[Tera'sTitan]

I am new to this forum, but I sought it out hoping someone could shed some light on a problem I am having.
I have a 2004 Titan LE and once in a while, not often, but enough to be worriesome, my emergency break will randomly engage. It usually happens shortly after I start driving from a cold start up. It does not matter if the emergency brake was on while it was parked or not. When I start driving, usually after the first 10 or 20 feet, the E-brake engages making a horrible noise. The light comes on however the brake peddle is not down and does not disengage when you stop and put it down to disengage. The only way it resets itself is to shut the truck off and start it back up. Then it is suddenly fine like it never happened. I have taken it to the shop and they say since it does not happen to them they don't know what is causing it. It is a very random thing and can happen in any temperature or weather. I am afraid one day it will decide to do it on the highway or something then I will be SOL. So far it has only done it shortly after starting to drive but you never know.

Has anyone ever had this happen to them or am I just Special like that?

Any insights would be helpful since the mechanics are at a loss and now it is out of warranty.

Thanks:eh:

 

[Blackbeauty]

That's a rather odd condition. The e-brakes on the Titan are cable actuated, not electrically actuated, so it can't be an electrical or fuse issue. From what you're describing, it almost seems like the cable has a kink in it or is somehow otherwise getting hung up on something on its way from the pedal back to the brake. Either that or the return spring, item 5 in this diagram, could be hung up or not working properly.

 

[Sammy Sandbag]

Pretty much impossible as you describe it. Like BB mentioned, it's mechanically actuated via a cable. The switch for the light is at the pedal (requiring the pedal to be pressed to light.) Shutting the truck off then starting would have no effect on anything (unless it's just the light malfunctioning, but you mention the brake is actually dragging, which if actually occurring wouldn't result in a "horrible noise") So........ Ummmm..... Yeah......

 

[redneckpapa1996]

What is that smell ????????

 

[Tera'sTitan]

Pretty much impossible as you describe it. Like BB mentioned, it's mechanically actuated via a cable. The switch for the light is at the pedal (requiring the pedal to be pressed to light.) Shutting the truck off then starting would have no effect on anything (unless it's just the light malfunctioning, but you mention the brake is actually dragging, which if actually occurring wouldn't result in a "horrible noise") So........ Ummmm..... Yeah......

I know it is crazy and it should not be happening. This is why I am having a problem figuring out what to fix. It is definately the emergency brake engageing. It happens most often when the emergency brake was not engaged. And it happens after i am already driving, in other words i drive for a bit fine and normal then suddenly the emergency brake engages turning on the light and causing an immediate drag along with the grinding noise. The pedal is not engaged and pushing it down to engage and disengage it does not help. Putting it in park does not help the only way it will disengage is to shut the truck off and turn it back on, Which since i am already driving can be a real pain when you are in the middle of the street with cars behind you.
Could it possibly be related to the ABS? I know that the emergency brake is cable driven but something is causing it to do this and the mechanics are just as confused.
Anyone else willing to venture a guess? At this moment i think anything may be helpful.
I know this is supposed to be impossible but it is happening and i am thouroghly fustrated. I love my truck otherwise and don't have any other problems. It has been good to me other than this,

Maybe there is such a thing as Gremlins? :bangit:

By the way i qouted you because the picture you have up is the exact model and year that i have.

 

[albonismo]

Maybe there is such a thing as Gremlins? :bangit:

no just really annoying midgets. try engaging the e brake manually a bunch of times and see if it fixes it. if not then run your truck into a tree.

btw i have never had this problem and im pretty sure no one else here has so im just talking out of my asss.

 

[guls]

Is it possible that it is not the emergency brake cable, it maybe that your caliper is freezing. Just a thought.

 

[Blackbeauty]

I don't think it has anything to do with the parking brake. It is more than likely an electronic glitch in the ABS system. Is there a pulsing in the brake pedal when it happens? I had a '95 Ford that had a malfunctioning ABS sensor. It pulsed the pedal when it activated and also lit up the brake light on the dash. If it's not that it could be the ABS electronic control module.

 

[Titan1080]

Sounds more like it's not disengaging after you release it before you first drive off. There's no way possible for it to suddenly engage after driving a short distance, unless you suddenly press the pedal to engage it without realizing it..... Is it a cold winter where you live?

 

[Titan1080]

I don't think it has anything to do with the parking brake. It is more than likely an electronic glitch in the ABS system. Is there a pulsing in the brake pedal when it happens? I had a '95 Ford that had a malfunctioning ABS sensor. It pulsed the pedal when it activated and also lit up the brake light on the dash. If it's not that it could be the ABS electronic control module.

Sounds more likely BB. While we're at it Tera, have you had the ABS brake judder TSB done to your truck?

 

[Tera'sTitan]

Is it possible that it is not the emergency brake cable, it maybe that your caliper is freezing. Just a thought.

