2008 tundra brake failure

I just bought a 2008 tundra…drove for 30 minutes in light 8" powder snow with a fair amount of light brake action down a mountain for 15 of those 30 minutes. Parked. 7 Hours later at 6AM I tried to back out of driveway and the vehicle felt stuck…like a brake was applied (it wasn’t); suddenly with a thunk the wheels began to move as I applied more gas. Now backing slowly down my driveway I applied brakes again (going 2-3 MPH) about 6 feet from a rock wall…no brakes, no skid, felt like pushing a power brake with the engine off…bam into a rock wall. After driving away I applied brakes lightly as I drove and no response for about 50-60 ft. then fine…almost as if they were wet or frozen with a sheen of ice…has anyone ever heard of such a thing with the tundra? Is it possible the snow melted on the hubs (it was 8 inches and fluffy) and then froze (temps didn’t get above 10 degrees)? Thanks for any info. Had mechanics check it at dealership…nothing…removed wheels and checked hubs and test drove…nothing…??











Many cars and trucks go through ice on brakes after driving through snow. Your brakes were hot enough to melt the packed snow on the brakes and cause the ice buildup. The ice broke free, allowing the truck to move, but that ice had no effect on the other ice which kept the brakes from applying. The conditions were ideal for that to happen. It was the downhill that heated the brakes. The “perfect storm” effect is a rare one, so you may not see that effect again. You could, but it’s not likely to give you the full effect again.

The “thunk” was the ice that held the truck in place breaking loose. The brakes were either frozen or the ABS kept them from stopping the truck as you backed up. I’m guessing they were still frozen. When you drove with the brakes lightly applied for 50-60 feet you created enough heat to melt the ice and dry the brakes.

Driving through deep snow can create all kinds of problems. This is one of them.