I own a 2003 Toyota Camry SE four cylinder sedan with only 46,000 miles. The car has four wheel disc brakes and an anti-skid braking system. About a year ago, I started to notice that there was excessive travel in the brake pedal. That is, the pedal will travel an excessive distance before there is any braking action. I have tried to correct the problem by pumping the brakes as I back out of my driveway to engage the self-adjusting mechanism; doesn’t help. I have also gotten in the habit now of pumping the brake pedal; that helps a little, but it’s not a solution. Being an old chap who always maintained my car myself, and diagnosed and repaired most problems, I concluded that the problem was the master cylinder because when stopped at a light, the brake pedal would continue to go down. Incidentally, there has been no loss of brake fluid since I bought the car new in 2003. Recently, I had the master cylinder replaced and learned that I’m not as car-smart as I thought. There is no improvement in the pedal travel problem. I have no complaint with the shop who did the replacement because they did exactly what I asked. Do you have any idea of the cause oy problem?
It could be a number of things.
What state are the rubber hoses in? A soft hose could do it.
Or maybe the fluid contained in the ABS modulator needs to be changed. A normal brake bleed doesn’t do a very good job of evacuating old fluid from that part of the system. Usually it needs to be power bled.
I agree, air in the system and it will need to be power bled. I think you were right to replace the master cylinder because it got air in the system in the first place, but it does seem that regular bleeding does not get all the air out.
Thank you both. Will look into a power brake bleed.