satiger

iTrader: (1)

She is currently at 296k miles. Last week I started noticing while making sharp left turn, 'brake' in red color would appear on the dash for a second and disappear. I couldn't replicate that with sharp right turn.

Checked the brake fluid, level is normal. No loss in braking action, feels tight. So, what could cause brake light to appear and then disappear when making sharp left turns?.

HomerJay

If you did not do this before check the fluid level by removing the cap. Sometimes the MC reservoir gets stained and a simple visual check is not accurate. Also possible is a hung up float that gives a false reading.

satiger

iTrader: (1)

That's an excellent point, I haven't opened the cap to check inside, will do.

Any reason brake light would illuminate only when I make sharp left turn?. I assume low fluid would do the same to the right turn as well?

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Checked the fluid level by opening the cap. It's full. What else could be causing intermittent brake light illuminate?

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

I had this same issue once after working on my brake system. I never figured out why the light came on, but it went away by itself after about 24-48 hours.

I would check for any leaks of fluid, make sure the reservoir is full, and do some hard panic stops in a parking lot. I heard that same switch is wired to the Emergency Brake Pedal.
If the foot brake switch is bad, the light will come on as well.

nsghtbrwry

Hung up float is what I'm betting on - my '00 Camry had that problem, so I just disconnected the level sensor.

I have the same problem on a '96 Geo Metro right now - only on left turns. Turns out his brakes were down to the metal, and the fluid level was right at MIN.

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Thank you all for suggestions and pointers. Today I have dealer check that as I didn't want to take a chance with brake. Technician informed me that fluid is half bottle low. So, obviously I somehow checked it in a wrong way.

I didn't turn on the car or press brakes to check the fluid level. I just open the cap and it shows fluid level to the top. What is the recommended way to check brake fluid level?. Obviously half bottle either leaked or 'consumed'. Is it a expected behavior for brake fluid to be 'burned'?.

HomerJay

The most common reasons - Brake fluid level will normally drop as pads wear down or if there is a leak. I would think (hope) the dealer checked for leaks. The side of the reservoir has markings to determine fill level. If you had a sinking pedal the MC could be leaking into the power brake booster and drawn into the engine.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

I find that the side of the bottle can be misleading in certain lighting situations. I like to take a flashlight and shine it through the top of the clear plastic or pop the black cover off and shine into the fluid. This gives me the most accurate level indication.