Brake Light Going Off on 01 Toyota S

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- liza0183
  
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posted
16 years ago

Thu, Jun 14, 2007 10:18 PM

Hey there!

I have the above mentioned auto and today while on my way to work my Brake Light went off. Of course the first thing I checked was if my emergency brake was on but it was not. So I came to my first Stop sign I noticed the light shut off then as I drove and passed the 20 mph it went on again then when I was at 40 mph it turned offf as I had to stop again it stayed off then it came back up after 20 mph.

Now my husband and his stepdad just did my brakes put brake paids, bleed brakes, added brake fluid the whole nine yards. So I am thinking this shouldn't have went off unless there is a sensor that is going off or something? Can someone give me advice.

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- Jeff
  
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posted
16 years ago

Thu, Jun 14, 2007 10:28 PM

I would check the brake fluid level. And ask your hubby to check it. It was probably something they did. If he can't find it, I would take it to a reputable mechanic and have it checked.

You don't want to find out that there is something really wrong going downhill at 65 mph just before you use the car in front of you as brakes because yours are not working.

Jeff

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- Ray O
  
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posted
16 years ago

Fri, Jun 15, 2007 4:29 AM

Toyota does not sell an "S" in the U.S., so I assume you are talking about a Corolla S.

When you say that the "brake light went off, " I assume you mean that the brake warning light on the instrument panel went on, or illuminated, and not the brake lights on the rear of the vehicle. The brake warning light on the instrument panel is designed to illuminate if the parking brake is set or if the brake fluid level in the master cylinder reservoir is low. There is a switch on the parking brake lever/pedal and a float switch in the cap of the brake fluid reservoir that could be bad, but I've never heard of this happening, especially on a vehicle that is only 6 years old.

Contrary to popular belief among do-it-yourselfers, it is not necessary to bleed the brakes after replacing brake pads unless they decided to flush the brake fluid or unless the pedal has a spongy feel. When the brake warning light goes on and off, it is usually a sign of low brake fluid. I suspect that they did not top off the brake fluid after bleeding the fluid, or they did not tighten one of the brake bleeder screws. Since they opened the brake bleeders, my recommendation is that they re-check the brake bleeders that they touched to make sure they are not leaking and top off the brake fluid to the "full" level in the reservoir.