That is possible but would the emergency brake light come on too? I did have them checked and I was told there was nothing wrong with them, and i know that right after we bought the truck we had the rotors and brakes replaced under the warranty because of the brake juttering problem. They said that the factory rotors were the wrong size / depth (?) on the truck for the weight and it did fix the problem. I did not have this problem before the fix, only after. It does not happen often enough to be able to get it to the mechanic while it is occurring.

And I don't want to drive it into a tree, I LOVE my titan. :luveyes: I just want to know the mystery!

 

[Pops]

The E-Brake Light comes on anytime there is a problem anywhere in the entire braking system. I agree that BB is most likely on the right track, I've looked and looked and came to the same conclusion he's thinking before I started reading through this. The real question here is why didn't the Techs check your ABS System since it is more proned to have problems than the E-Brake could ever possibly be?? A bad ABS Sensor or Actuator could easily be causing this.

Sometimes disconnecting the battery for 20 minutes to reset the ECU has been known to fix wierd impossible to find glitches. It might be worth a try in this situation in case it is just an electronic glitche that's happening on a regular basis.

 

[Tera'sTitan]

I don't think it has anything to do with the parking brake. It is more than likely an electronic glitch in the ABS system. Is there a pulsing in the brake pedal when it happens? I had a '95 Ford that had a malfunctioning ABS sensor. It pulsed the pedal when it activated and also lit up the brake light on the dash. If it's not that it could be the ABS electronic control module.

I Have not noticed a pulse in the brake pedal but i will pay attention and feel for that next time it happens. I thought that it mayhave something to do with the ABS sensors when i took it to the mechanic and was told no and everything was fine all three times i had it in. I was told to bring it in when it was happening but because of the way it happens that is not possible. I can't drive with emergency brake engaged or with the grinding if it is not actually the brake, and it fixes itself when the truck is turned off. Not to mention that they may not even be open when it happens.

Being a woman I have had my fights with mechanics not taking me seriously when i ask for something to be looked at and fixed. They usually only try the brush off once and then I get things taken care of but with this problem, it is only a problem when it happens the rest of the time the truck is fine.

 

[albonismo]

Being a woman I have had my fights with mechanics not taking me seriously when i ask for something to be looked at and fixed. They usually only try the brush off once and then I get things taken care of but with this problem, it is only a problem when it happens the rest of the time the truck is fine.

Don't sweat it. If you were a mechanic and you don't see a problem, then there's not much else you can start off from. Have you gone to Nissan yet? If all else fails, then just take off a wheel and start banging on the rotors with a hammer. Hammers fix everything. :bangit:

 

[grnTitan04]

Did the mech try to pull the codes? If there are lights coming on, they should be able to tell why. Or take it to your local friendly AutoZone and have them read the codes for you.
Can't be E-Brake. (unless the carpet is all rolled up behind the pedal or something...)

Take her out in the dirt and slam on the brakes from 40 or so, put the pedal to the floor so you know you are activating the ABS. Mark the sound you hear. Is it similar to the problem sound you are describing?

 

[Pops]

Just curious, do you happen to have ABLS (Active Brake Limited Slip) for traction control on that LE ?? Also, can you happen to tell if it's just happening on the Rear wheel(s) or all of them??

Having it happen in the dirt as suggested above can help make it pretty obvious with much less possibility of hurting you or your truck.

A code read would help a lot. I could be wrong but I think that the codes might be cleared when you turn off and restart your truck, other members can verify.

 

[grnTitan04]

Pops or BB, you think there is any benefit in pulling the ABS fuse?
If you pull it, and the problem goes away, pretty much narrows it down, but i don't know what else you lose with that guy out.

 

[Pops]

I guess it wouldn't be any worse than having a blown fuse. I think that would depend on how often it happens. If it's guaranteed to happen daily, it might be worth a try but I know I wouldn't want little Sis driving around for a week or on slick roads w/o having ABS available.

 

[Blackbeauty]

I don't have my CD manual here at work, but I would expect that there isn't just one fuse for that. It's a critical safety component. I would expect that it would be spread over several fuses for various portions of the ABS system to avoid the possiblity of it going out with just one fuse. Not sure of that, but it's the "lawyer-sensitive" method of design the world has been forced into.

It's worth a shot, but I wouldn't use it that way for too long. ABS is a valuable part of the vehicle control system during extreme conditions.

 

[Tera'sTitan]

Thanks to all for your insights. I think it may have something to do with the ABS. I can't pull the fuse because it doesn't happen enough to warrant it. It only happens a couple times a year, very random. It does not show up on the code check, it must just be a tempermental glitch. All in all I really can't complain because the truck has been very reliable and has only had minor things fixed and that was mostly the usual just bought it stuff. So I guess I will keep an eye on it and hope it doesn't happen at a most inopportune time.

Thanks all for your help I really appreciate it!!!!ieceandl :clap: