Hand Brake Light dont turn off!!!! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

killer_mo · 09-10-2008, 11:02 PM

hi everybody i dont know wats the problem but, suddenly the handbrake indicator turned on and dont want to turn off

... does anyone know how to fix that thkns
ps. I have a 1993 v6 camry thnks

nuchieboy · 09-10-2008, 11:09 PM

check ur brake fluid....i can guarantee the fluid in the reservoir is low

killer_mo · 09-10-2008, 11:12 PM

thnks ill chek that

ghettosled · 09-11-2008, 09:48 AM

its weird that toyota uses the same brake light to signal if either the parking brake is on or the brake fluid reservoir is low. why couldnt they have seperate lights?

jtex2717 · 09-11-2008, 10:51 AM

There are a lot of manufacturers that do that. I know it drives people crazy but its just to let you know to check your whole brake system.

islandboy57 · 09-11-2008, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghettosled

its weird that toyota uses the same brake light to signal if either the parking brake is on or the brake fluid reservoir is low. why couldnt they have seperate lights?

Acura does the same thing. My friend has a Legend and her brake light was on.. We added some brake fluid (it was low) and the light went off. It's an older Legend and it has a separate reservoir for brake fluid for the ABS system. I thought that was odd.

Mike Gerber · 09-11-2008, 03:42 PM

After refilling with brake fluid, have your brake pads checked for pad thickness, some time in the near future. When the fluid in the resevoir becomes that low, it is usually an indication that the brake pads have considerable wear on them. As the pads wear, the hydraulic system has to push them out further for them to contact the rotors. This requiresa more fluid. Hence, when the fluid needs to be topped off because the resevoir is down to the minimum level, it usually indicates considerable pad wear.

Mike

killer_mo · 09-11-2008, 04:28 PM

ok i add some brake fluid and the light turned off, thnks a lot guys

CupCate18 · 09-11-2008, 04:36 PM

I've done this with 4 cars now, all different makes. Not hard of a fix at all.

islandboy57 · 09-11-2008, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

After refilling with brake fluid, have your brake pads checked for pad thickness, some time in the near future. When the fluid in the resevoir becomes that low, it is usually an indication that the brake pads have considerable wear on them. As the pads wear, the hydraulic system has to push them out further for them to contact the rotors. This requiresa more fluid. Hence, when the fluid needs to be topped off because the resevoir is down to the minimum level, it usually indicates considerable pad wear.

Mike

Thanks for the explanation. I was wondering how my friend's Legend was low on brake fluid when there was no signs of a leak. Her brakes started squeaking a little bit a few months ago so I guess it's time for new pads.

I checked my own Camry and the brake fluid reservoir is still full, with the fluid clear and slightly yellow. No squeaky brakes yet. About how long do brakes usually last with city driving? I've got 30K miles on my gen 5.5.

Mike Gerber · 09-12-2008, 01:59 PM

"About how long do brakes usually last with city driving? I've got 30K miles on my gen 5.5."

It really depends on the driver and the type of driving, but if I had to give an overall estimate, I would say 40,000 miles is a good guess.

Mike

JayMax03 · 09-13-2008, 11:30 AM

I have the same problem, but I have a full level of brake fluid in the cylinder and the light still won't come off
I can't even use the cruise control because the brake light still on. I had to unplug it from the cylinder to get the cruise control to work again

***new echo owner*** · 09-13-2008, 11:36 AM

Bad or stuck switch in the reservoir will cause that. Use a screw driver or something, lightly tap the side of the reservoir see if the light will go off.

N.E.O.

xtremeskier97 · 09-13-2008, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by new echo owner

Bad or stuck switch in the reservoir will cause that. Use a screw driver or something, lightly tap the side of the reservoir see if the light will go off.

N.E.O.

Happened to me on the LE. Small screwdriver worked. It's a styrofoam peice in there that floats. It gets stuck sometimes when the fluid gets too low. After I unstuck it, it hasnt happened again.

JayMax03 · 09-21-2008, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtremeskier97

Happened to me on the LE. Small screwdriver worked. It's a styrofoam peice in there that floats. It gets stuck sometimes when the fluid gets too low. After I unstuck it, it hasnt happened again.

That sounds like the same problem with mine, but I tried tapping the reservoir. I could never get it unstuck