I have a 2007 Camry XLE with 129,000 miles on it. Last week, my brake pedal gradually got soft and I had to push the brake pedal farther to the floor to stop. I added brake fluid as the level in the container was less than maximum. I added DOT 3 fluid as the manual stated to fill to the maximum line. My braked got better (less soft) but I still need to pump them several times to get them so the pedal doesn't go all the way to floor. I have seen no lights or warnings about the brakes. Can anyone help me as to the cause? The brake fluid in the container looked quite dark, and to the best of my knowledge has never been replaced. Could this be the cause of my brake issues? I will be taking the car in next week, but was afraid that this repair could be costly???
Any help would be appreciated!
A soft peddle means one of three things:
1) Air has been introduced into the hydraulic system. This usually means that some seals on the wheel cylinders have failed and is noticable by some fluid moisture around one of the cylinders.
2) A flexible hydraulic line has failed and is leaking fluid, again with the same indication of fluid leaking at some point.
3) Master cylinder seals are failing internally and though there might not be an obvious leak, the fluid is pushing back past the seals and the cylinder isn't producing sufficient pressure as the fluid leaks past those seals.
I would start at each wheel and see if there is any indication of a fluid leak on the hoses or at the wheel cylinder. If the fluid is old, I would go ahead and bleed the brakes at each wheel looking for any sign of very small bubbles in the fluid. No air? Then the problem is most likely in the master cylinder and it is time to replace it, fill and again bleed until all air is out. My 2 cents. Good luck.
Thanks for the post. My brother's 2002 Camry has had the pedal super soft with no resistance since he bought it. It stops once the pedal goes wayyy down. We bled his brake system, replaced pads, rotors, etc etc. Nothing has fixed it. Must be the master cylinder, as he is not loosing fluid. Thanks! :thumbsup:
I would do a fluid flush with new DOT 3 fluid and see what happens. It is a 2 person job unless you buy a Mity Vac or similar kit, which are useful but 2 person is still easier in my opinion (most recently, I found distracting an 11 year old boy from his computer games to be highly effective in this regard ).
Use only a 6pt box end wrench on the bleed valves, and soak them with Kroil or similar the day before, then also 5 minutes or so before. Especially since you live in Saltachussets (aka "Maine"). I know werefrore I speak thusly because I used to live in deer olde New England, including a (purely voluntary) four year sentence in Northern Vermont. 2007 to 2015 is a crazy, but sadly common, interval for accessary fluid changes. Address your ATF and PS fluids, too if they have not been done.
This does not preclude system faults like gdanaher outlined, but this is a good baseline to set before suspeting more and only costs $5/$6 for a quart of new fluid and an hour with a jack/stands/wrench and improving the attitude and skill-set of a wayward teen/pre-teen.
I will add a little here...hopefully it will explain maybe why the brake fluid is low...any comments would be appreciated.
I am doing a paper route 6 nights a week making about 80+ stops per night 6 nights per week for about 750 miles/week. I was hoping that it was not the brake booster as research here seems like that would put the repair bill well over $1000. The brake fluid has not dropped since I added some 1 week ago. I would think with a leak somewhere, the level in that canister would drop but I am NOT a mechanic! Hopefully I will get away with just a flush and new brake fluid...then I can begin with other needed fluid changes. Again THANK YOU ALL!
Update...I took the car to VIP today as I was unable to get an appointment at Toyota dealership with is about 1 hour away from where I live. VIP inspected the vehicle and found NO visible brake fluid leaks. They are telling me that I need a master cylinder and brake booster(EST= $1000). I am pretty sure they did not hook the car up to a computer to see if there were any codes or not.
1) It does not make sense that I am not receiving some type of alarm if these parts are defective. I would think I would get some sort of an alarm.
2) I read at cardone.com that a booster WILL NEVER cause soft or low brake pedal. Who am I to believe?
3) Guess maybe I need to take to Toyota and let them diagnose.
Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I think you should do what has been suggested by everyone. You've eliminated leaks; next step is to properly bleed the brakes and flush out old fluid and see how the system performs.
Trying to diagnose problems without having done the required maintenance and checking basic specs is a fool's errand. I wouldn't begin to guess about the brake system in a 7 year old car with 130k on it and in New England winters until I'd jacked it up, tested the calipers, inspected pads and rotors, and flushed/bled brakes, then road tested.
If there is a woosh sound when pressing pedal, might be the check valve/booster (I have it on Honda) but does not cause major problems.
The rest ... master cylinder, replace with new if needed, no reuse there. But first thing is to try as suggested by oro-o.
But I see you are going to a repair shop, so they keep saying to replace those parts. Have they done the bleed before suggesting those replacement? Was the problem that obvious and visible leaks present?
I did as I was told here in this forum. I took the car to a mechanic who does auto repairs on the side at his home. He inspected the brakes and found that the passenger side front brake line was filled with air. He also found that the rear brakes were down to the metal almost. He replaced the pads and rotors on the rear and added new brake fluid (TOTAL parts=$120 and labor=$50...grand total = $170). Brakes are like new!!! BTW...the non Toyota car shop gave me an estimate on 3/4/15 for $998 to replace the master cylinder/brake booster and $334 to repair the back brakes. WOW!!! Unbelievable! Guess with my next problem....TOYOTANATION is where I'll come first!!! KUDOS to you!!!
You can also test the master cylinder (either with plugs or just use fingers to close ports). Empty the MC dirty fluid, fill. When I bleed my Avy brakes, I first started with removing the air from MC. Then moved along with normal bleed procedure. That video was a good refresher.
Great post everyone! Mechanic shops are way to quick to replace "everything it could be" instead of diagnosing the real problem. Especially be leery of the free inspection places...you get what you pay for! Having said that, even reputable shops can be totally out to lunch...sometimes. I had a minor accident with my 93 Toyota pickup. The front left wheel was hit, so after changing the damaged steering components I took it to an alignment shop (it would not return to center after a turn). They wouldn't put it on the rack until I had a body shop check the frame. There was no sign of frame damage, so I took it to a "good shop". They told me it needed control arm bushings and a new steering box ($1000+), charged me $65 for the inspection. I asked them "why they felt it was the box?" He said "because it won't return to center". I took it home and did an "old school" check of the alignment....specifically the "toe in". It was off...3 turns on the left tie rod end adjuster set it right.....miracle! The steering box was cured. 40,000 km later still working fine and no unusual tire wear.
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