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Autowbrake not working

Explorers2
Explorers2 Member Posts: 41
in Trailer & Towing
My 2018 320S came with a thing called Autowbrake. It’s an electric supplemental brake that is activated by (I assume) the brake wire from my 4 pin connector. It’s not working but the brake lights do work. Anyone have any experience with this thing?
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Comments

  • Grumpy_G
    Grumpy_G Member Posts: 710
    No personal experience but I read the installation manual. To begin with, your 2018 T@b came with a 7 pin plug from the factory so if it has a 4 pin somebody messed with it. The 4 pin does only have running lights and left/right turn and brake light. The autowbrake senses when the brake lights come on and becomes active. It does need 12V power to operate the electric trailer brakes, and according to the manual that power comes from the trailer lights circuit (for a 4 pin configuration). So the tow vehicle needs to have the lights turned on.
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  • Sharon_is_SAM
    Sharon_is_SAM Member Posts: 10,061
    @Explorer2 - I think you mean a 7 pin, but, besides all that, we had a Prodigy RF brake controller that died after 7 years.  These things do fail.  Ours did the same thing - brake lights worked, but the brake controller would not engage.  Replaced it with a plug-n-play Prodigy P3  proportional controller.  We learned that if you have a non-standard controller, it is difficult to replace on the road if you are somewhere more remote.  You can get a standard controller anywhere.
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • Explorers2
    Explorers2 Member Posts: 41
    Great, thx
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  • Gomers2
    Gomers2 Member Posts: 117
    edited July 2025
    @Grumpy_G that's correct, you have to have the headlights fully on, not just running lights, to power up the Autowbrake. I only used it for one trip but I found it to be very adequate.
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  • geoB
    geoB Member Posts: 109
    I installed Autowbrake last year on our T@B 400 BD. The documentation was not the easiest to follow. But I eventually got it straight. Works fine. The key, as always, is RTFM. Any questions, give me a holler. 
    2020 Toyota Highlander + 2021 T@B 400 BD 
    Truckee, CA, expat, now driving out of Reno
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