Brake Fluid Leaking?

[Lloyd C]

Drove down out of the Mountains this evening over steep, curving, snow and mud covered roads. Parked in my driveway and noticed break fluid forming puddle and stream coming out from under the truck. Reservoir was all but empty. No warning lights to indicate a problem. Drove to my dealer downshifting and ready to pull the emergency break if needed. Dropped truck off via overnight key drop and took Lyft home. Second system failure in less than a month. I’m starting to miss my Lexus but not ready to give up on my new friend. Last time an o ring left out of turbo air hose. Anyone what to guess what ails my truck this time.

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[chuck stein]

Drove down out of the Mountains this evening over steep, curving, snow and mud covered roads. Parked in my driveway and noticed break fluid forming puddle and stream coming out from under the truck. Reservoir was all but empty. No warning lights to indicate a problem. Drove to my dealer downshifting and ready to pull the emergency break if needed. Dropped truck off via overnight key drop and took Lyft home. Second system failure in less than a month. I’m starting to miss my Lexus but not ready to give up on my new friend. Last time an o ring left out of turbo air hose. Anyone what to guess what ails my truck this time.

Something in the snow or mud ripped a brake line off? Or are you saying the problem is around not getting a low fluid warning?
I sold my Tacoma in anticipation of a new 2020 Ranger. Problem with a low brake fluid warning light seems like a 1st grader problem that should never occur. All these reported issues has me 2nd thinking my next buy. It's exactly these many small issues I want to avoid. Maybe the 2020's will be better?

 

[Roofhopper]

Maybe I'm not hip to the game but I've never seen any vehicle spit out a low brake fluid level alarm

 

[Lloyd C]

Something in the snow or mud ripped a brake line off? Or are you saying the problem is around not getting a low fluid warning?
I sold my Tacoma in anticipation of a new 2020 Ranger. Problem with a low brake fluid warning light seems like a 1st grader problem that should never occur. All these reported issues has me 2nd thinking my next buy. It's exactly these many small issues I want to avoid. Maybe the 2020's will be better?

Should have waited to post. Guess it was a false alarm. What I saw was a significant amount of fluid running off the skid guard under the engine. The shop checked it all out and said that it was likely moisture condensation. As I have driven the vehical almost 1500 miles and never seen anything like this I had called my sales person after the shop had closed. He said that it sounded like fluid and as the quantity was significant to puddle and streem as well as collect that I should bring the vehical in. He was concerned about break fluid. As this would have been my second go round in the last month I assumed the worse. Love the truck so glad it was a false alarm.

 

[VAMike]

Maybe I'm not hip to the game but I've never seen any vehicle spit out a low brake fluid level alarm

It's pretty rare to happen, but there's definitely a warning light. With a modern braking system you should have partial failure and the warning light before you totally lose power brakes.

 

[chuck stein]

Maybe I'm not hip to the game but I've never seen any vehicle spit out a low brake fluid level alarm

Do you mean never seen a vehicle lose all it's fluid? Or, have never seen low brake fluid level light? Try pulling the res completely dry via one caliper and see if you get a light, then pull some new fluid and fill. I have never seen brakes fail because the fluid res was about empty and low level light is on.

 

[Roofhopper]

Do you mean never seen a vehicle lose all it's fluid? Or, have never seen low brake fluid level light? Try pulling the res completely dry via one caliper and see if you get a light, then pull some new fluid and fill. I have never seen brakes fail because the fluid res was about empty and low level light is on.

Never seen a low brake fluid level light pop up, then again it's probably been 15 some years since I've had a brake line pop on me. I've had vehicles with pad wear sensors, ABS and the like, but nothing advanced enough to show low fluid level

 

[mike]

Ok...I'm not following, but it is early here and my reading comprehension may be slow.

In your first post you said, "Parked in my driveway and noticed break fluid forming puddle and stream coming out from under the truck. Reservoir was all but empty." What reservoir were you talking about?

 

[t4thfavor]

I would "ASSume" they were referring to the brake fluid reservoir under the hood by the drivers side firewall.

 

[Lrtexasman]

Something in the snow or mud ripped a brake line off? Or are you saying the problem is around not getting a low fluid warning?
I sold my Tacoma in anticipation of a new 2020 Ranger. Problem with a low brake fluid warning light seems like a 1st grader problem that should never occur. All these reported issues has me 2nd thinking my next buy. It's exactly these many small issues I want to avoid. Maybe the 2020's will be better?

The Tacoma has been more reliable for every year of its production and I’d expect that trend to continue. If you can deal with the seating position (although the 2020 Tacoma gets power seats) low roofline, Powertrain shifting, and drum brakes over the Ford/GM/ and soon to be FCA reliability and recall issues it’s the way to go. All the mid-size trucks have their various strengths and weaknesses. If reliability and build quality is your number 1 then perhaps getting out of the Ranger and into the 2020 Tacoma is a better choice. If comfort, fuel economy, and active safety features are your number 1 then keep your Ranger and deal with the nuances. American car reliability issues are shaped like a bathtub bell curve. Issues in the beginning then drops off with little to no issues and then climbs back up when everything needs to be replaced. Japanese reliability curves are flat and climb straight up when they are done.

 

[RedlandRanger]

American car reliability issues are shaped like a bathtub bell curve. Issues in the beginning then drops off with little to no issues and then climbs back up when everything needs to be replaced. Japanese reliability curves are flat and climb straight up when they are done.

I would love to see a scientific study that shows this. That sounds like some anecdotal evidence, not something that can be proven. Do you have any links for these conclusions?

 

[Lrtexasman]

Let me start with the Ranger seems to be a great truck. I would not have an issue with purchasing one. I always try to purchase vehicles assembled in the USA and American made full-size trucks and SUVs have always shown positive long term reliability and durability yields. The point I was trying to make is that American cars are historically known to have some problems with initial ownership and once you get a few bugs worked out they are good vehicles until around 10 years old when parts start to wear out. The Japanese cars have historically had better initial ownership reliability reports but the problems increase at about year ten. See see attached PDF for the data you were asking for. It is pretty obvious if you follow Consumer Reports, Popular Mechanics, and other automotive news pertaining to recalls and long-term reliability reports. Carcomplaints.com is also a must when researching a car purchase. It covers customer and safety report failures. You select a vehicle and then continue to select within the graphs to get further descriptions of problems. Usually takes a about a year to get decent reporting in on a specific model. This is helpful because it is not just ranting on the internet. It is data you can present to your service manager if you are having a known issue and it can tell you if you a specific model (or certain year model) is not worth keeping or purchasing due to reliability issues.

Ranger
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Ranger/2019/

On a related note, here is a complaint against the brakes.
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Ranger/2019/brakes/service_brakes.shtml

 

[Floyd]

The Tacoma has been more reliable for every year of its production and I’d expect that trend to continue. If you can deal with the seating position (although the 2020 Tacoma gets power seats) low roofline, Powertrain shifting, and drum brakes over the Ford/GM/ and soon to be FCA reliability and recall issues it’s the way to go. All the mid-size trucks have their various strengths and weaknesses. If reliability and build quality is your number 1 then perhaps getting out of the Ranger and into the 2020 Tacoma is a better choice. If comfort, fuel economy, and active safety features are your number 1 then keep your Ranger and deal with the nuances. American car reliability issues are shaped like a bathtub bell curve. Issues in the beginning then drops off with little to no issues and then climbs back up when everything needs to be replaced. Japanese reliability curves are flat and climb straight up when they are done.

Having owned several new Rangers over thirty years, I am prepared to compare reliability records or performance with any Tacoma ever built...Period!
I've been DRIVING Fords and fixing the rest for half a century,
Remember...
It was Abe Lincoln who said, "Don't believe everything you read on the internet!"

 

[joeb427]

The Tacoma has been more reliable for every year of its production and I’d expect that trend to continue. If you can deal with the seating position (although the 2020 Tacoma gets power seats) low roofline, Powertrain shifting, and drum brakes over the Ford/GM/ and soon to be FCA reliability and recall issues it’s the way to go. All the mid-size trucks have their various strengths and weaknesses. If reliability and build quality is your number 1 then perhaps getting out of the Ranger and into the 2020 Tacoma is a better choice. If comfort, fuel economy, and active safety features are your number 1 then keep your Ranger and deal with the nuances. American car reliability issues are shaped like a bathtub bell curve. Issues in the beginning then drops off with little to no issues and then climbs back up when everything needs to be replaced. Japanese reliability curves are flat and climb straight up when they are done.

I'm a Toyota fan but the '16 sort of new generation Tacoma had many issues. Ask SubVet here who owned one.

 

[Lrtexasman]

I'm a Toyota fan but the '16 sort of new generation Tacoma had many issues. Ask SubVet here who owned one.

Yep but most of those issues relate to a matter of opinion (transmission shifting and engine power, low seating position, ect). Also have to consider they sell around 200k trucks per year, so percent wise there are more issues. The vehicle is performing as the Atkinsons engine cycle is designed to perform and does notresult in catastrophic engine failure. Much like the vibrating wastegates on eco-boost engines that irritate everyone, myself included.

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