Toyota Repair: 99 Toyota Camry - Brake Light stays on, brake warning light, ron goode toyota

Question
November 1, 2004

Ted:

I have a 1999 Toyota Camry with 49,562 miles on it VIN #JT2BF22K2X0162555.

About 2 months ago when I started the vehicle in the morning the brake light came on for 30 seconds. This continued for two weeks so I took it to the Toyota dealer.

I took the vehicle to Ron Goode Toyota in Alameda, CA (where I purchased the vehicle) and they hooked it up to a computer and said it was my idle speed control valve, which cost $350.00.

Well needless to say the next day when the brake light came on again when I started the car in the morning I was furious. I took it back to the Toyota dealer and they had their “master mechanic” take a look at it and he said he could not duplicate the problem, now 2 months later the brake light will come on and stays on from 30 minutes to an hour and it happens in the morning as well as the evening.

Toyota keeps insisting that I bring the vehicle back but as a working person who can't take off work on a whim I've let it go. They said the brake pads are fine, they checked the brake fluid level it is full; they checked the emergency brake and they say all is well but they can't seem to figure out what the problem is.

Any help you provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Debbie Neal
dn622us@yahoo.com


Answer
There is absolutely no correlation between the brake warning light being on and the idle speed control valve, this makes no sense to me.
The brake light is turned on by low brake fluid, check the brake fluid yourself and see if it to the MAX mark on the reservoir, if it is, the sensor in the reservoir may need to be replaced, which means replacing the reservoir.
I would advise you not to go back to this dealer for any reason, something just doesn't sound right and if they can't figure out what the problem is they don't sound very competent.