94 ES300 brake problems

[Emmmmma]

A year and a half ago I took my car to mechanic and told him the brakes feel mushy. They didn't agree. a few months later my foot went to the floor and the car didn't stop. They said it was the master whatever. They fixed that. I have brought it back two times because it feels mushy at times. They couldn't find anything. I was driving the other day and again totally lost the brakes. I had to use the emergency brake to get it to stop. I had it towed this time. They could find nothing. It is still mushy and I am constantly afraid the brakes will go. Is this a common problem? Am I just losing my mind?

[KimMG]

Do you have ABS? Have you taken it to a different shop? Have you ever had the flex lines replaced?

[Emmmmma]

Originally Posted by KimMG

Do you have ABS? Have you taken it to a different shop? Have you ever had the flex lines replaced?

Yes I have ABS though they suspect it may not be working even though the light hasn't come on. It has been seen by another shop for another brake problem. I am going to take it to another place specifically for this mushy problem today to see if they can figure it out. AS for the flex lines, no, as far as I know that has never been mentioned or checked.
At my regular shop they had 3 different mechanics look at it and try to reproduce what had been happening for me. They said it felt a little mushy but they couldn't get the pedal to go to the floor.

[Toysrme]

The ABS is completely fine. If any fault is found the ABS light trips, and the brakes simply function as normal.
Generally the pedal going to the floor is what happens when there is air in the brake lines, and/or there is a leak.
You should start by bleeding the brakes & checking for leaks. Then move on to the master cylinder & vacuum assist.



I would like to point out that in the case of any Toyota/Lexus/Scion. 99% of the people driving them mistakenly believe they have no brakes, or have a low pedal. If they have never lived with a Toyota based passanger vehicle before. The simple fact is that outside of the sports cars, their passanger vehicles are setup for a progressive travel (I.E. the brake application starts slowly & grows exponentually as you push the pedal). This is to allow the millions of moronic drivers they let behind the wheel to come to a non beck breaking stop. The same actual braking power is still had long before the foot is on the floor.
If you push the pedal quickly. (quickly NOT HARD, quick. Hard has nothing to do with it...). The pedal will stiffen nearly isntantly to a sportier feel with more brake feedback.





If your pedal actually does travel to the floor & you don't come to a stop - you have a problem. Just know that most mechanics are always skeptical of brake issues with Toyota/Lexus/Scion simply because most owners/operaters don't have a clue.

[Emmmmma]

[quote=Toysrme]The ABS is completely fine. If any fault is found the ABS light trips, and the brakes simply function as normal.
Generally the pedal going to the floor is what happens when there is air in the brake lines, and/or there is a leak.
You should start by bleeding the brakes & checking for leaks. Then move on to the master cylinder & vacuum assist.



I would like to point out that in the case of any Toyota/Lexus/Scion. 99% of the people driving them mistakenly believe they have no brakes, or have a low pedal. If they have never lived with a Toyota based passanger vehicle before. The simple fact is that outside of the sports cars, their passanger vehicles are setup for a progressive travel (I.E. the brake application starts slowly & grows exponentually as you push the pedal). This is to allow the millions of moronic drivers they let behind the wheel to come to a non beck breaking stop. The same actual braking power is still had long before the foot is on the floor.
If you push the pedal quickly. (quickly NOT HARD, quick. Hard has nothing to do with it...). The pedal will stiffen nearly isntantly to a sportier feel with more brake feedback.

I get what your saying, but this was something that started after owning the car for 5 years. For whatever reason the brakes starting feeling normal again the day after it came out of the shop. So I will keep my fingers crossed that it stays this way. When the issue happened on saturday the brake pedal did go all the way to the floor and I actually had to use the hand brake to get it to stop. Fortunately I was far from other cars so I had time to really weigh my options.
On the subject of the ABS tripping the light signal in the car I kind of wonder if it would. The check engine light has been on since about amonth after I bought the car without anything actually being wrong with it. I dont' really trust those guages.
At any rate, things seem to be working at the time so I will just keep my fingers crossed and stay alert. Thanks for the responses.

[Brian R.]

The next time your brakes don't feel right. Bring it to a Toyota dealer and have them test them. They know what to expect and can correctly diagnose them.