maneuver and pick up the front. Either way I imagine at least a lot of parking brakes get worn prematurely and some parking pawls get broken too.

00goobs

Try holding the brake when and after shifting into "Park" for a couple seconds longer to allow the parking brake to set. If it stops the ka-clunk, maybe a parking brake service is in order.....

703

i don’t think brake hold uses the parking brake.

thallium

I don't notice the clunk on setting the brake, it's when I shift into Drive. When I shift to Park there is a faint motor whirring noise but it kind of clunks when it disengages.

00goobs

It is more giving time for the parking brake to set so the transmission park pawl/gear doesn't have a load on it when you're ready to go from Park to R-D....

JDR76

I'm a big believer and user of parking brakes. I leave mine on auto all of the time (a feature I wish my Tacoma and Highlander had). I never hear it engage or disengage.

jgscott

iTrader: (1)

I had to check today after I saw this thread. I never hear mine either.

thallium

I tested it today with the door open so I could hear things better. When engaging the brake it's really not as noticeable like I thought. When I take it off there is an initial "thunk" like a heavy steel part hitting something solid and then a slight whirring noise like a dc motor spinning. With the doors shut it's noticeable inside. With the driver door open it doesn't seem to be very audible around the exterior but I can slightly notice it inside.

I might be much more sensitive to noises though as I hear every little tick and squeak in any car I'm in and they drive me nuts while others never even notice what I'm talking about.

703

I leave mine on auto. It’s a great feature.

The operation is very quiet. Only makes a small disengage sound when it releases.

GS350MIKE

When I park on a hill I set the parking brake manually, then let go of the brake pedal, and THEN I put the car in Park so there’s no thump going from park back into Drive or Reverse when it’s time to drive again.

it sounds like I’m not using the auto brake feature correctly.