Brake Adjustment

Hi, I'm new here and was wondering if anyone knows if something is wrong. I took my 1998 Camry in for brake adjustment to a Toyota Dealer. This was Monday that I took it to the dealer. The parking brake lever is wobbly when I move it from left to right with my hand. Should the parking brake lever be loose like that? I never noticed it before as being loose. Also, I have to pull it up way too high and there's only one click for the parking brake to stay. It was not like that when I brought it into the dealer Monday. They must of done something to it to cause it to be loose and high with only one click for it to lock. I'm wondering, do I have anything to be concerned about?

Also another question, is it necessary to use the parking brake at all since I have an automatic?

Thanks for any input to my question?

Beth

Reply to
Beth
Loading thread data ...

Well they messed it up, is it something to worry about, well it should not be loose as it was not before but it probably works, take it back.

Reply to
m Ransley

It's not desirable to have to raise the parking-brake that high to get sufficient braking to hold the car from moving, as it is using almost all of the available lever action of the handle. They did something wrong, and I would take the car back to them.

As to the apparent increase in sideways movement of the lever or handle, this may just be indicative of too little brake action to stiffen the series of linkages and cables or something else.

Ideally, you should achieve sufficient parking brake by raising the handle about 4 or 5 inches, as measured at the button-end of the lever. In an automatic car, the park-brake plays an important part in holding the vehicle, especially on slopes. The transmission "Park" position will be enough on flat ground, but on hills or sloping ground, I wouldn't be happy relying on just that alone as the pawl can slip in some transmissions.

On steep hills, its good practice to not only use the park-brake, but to point the front wheels into the kerb.

Take the car back and demand they check the park-brake out.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

Hi, Thanks for the responses you all gave. I appreciate it very much. I will take it back. They charged me $235.00 just to do an oil change, brake adjustment, change transmission oil, rotate tires and change the coolant. I only have 23000 miles on this car but they said I needed it. Seems a bit too much since the labor for this was $170.00. Wish I knew a good mechanic because I'm hearing a thump sound when I back up and accelerate first starting the car to go forward. Could it be the sway bushings or strut mounts are worn. Also my tires are in real good shape except that there's cracking of the rubber because they are old but doesn't have a lot of miles on them. I was thinking about having them replaced also. The dealer said it wasn't necessary and they are ok. I'm not wanting to get things replaced if it's not needed. The car is old but not old in "miles". Maybe the other things are just wearing down because of age. I've been reading a lot about troubleshooting my car. The thump is really bothering me and Toyota dealer doesn't seem to think it's anything to worry about. But, I don't want to pay them $70.00 just to diagnose the problem.

Anyway, I'm sure glad I found this group and thanks again.

Beth

Beth wrote:

Reply to
Beth

Hi, Thanks for the responses you all gave. I appreciate it very much. I will take it back. They charged me $235.00 just to do an oil change, brake adjustment, change transmission oil, rotate tires and change the coolant. I only have 23000 miles on this car but they said I needed it. Seems a bit too much since the labor for this was $170.00. Wish I knew a good mechanic because I'm hearing a thump sound when I back up and accelerate first starting the car to go forward. Could it be the sway bushings or strut mounts are worn. Also my tires are in real good shape except that there's cracking of the rubber because they are old but doesn't have a lot of miles on them. I was thinking about having them replaced also. The dealer said it wasn't necessary and they are ok. I'm not wanting to get things replaced if it's not needed. The car is old but not old in "miles". Maybe the other things are just wearing down because of age. I've been reading a lot about troubleshooting my car. The thump is really bothering me and Toyota dealer doesn't seem to think it's anything to worry about. But, I don't want to pay them $70.00 just to diagnose the problem.

Anyway, I'm sure glad I found this group and thanks again.

Beth

Beth wrote:

Reply to
Beth

Hi, Thanks for the responses you all gave. I appreciate it very much. I will take it back. They charged me $235.00 just to do an oil change, brake adjustment, change transmission oil, rotate tires and change the coolant. I only have 23000 miles on this car but they said I needed it. Seems a bit too much since the labor for this was $170.00. Wish I knew a good mechanic because I'm hearing a thump sound when I back up and accelerate first starting the car to go forward. Could it be the sway bushings or strut mounts are worn. Also my tires are in real good shape except that there's cracking of the rubber because they are old but doesn't have a lot of miles on them. I was thinking about having them replaced also. The dealer said it wasn't necessary and they are ok. I'm not wanting to get things replaced if it's not needed. The car is old but not old in "miles". Maybe the other things are just wearing down because of age. I've been reading a lot about troubleshooting my car. The thump is really bothering me and Toyota dealer doesn't seem to think it's anything to worry about. But, I don't want to pay them $70.00 just to diagnose the problem.

Anyway, I'm sure glad I found this group and thanks again.

