Stuck My Foot In It - REALLY Hard

The pivot pin support wasn't as strong as it needs to be. They are likely all that way.

It could just be my innate ability to break things, but this piece should be stronger. NOBODY should be able to mess up a brake support or any other part of the braking system. I'm big, but I'm not The Hulk.

 

The dealers say they should have my car back to me Thursday or Friday. They will put in the new assembly, make measurements to ensure it was the only thing modified, and give me back my vehicle.

Or not...

 

Ha! I adopted that moniker mostly because of poor Mr I's inability be all things to all people, regardless of his awesomeness. I can commiserate, as can any Dad/Husband.

 

So I thought I'd get the Camaro out and drive it for the next few days. Man-O-Man! I'd forgotten what a real gas pedal feels like!

Yay horsepower!

 

After two weeks, I got my car back today. Went to pick it up and drop off the loaner at lunch.

Performance Toyota of LaVista. They did ok as far as I can tell. The loaner was quickly provided, and had only 85 miles on it. One of the nicest loaners I've had. I suppose as the C gets older, so will the loaners. They kept me up to date and were pleasant.

I paid nothing out of pocket.

The remarks on the invoice: "Confirmed customer concern. Brake pedal was not coming back far enough to touch brake light switch. ... compared brake pedal height-customer car was lower than new car. ... removed brake pedal bracket assembly from customer car and removed a new pedal assembly from new car inventory. Compared the two and found where bracket bolts to body was bent. Ordered new parts. New bracked assembly from KC. Put it on and measured. Made sure all adjustments were set. Performed health check. Cleared all codes and test drove. All systems working properly."

No issues driving it back from work. Have been driving the loaner, the truck, and the Camaro and now have to get used to it all over again.

Back to the Great (Habanero) Pumpkin just in time for Halloween...

 

A couple of photo's of the brake support assembly. They aren't as clear as I would like since it's all so close and hard to discern one part from the next.

Photo #1 is of the brake light switch and tab. The switch is brown and it's arrows are yellow. Also on that photo is the brake assembly supprt structure. There is a cut-out that I think is what bent. It looks to be the weakest area. It is highlighted in light blue. Those that wish to stick their head in that area with a flashlight can easily make it all out.

Photo #2 is also of that cut-out from a slightly different angle. It is also highlighted in blue.

The part was taken back to the Toyota mothership and I was unable to inspect it. Everything is supported by a stamping and I can see that it could be tweaked if human-able force is applied. Maybe the next version will not have that cut-out for "lightening."

 

Mahout, I bent the brake pedal support. It was then not aligned with the the brake switch shutoff tab. The tab was on a separate structure and was not affected. Toyota replaced the brake pedal support.

The battery was unhooked for trouble shooting while I was trying to figure out why the brake lights wouldn't go off.

It was quite a surprise to see the switch and the tab misaligned. It was like, "That ain't right."