# 2004 Toyota Camry intermittent brake failure

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-toyota-camry-intermittent-brake-failure/143167>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** camry, toyota\
**Created:** [June 28, 2019, 7:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-toyota-camry-intermittent-brake-failure/143167 "2019-06-28T07:20:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Friday38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Friday38](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Friday38)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 7:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-toyota-camry-intermittent-brake-failure/143167/1 "2019-06-28T07:20:40Z")

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My Toyota Camry fails break intermittently. The break fluid, pad and shoe are still OK.  
What is the possible cause of this intermittent break failure?

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**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 7:26am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-toyota-camry-intermittent-brake-failure/143167/2 "2019-06-28T07:26:39Z")

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Have you ever changed the fluid?

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**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-toyota-camry-intermittent-brake-failure/143167/3 "2019-06-28T12:27:25Z")

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> [@Friday38](#):
>
> What is the possible cause of this intermittent break failure?

It is a Brake failure . Possibly a weak master cylinder . Go to a Brake shop before you crash and burn.

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**Author:** ![tcmichnorth](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tcmichnorth/32/25126_2.png) [@tcmichnorth](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tcmichnorth)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 1:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-toyota-camry-intermittent-brake-failure/143167/4 "2019-06-28T13:17:25Z")

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Old brake fluid and bad master cylinder are common causes. I would not drive a vehicle with intermittent brake failure, 1 mile. The one time you may need to stop can kill someones loved one. I wouldn’t want to deal with that knowing that I knew I could have prevented it. If you have to ask what causes it tells me you don’t have the expertise to fix it yourself. The best you can do is guess. And if your wrong, your brakes can fail and cause harm or death. Bring it in to a reputable pro.

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**Author:** ![GorehamJ](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/gorehamj/32/24103_2.png) [@GorehamJ](https://community.cartalk.com/u/GorehamJ)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 1:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-toyota-camry-intermittent-brake-failure/143167/5 "2019-06-28T13:24:36Z")

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Based on my ownership of multiple Toyotas the brakes need to be replaced frequently. Yours is not over 15 years old. Follow tcmnorth’s advice.