Beth

Beth wrote:

Reply to
Beth

Hi, Thanks for the responses you all gave. I appreciate it very much. I will take it back. They charged me $235.00 just to do an oil change, brake adjustment, change transmission oil, rotate tires and change the coolant. I only have 23000 miles on this car but they said I needed it. Seems a bit too much since the labor for this was $170.00. Wish I knew a good mechanic because I'm hearing a thump sound when I back up and accelerate first starting the car to go forward. Could it be the sway bushings or strut mounts are worn. Also my tires are in real good shape except that there's cracking of the rubber because they are old but doesn't have a lot of miles on them. I was thinking about having them replaced also. The dealer said it wasn't necessary and they are ok. I'm not wanting to get things replaced if it's not needed. The car is old but not old in "miles". Maybe the other things are just wearing down because of age. I've been reading a lot about troubleshooting my car. The thump is really bothering me and Toyota dealer doesn't seem to think it's anything to worry about. But, I don't want to pay them $70.00 just to diagnose the problem.

Anyway, I'm sure glad I found this group and thanks again.

Beth

Beth wrote:

Reply to
Beth

Thanks so very much for your input. I will take the car back. Glad I found this group.

Reply to
Beth

Thanks for your advice. Definitely will take it back.

Reply to
Beth

Tires rot from age, sun and Ozone, tread does not make them good. At 5 years I find tires too slippery in wet or snow to be safe regardless of tread. If they are cracked they are probably crap and dangerous. If you slip in wet or snow this is why. Tires oxidise get hard and slippery when old, cracking proves this. I just junked tires that had 50000 miles of tread left after I did a=A0 180 in snow. You wont know you needed good traction till its to late and you hit something. You knock might be the CV joint, I would not worry mine has done that for 12 years. Also brakes auto adjust, but not the parking brake.

Reply to
m Ransley

To do all those jobs at the current hours formulae (in Australia mechanics can charge approx $50 or so an hour) that price maybe right. In reality however, mechanical shops which are independant and not part of a dealer's enterprise, charge less.

Wish I

That's not normal for a car with so few miles on it, especially if it has started after work has been done on the car. It's in the same category as the park-brake,..only a little more urgent. Take it back and demonstrate the noise to them.

Could it be the

Could be, but I would be looking at driveline movement as well and such things as wheel-nuts etc. That sort of problem should be easy for them to identify,..but if you have lost faith in them,..a good mechanic recommended by friends, neigbours or work- colleiges who have pride in their work and dont charge the earth is the way toi go.

Also my tires are in real good

Surface cracking of old tires may well be nothing to worry about provided the cracks are superficial and dont open-up revealing the underlying cords. Keep an eye on the them from time to time to ensure the cracks are really just on the surface.

As I said, if the thump is new, tell the people who worked on the car last. Otherwise it maybe some driveline slop or transmission bands with too much clearance, or something in the engine stabilising area, or the suspension etc. Check the wheel nuts (or lugs) are tight with your wheel-nut spanner. If it is a new sound,..dont ignore it.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

Hi Jason,

Thanks for you reply...

The thump...(more like a clunck) has been there for quite some time. I don't think it should be there with that low of miles anyway. What I plan to do is take it to a mechanic that someone else trusts because I do not trust these folks. I took my car in a year ago for them to rotate my tires and they did not do it....so I took it back and told them they didn't rotate my tires and all they did was appoligize to me for not doing it. I'm just wondering if they did all this other work that I was supposed to have done this time when they charged me $235.00. I suppose I'll never know.

Beth

Reply to
Beth

The main chunk of that service charge was the transmission service. If they actually did do the service the ATF dip-stick should be showing bright cherry-red oil. Automatic transmissions do wear as time goes on. Typically, the oil starts to lose its cherry colour as little bits of band and clutch material start to shed into the oil. In badly under-serviced transmissions, I've seen the oil actually turn grey.

The trouble with some dealership workshops is that the owner often comes from a car-sales background, not a mechanical background, and thus sees the workshop as another lucrative source of income. This is not to say they will rip people off, but they "stick by the rules" charging the full price for every little job. You would think once someone buys a new car from them, that they'd value that, and would not charge the maximum for subsequent servicing and repair work,..but often this is not the case.

On the otherhand private mechanical workshops are owned by a mechanic who has a closer relationship with his customer and their need for good old fashioned service which brings with it, loyalty, both from the shop-owner and the customer.

One clue to find a good mechanic is to find-out from a few taxi or cab owners, who does their repair-work. Taxi-owners are shrewd businessman and will not entertain shonky workshops.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

I had my car at Midas for a brake flush, I saw him open one bleed valve and left, I took it to a friend with a lift for other work and found out Midas did only ONE wheel as all others were rusted shut. Look at a mechanics lot, if it is packed and he is to busy to work on your car the bet is he is honest. Seeing work done is best.

Reply to
m Ransley

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.