louisblanc

I recently took my 97 ES 300 to a certified Toyoata Lexus mechanic here in Los Angeles for the 90k service. All seemed to be well however,I recently noticed since the servicing my braking is really weird.Whenever I am in a fast or stress brake situation the pedal only goes so far and stops. However the car keeps rolling though it is slowing but not at the pressure I am applying. I hope this makes sense. Eventually it stops but its very weird. The pedal never hits the floor but it does stop half way. I checked the brake resevoir and it is full.
Any thoughts??

Kohinoor

iTrader: (22)

maybe its the master cylinder?

MCV20

may be is ur brake pad...

steviej

iTrader: (1)

whatever it is, take it back immediately!
Something is not right.

sj

louisblanc

I have only had the car since the beggining of June. When I bought it it had 89000 miles on it. Took to Lexus they checked it out and gave it the all clear minus needing the 90k mile service. Lexus quoted me $1510.00. My mechanic pre-Lexus Quoted me $1100.00. These guys are certified Toyota/Lexus mechanics. They had taken great care of my Toyota Landcruiser, BTW which hardly ever needed servicing. So I am not rich so I opted for the lesser priced deal. The car ran great before the service and seemed to run even better after. However I noticed the previously described brake problem. Well today I took my ES back to the shop to report the problem. After checking out the brake system and at least three drive test they concluded my booster has a leak. $819.00 dollar part plus labor. Well after y utter complete melt down shock I told them I could not afford to do the work today. I sadly and slowly drove home. On my way home all of the sudden my check engine light comes on. I have had this brake problem for at least a week from the time I noticed and had no check engine light. Now all of the sudden it is on. What next??

louisblanc

Update:

I first tried to take my car to autozone to get the codes for the check engine light. No deal, I was informed by the manager that by order of the State of California Autozone can no longer touch your car. Based on them not being cerfied mechanics. Great. Off to the dealer. Lexus checks the car and reports it could be the booster,master cylinder,or comtamination in the lines. However the check engine light is something else entirely. Being the codes they found on both sides, the usual O2 sensors,egr valve,just to much air ,the gas is to rich. For $200.00 they would check it further, bleed the brakes and further check the booster. After alot of thought I decided to wait again keep in mind i just spent $1100.00 dollars on a 90k service. I took my ES back to the independant mechanic where the 90k service had been done. I gave them the riot act about my cars performance since their wrenching. They are 100% sure it is the booster and theorize that my fuel running too rich could be a byproduct of the very bad vacuum leak. However to be sure i must first replace my booster. $819.00 part plus labor. Any thoughts????

LexFather

B.S. if it worked fine BEFORE u took it there, they are tying to do u in the booty. It is their fault, sounds like there is air in the brake lines, which just requires bleeding brakes and adding fluid, a $20 job.

U in Cali, post in the Pacific section so members there can send u to a trustworthy place to fix your Lexus.

Toysrme

I agree with 1sicklex.

Sounds like the brakes are in need for a SERIOUS bleeding.

I also suggest while you have the hood up to begin bleeding it yourself, look at where the master cyl. and the booster come together. There should be NO fluid ANYWHERE near this part.
It's common to take a flathead screwdriver and give a'lil love tap in that area to leak fluid and pull air into the system. If you see what looks like metal scratched around that place.
Easy $300-$400 for them.

Let's it's an uphill battle, but if you find a couple more people in the same boat from them, you've got an ultra serious, "high dollar" lawsuit on your hands!

**********

What you should do is bleed the brakes yourself to see if you can resolve the issue. If you do that and it dosen't work. Then go hold them hostage. Bleeding brakes is a fairly easy job. Just tedious. It can easily be done by a single person.

Take a mason jar and fill it 1/2 way with brake fluid. Fix an appropriate size hose onto the valve and stick the other end into the mason jar. Go through the bleeding motions until you're sure there is no air in the lines. I just peed under the car to see the jar.

You aint even gotta take the wheels off...
Easy Breezy, just set aside an hour and a half to do it.

lextek

Look for a twisted rubber brake hose near the calipers. Enough with the conspiracy theories and the lawsuit happy talk.

Toysrme

If it wasn't an extremely common thing, I would not have treated it as such.

I know mechanics take flatheads into the seal between the vaccum and master, because I've had it happen TWICE on my first car. Which is the point when I started doing my own brake work. I've also had a pair of mechanics tell me to watch out for that.

louisblanc

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions.

Unfortunately I need a Power Brake Booster. As for foul play as of right now I have no concrete evidence.I did however take my car to a childhood friend who is a Ford mechanic to have a look. He could fix it but is way too busy right now. He also suspects mal-mechanic behavior. He also showed me the way the damage is done. What a F#@ked thing to do some unsuspecting customer. I was told by one shop they could repair it with a refurbished 99 Solara Booster with a cost of $275 fot the part and $180 labor. I was seriously considering this until I did my own used part inquiry. I have found the same part on the net from $50.00 up to $100.00. Man where are the honest Toyota/Lexus mechanics in Los Angeles?

louisblanc

So far I have not found a mechanic. I am going to a shop in the South Bay tomorrow I hope it works out.
FYI, The Power Booster on a ES300 going bad is very rare to none. I have been tolds this by at least 10 different mechanics. I am really starting to suspect the last shop that worked on my car.

Toysrme

Well, just make sure you find someone you're comfortable with. AFA any other part, you can always come back and ***** to them later about them not fixing it.

Brake-work however is on another level. The most important system in the car should always be functioning more than at a "satisfactory" level.

Just make sure the parts you use are up to spec when you buy on the internet. It may sound hipocritical compaired to the above statement, but, I personally have no problem with rebuilt parts. So long as they're up to spec and I'm able to return it if I don't like it while I'm chaging it, or if I'm not happy on how it's fitting or fuctioning. To which most shops will gladly agree too when it comes to a vaccume booster or master cylinder. (I did a rebuilt master cyl that's still in the '87 Civic, works like a champ)

**********

If it is the Vaccume booster and you wind up doing it yourself. I'll tell you this is a Saturday all day project for one person. However, if you're more like myself, this is a weekend project peppered with intermitant beer brakes and nacho-timeouts for random feeding. (pun intended)

Brake work really isn't very *hard* work. However it's tedious enough to drive you crazy! If you decide to do it yourself, be sure to have someone on hand to help and make sure that seal between the vac-*** (hah assist) and the master cly. is A-OK.

louisblanc

Thanks for your suggestions.

I picked up a Booster today finally!!!!! Now I must find a really good shop with reasonable rates for labor.

I wish I could do it myself but I have no tools and no place to do the repair.

louisblanc

Finally done. Thank God!!
I cant believe It took me this long to get my car fixed. Between work and work. I took my time and through alot of good word of mouth I found a decent mechanic. Job done. Thanks all for your help.