Tarago brake is not very good. The 2 front has more brake than the 2 back disks

Tiny
LANGTU9
  • MEMBER
  • 2009 TOYOTA TARAGO
  • 3.5L
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 300,000 MILES
Hi, my Tarago brake is not very good, done all service, all guide pins silicon slide smoothly, replace disk, replaced a new the master cylinder, bleed air all 4 wheels. No brake fruid leak. After 10 minutes drive, I touch check brake disks : 2 font disks are good hot, but 2 back disk are warm only, not very hot like front disks. The Brake booter is seem good. No check engine light or ABS light. Look like the 2 front has more brake than the 2 back disks. Can ABS make this happen? Or can I set the balance on ABS for more pressure to the back disk?
Or you idea please. Thank you.
Sunday, March 1st, 2026 AT 11:31 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 34,454 POSTS
Front brakes do get much hotter than the rear ones. They do up to 80 percent of the stopping. That's why front rotors are vented, meaning two plates with cooling fins between them. Rear rotors are usually non-vented. They don't get hot enough need cooling slots.

The brake balance, front to rear, is very carefully designed in at the factory. The diameter of the pistons in the master cylinder, calipers, and rear wheel cylinders, (when used), set the basic braking power to the front and the rear. Then, small adjustments are made through valving in the "combination valve" and the "rear height-sensing valve". Both of those valves may not be used. Often the combination valve is incorporated into the hydraulic controller when the vehicle has anti-lock brakes. The height-sensing proportioning valve is used on vehicles that can see a wide variation in loading, front to rear. That applies to pickup trucks and minivans. Cars rarely use that valve.

When combination valves are used, it will be a brass block under the master cylinder. There can be dozens of different part numbers. Even though they all look the same, the valving is different for the different options on the vehicle. For example, air conditioning can add a hundred pounds to the front, so the combination valve will allow a little more hydraulic pressure to the front brakes. Different engine sizes are the more common variable.
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Sunday, March 1st, 2026 AT 11:46 PM
Tiny
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Thanks for your respond, yes, you are correct that my front rotors are vented, and Rear rotors are non-vented. So what can I do to make the brake better? I did all above but still not satisfy when compare brake betwenn this Toyota Tarago and other cars.
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Monday, March 2nd, 2026 AT 12:03 AM
Tiny
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I'm not familiar with your model, but I can share that some cars have antilock brakes that slow cars very gradually compared to other models. Before you say your brakes are not as aggressive as they should be, drive another one of the same year and model to see how it acts.

For example, I have a 1993 Dodge Dynasty with anti-lock brakes. They are so effective, you can almost tear the seatbelts off the hinges. A Chevy Caprice Classic uses the same Bendix system, but with one less valve. It ties the two rear brakes together when either one starts to skid. On those cars, often used as police cars, you go and go and go as the car slows down gradually, and they find you in the next county. The brakes are extremely slow to respond, however, the purpose of anti-lock brakes is not to provide faster stopping. It is to maintain steering control. Skidding tires can't be steered. How fast the brakes slow the vehicle is a design issue.

As far as front to rear balance, that too, as I mentioned, is designed in and we don't want to play with that.

One thing you might consider is removing the fuses for the ABS system to disable that option, then see how the brakes work. If it's fairly easy to lock them up and skid the tires, the ABS system is likely working properly.
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Monday, March 2nd, 2026 AT 6:17 PM
Tiny
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I will look for the ABS fuse to disable it as your guide, will this make ABS light come on dasboard? And after reinstall the fuse, will its lights off? Thanks
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Monday, March 2nd, 2026 AT 11:07 PM
Tiny
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There's always two fuses for anti-lock brakes and air bags. That is so if one fuse blows, making the system inoperative, the second 12-volt feed circuit is there to allow the computer to turn on the warning light telling you the system is off.

Typically, when the fuses are reinstalled, any diagnostic fault codes that were stored will be erased. Most commonly, if you do something to cause a fault code to set, if the problem is corrected, the code stays in memory, but the warning light will turn off, either right away, or after the engine is stopped and restarted, or after driving the vehicle, and then stopping and restarting it. Some models, Chryslers, for example, have a strategy where if an intermittent problem, or one you created such as by unplugging a sensor while the ignition switch is on, once that problem no longer occurs, the fault codes self-erase after 50 engine starts. While counting up to those multiple starts, the yellow warning light will be off.
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Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 AT 1:01 AM

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