Toyota Repair: 2007 Rav4 Spongy Brake Pedal, master cyl, manual states


Question
Base,4WD,4cyl,80,000 mi. Brake pedal seems to fade to the floor after initial hit.Pumping helps, but still fades. New pads, rotors all 4 past 6 months, all pins/sliders free. Seems to be getting progressively worse, not losing any fluid. Question is there anything special I have to bleed besides master cyl & calipers if I replace the master cylinder?  AllData mentions bleeding ABS/Traction Actuator system with a special tool? What do you suggest best way to bleed master cylinder?  Thanks

Answer
If it has ABS then it can be a little more difficult to get the air out of the lines.
The factory repair manual states the following:
NOTICE:

After bleeding the air from the brake system, if the height or feel of the brake pedal cannot be obtained, perform air bleeding of the brake actuator with the intelligent tester by following the procedure below
This involves connecting the diagnostic tool at the toyota dealer and a special procedure.
Somehow air must have gotten into the ABS actuator and if normal brake bleeding procedures are not successful, ie: pumping the brake pedal and releasing air from the calipers/cyliners the the abs actuator valves and pump need to be activated using the cars computer via the diagnostic tool.