2005 Toyota 4Runner - Downhill shaking

When braking especially down hill the car shakes violently! Everyone says warpped rotors. But if the rotor was warped it would shake when the brakes are applied everytime correct? What else can it be. It only does it badly in the afternoon

My best guess, as a non-mechanic, is that as the rotors heat up they become more warped but then they return to closer to their normal shape as they cool down. Have it looked at by a mechanic you trust.

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Dave is right. I was thinking about why on downhills. Perhaps the front rotors do even more than their share of the work when the nose is now and the tail up?

I use to own a 2005 4runner. There is a known design flaw in the front calipers. These calipers use 4 pistons (2 on each side of rotor). The problem is that one or more of the pistons stick and this causes uneven braking that seems exactly like a warped rotor. The solution is to replace the rotors. I owned my 2005 4runner for 9 years and a little over 300k miles. I replaced the rotors at least 6 times. If you’re doing the work yourself then I suggest you get lifetime rotors from NAPA so you don’t have to keep buying them again. I also suggest you replace the solid brake line that connects to the rotor with a flexible steel braded one. Just makes the jobs a lot easier.

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…and not replace or repair the problem-causing calipers that have stuck piston(s)?

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At the time there were no aftermarket calipers. Only option was to buy rebuilt calipers which had the same design flaw. I haven’t checked since 2014 when I replaced the 4runner with my Highlander. So maybe there’s a solution now.