2023 Rear Brake Smell
02-07-24, 03:11 AM
#1
Driver
Thread Starter
2023 Rear Brake Smell
We bought the GX late last June and it currently has about 3600 miles on it.
My wife drives it everyday during the week to take my granddaughter to pre school and to work once week and to run a few errands if need be.
It is always garaged and rarely sees the rain. She does not ride the brake and does not drive with 2 feet on the pedals.
Recently I noticed that the rear brakes smell a little hot when she gets home from work which is about a 20 minute drive +/-.
I have not jacked it up to check it out, or took it to the dealer for inspection yet, but was wondering if anyone else has the same issue?
Is there an easy way to confirm if something is dragging?
Since it is so new, would this be something covered under warranty?
My wife drives it everyday during the week to take my granddaughter to pre school and to work once week and to run a few errands if need be.
It is always garaged and rarely sees the rain. She does not ride the brake and does not drive with 2 feet on the pedals.
Recently I noticed that the rear brakes smell a little hot when she gets home from work which is about a 20 minute drive +/-.
I have not jacked it up to check it out, or took it to the dealer for inspection yet, but was wondering if anyone else has the same issue?
Is there an easy way to confirm if something is dragging?
Since it is so new, would this be something covered under warranty?
Last edited by Bergy24; 02-07-24 at 04:46 AM.
The following users liked this post:
Bergy24 (02-07-24)
02-07-24, 06:26 AM
#4
Pole Position
... check that the emergency brake shoes are properly backed-off ...
02-07-24, 06:55 AM
#5
I had the same issue and it turned out to be a leaking rear axle seal. I used an infrared thermometer to confirm the issue was not the brakes. Also, if your drive shaft was lubed recently, some excess grease can get slung out over hot exhaust and smell burnt. Your rig sounds too new for these issues, but worth checking out regardless.
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skeener (02-07-24)
02-07-24, 07:06 AM
#6
Driver
Thread Starter
I had the same issue and it turned out to be a leaking rear axle seal. I used an infrared thermometer to confirm the issue was not the brakes. Also, if your drive shaft was lubed recently, some excess grease can get slung out over hot exhaust and smell burnt. Your rig sounds too new for these issues, but worth checking out regardless.
Did you visible see the seal leaking?
02-07-24, 08:40 AM
#8
Intermediate
'23 with 3.6k miles? It is very unlikely it has any mechanical issues unless it was used in some extreme environment. Use a temp gun to check that all brakes are about the same temperature range when wife gets home and move on with your life. It is still probably burning off some factory coating or you picked up a plastic bag with your exhaust (true story, smelled and slightly smoked for like a week or two).
02-07-24, 10:49 AM
#9
Driver
Thread Starter
'23 with 3.6k miles? It is very unlikely it has any mechanical issues unless it was used in some extreme environment. Use a temp gun to check that all brakes are about the same temperature range when wife gets home and move on with your life. It is still probably burning off some factory coating or you picked up a plastic bag with your exhaust (true story, smelled and slightly smoked for like a week or two).
I am hoping that it is still the factory coatings burning off, but I don't want to ignore it and it turn out to be more serious either.
If something is dragging, I don't want the dealer to push back and give me a hard time saying we ignored it either.
I plan to take it out tonight and check the temperatures.
02-07-24, 03:06 PM
#10
Driver
Thread Starter
Update,
I drove the GX around a couple miles tonight.
No abnormal noises were present.
While sitting on an incline, it moved easily and did not appear to have anything dragging or sticking.
No drifting or pulling was observed while driving or braking
After driving around for a couple miles including some decent hills, I parked it in the garage and immediately checked the rotor temperatures with an infrared gun.
The front rotors were slightly hotter than the rears, but only by 10 degrees +/-, the rears were with 5 degrees of each other +/-. The right rotor was slightly hotter than left, which is where the smell is noticed the most.
Looking underneath the GX, the tires were dry and nothing looked like it was leaking and no trash was observed.
The smell was not very strong and may just be because it’s fairly new, but I’ll continue to check the temperatures.
I don’t remember my Tundra having this smell, but it is also parked outside so the smell may have dissipated rather quickly.
I drove the GX around a couple miles tonight.
No abnormal noises were present.
While sitting on an incline, it moved easily and did not appear to have anything dragging or sticking.
No drifting or pulling was observed while driving or braking
After driving around for a couple miles including some decent hills, I parked it in the garage and immediately checked the rotor temperatures with an infrared gun.
The front rotors were slightly hotter than the rears, but only by 10 degrees +/-, the rears were with 5 degrees of each other +/-. The right rotor was slightly hotter than left, which is where the smell is noticed the most.
Looking underneath the GX, the tires were dry and nothing looked like it was leaking and no trash was observed.
The smell was not very strong and may just be because it’s fairly new, but I’ll continue to check the temperatures.
I don’t remember my Tundra having this smell, but it is also parked outside so the smell may have dissipated rather quickly.
Last edited by Bergy24; 02-08-24 at 02:55 AM.
The following 2 users liked this post by Bergy24:
NewB2Lexus (02-07-24),
tntcandy (02-08-24)
02-08-24, 10:12 AM
#11
Our '23 had the same smell but it went away after a few months of use. Check to make sure your park brake is fully released. But I do think it is just undercoating or something similar that is burning off because the car is still new. The smell has gone away completely for us. Hope this helps.
02-08-24, 10:55 AM
#12
Driver
Thread Starter
Our '23 had the same smell but it went away after a few months of use. Check to make sure your park brake is fully released. But I do think it is just undercoating or something similar that is burning off because the car is still new. The smell has gone away completely for us. Hope this helps.
I did engage and pop the E- Brake to make sure it was fully disengaged at the pedal.
02-09-24, 06:51 AM
#13
Pole Position
Last edited by ASE; 02-09-24 at 07:18 AM.
02-09-24, 06:56 AM
#14
Driver
Thread Starter