What could be causing a Toyota Camry (1997) to have weak and mushy brakes?

Asked by Guru9LB2S3 Aug 27, 2021 at 02:11 PM about the 1997 Toyota Camry

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

The brakes on my Toyota Camry (1997) are very weak and hit the floor
without causing the car to quickly stop. In other words, my brakes are not as
strong as they should be. When I push the brake pedal it stops at a certain
point, but once I turn on the engine (my foot still applying pressure to the
pedal) the pedal quickly goes all the way to the floor. From what I know and
have heard, the pedal should not be moving just because the engine is
turned on.

What could be causing this issue? From what I've read, it could be the brake
fluid, master cylinder, or booster cylinder. The brake fluid isn't the issue, I've
replaced the master cylinder and it seems to work exactly the way it should
be, and I replaced the booster cylinder as well.

Could it possibly be anything with the ABS valve?

4 Answers
26,815

taver91 answered 3 years ago

Bleed the air from your system and have the system checked for fluid leaks. Be sure the correct fluid is being used.

Mark helpful

F_O_R answered 3 years ago

If you did not bench bleed the master cylinder you will have a problem with air through out the system. You may need to have a mechanic bleed out the ABS pump.

Mark helpful
250

Dbf answered 3 years ago

When is the last time you replaced the front brake pads? I agree that it's most likely air in your brake system. As the brake pads wear out, the pistons in the brake calipers extend farther out which could leave your brake fluid reservoir severely low on brake fluid. If the reservoir was low on brake fluid to begin with, the extended pistons may have allowed such a low level in the reservoir that it may have started to suck air into the system. That's bad! Bleed the brakes at all 4 corners. If air got to the ABS (if your car has ABS), get to a mechanic.

Mark helpful

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