My '03 Camry is a sweet handling car for a family sedan. However, the brake feel is very soft and not at all in keeping with the sporty feel of the SE. From what I understand, the soft brakes on this generation Camry is quite common. I have a hard time believing that someone hasn't been able to fix the problem. Does anyone know if there is there some kind of Toyota service bulletin which might correct this problem? I haven't had the car at a Toyota service center and would like to correct the problem myself, if possible. This car has ABS and the brakes work extremely well once you get them applied, but there is way too much brake pedal movement required to get the brakes applied, especially when making high-energy stops.

 

make sure the rear brakes are adjusted properly...if you have rear drums.

 

I wish I had an answer for you. I'm having the same problem with my wife's car. The pedal would eventually goto the floor applying moderate pressure and holding it for about 5 seconds. We took it to the dealer, thinking it needed a master cylinder. They said it needed flushing and bleeding and adjust the rear drum brakes. (Why in God's name does a Camry evenhave drum brakes in the first place?!?)

Anyway, we went to pick it up and the pedal was still going to the floor. Next, they didn't charge forthe flushing or adjustingand put a master cylinder in. The pedal still went to the floor. Then they said itwas a defective master cylinder (funny, theysaid they tested it the previous day) and put another one in. The pedal still went to the floor.

They bled the brakes again today. The pedal still goes almost to thefloor but it's not as bad and the car does stop fine. They told me it's normal forthat car. There was a 2002 on the used car lot and that one did the same thing our 2003 does. I don't care what anyone says. This is not "normal." Thecar didn't do that for the first 73,000 miles.

 

I have an 1993 xle and it has discs in the rear (same vintage). If you can find a donor car it is possibe to put disc in a car that originally had drums. Search this forum because I think I have seen this discussed eleswere. Or, ask toyomoho he knows a lot about this sort of thing.

My buddy bought a Prius in 07 and I was disappointed to see that it had drums in the rear. They are still putting them on new cars!!

 

To 93 xle, you should have rotors, i have rotors on mine, unless yours an i 4, but really drums are better, they have more friction area and stop better,
to hawkaye, you have air in the system, do a positive flush, nd check for leaks, esp. in the brake booseter, i do the same with my clutch pedal, it works the same, i have an stage 3 clutch, and i bleed a little of ai in the lines to soften up the cutch ,

 

Hi Guys

I have the same problem. Before replacing the brakes pad everything was fine but after the new pad were placed the breaks became very soft and less effective... any clues the mechanic doesn't agree....
Plz help

 

I have the same problem as Chief7144. I have an '06 Camry LE. After replacing the front brake pads, the brake pedal became very soft. If I hold the pedal down, it will go to the floor. I have bled the brakes two times but that hasn't helped. The brake fluid level stays the same so it doesn't appear to have a leak. Does anyone have a clue what I can do? Thanks.

 

Where the rotors resurfaced? If not they may have ridges, grooves or taper resulting in the new pads not fully contacting the rotor surface.

Recheck the calipers to make sure the pistons and pads are actually being compressed.

And the caliper can slide freely on the slider pins to self adjust its new position with the new pads.

 

The rotors were not resurfaced. The pads were not wore out and the rotors were still good and smooth. I will recheck the calibers and pins. Thanks for your help....Dave

 

Just want to add my $.02. I have the soft pedal issue on our 2003 Camry, and have replaced: the front rotors, pads, calipers and master cylinder and bled a quart of fluid through the system, and the pedal is still soft, though the car stops like crazy (in a good sense). I will adjust the rear drums this morning, and report back. Otherwise, you may want to hold off on some of these repairs and save your time and $, as they did not improve the pedal in my case.

PS I think the booster may be a bogus issue, as there appears to be a solid connection from the pedal to the master cylinder and the booster just adds, well, boost, but doesn't effect how deep the pedal plunges. Please correct me if I have this wrong.

OK, rears adjusted, negligible improvement. The only thing left to replace is the car itself, as my other Toyotas have very firm pedals: 2000 Avalon XL (225K and beat to ---- by my sons on their journey to 21 and 19, respectively, but still a horse), and 2005 Sienna XLS AWD. Maybe could do some steel reinforced brake lines but the car stops well, and if my wife accepts it, we are done.