Brakes Anyone!!!

[vultrix]

Hello everyone! I have 1999 Camry and lately when I press the brake it seems like it's not as hard as it use to be. But if I press the brake and let go and press it again it's nice and solid and a good brake....pretty much pumping my brake up to get it working better! Brake fluid level is spot on and brake pads seem to have some more wear in them yet! Any ideas???? Thanks for your time!!!

[71Corolla]

Sounds like the rear brakes are either worn, or the self adjusters are not keeping the brake shoes tight against the drum. Could also be air in the lines. I would check the condition of the back brakes and self adjusters, and if they are okay bleed the lines out. It's a good idea to have fresh fluid in the system anyway.

[hooRAH]

Okay, I see this one misdiagnosed alot.

Most shop manuals and techs will say that a soft pedal that firms up is due to a bad master cylinder or air in the lines, which it could very well be. However, every time I've seen this problem (only 3 times, granted) it has been due to uneven pad wear, where the pad wears at an angle (like a pizza slice). With the first pump of the pedal, the pad seats (and the pedal is soft) and then with the second pump you get a good firm pedal.

I rarely see air in any brake lines unless the system has been opened or the fluid ran too low. If you didn't open the system, air in the lines would be my last guess.

It could still very well be a master cylinder, but I think uneven pad wear is more likely. You can easily check for it - lift the car, take off the wheels. Press the brake pedal (or have someone else pump the pedal). Do you see the pads moving? Next, you can pull the pads and see if theyre worn at an angle.

If not, THEN go to the hydraulic system.

[hooRAH]

Oh good point 71Corolla, totally forgot about the rear drums. Same principal - pads travel till they hit, then pedal firms up.

[Camryshowoff97]

Id say it could definitely be air in the lines. Im actually in an auto tech school right now and i just got out of the required brakes class about a month back, I serviced the brakes on about 6 or 7 cars and did a brake flush on every one of them and they all had some air in the lines. However i would take the calipers off and check out the pads to see how there wearing its possible to have unever wear like Hoorah said if you have a bad caliper.

[bronzemaxell]

here is my experience with my brake, 94 v6 le, symptom, soft brake, and in extreme cold weather, first time pump brake feel ok, 2nd time pump brake, the brake pedal feels hard, like lost power assist, in summer brake works perfectly fine, only experience this problem when temp drop below 40 degree, many mechanics said malfunction master cylinder, i replaced master cylinder twice, first time with a aftermarket one, 2nd time with toyota geniune master cylinder, problem still exist, then full flush brake fluid, problem still exist, then later i found TSB on camry gen4, where it state people experienced similar symptom cause by moist developed in the vaccum hose. then i ordered two vaccum hoses, and a check valve, and replaced them, problem went away. my guess is it could be many things range from master cylinder, brake booster, hoses, fluid. in my case, it was trial and error, many people said 99.9% cause by faulty master cylinder, but turn out to be a check valve and hose problem, so good luck with your problem.

[Mike Gerber]

If your Camry has rear drum brakes, I would agree with the others who has said that the rear shoes are out of adjustment. The self adjusters on the rears just do not seem to work properly. On my 98 Camry I had to manually adjust the rear shoes every 5000 to 7500 miles to keep a firm pedal feeling. I would try to manually adjust the rear pads.

Mike