Got in my ?04 RX330 this morning and all pressure seemed to be gone from the brakes. They would work if you pushed on them very hard. Parking brake light was also on on the dash, but the parking brake was not engaged. I tried to engage and release it a couple of times but that didn?t seem to help. Brake fluid level seems to be ok (if not a bit high). Presently it is approximately 10 degrees F and I had the trickle charger on the battery all last night due to a dead battery yesterday morning. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Frozen Brakes/Parking Brake
Feb 07, 2007
3 Replies
When you say that all pressure seems to be gone from the brakes, do you mean that the pedal drops to the floor when depressed or do you mean that the pedal takes a lot of effort to depress?
Did you check the brake fluid level with the vehicle on level ground? Is the fluid level above the "min" mark on the reservoir? Has the reservoir cap ever been left off for more than 30 minutes?
How many miles on the vehicle now? How many miles since the brake linings were replaced?
By any chance did you get a car wash the day before?
It was really hard to depress and was very ?jerky? coming to a stop when the brakes did catch. By the time I made it to town, I could smell them.
Nope, brake fluid as noted, is good and probably a tad bit over the Max line.
Nope, no car washes within the last month or so.
It has approximately 62,000 miles.
Thanks for the reply!
I would have the brakes inspected ASAP. If the front brake linings are original, they are probably worn down and if there is metal to metal contact, that would account for the jerky sensation and burning smell. The high pedal effort can also indicate a stuck caliper slide.
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