intermittent parking brake light - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

trippinbillies40 · 10-27-2013, 07:50 PM

So yesterday at the track, my car started giving me an intermittent parking brake warning light (red "BRAKE" light on the dash). Parking brake is definitely down, and now it comes on pretty much every time I press the brake pedal and it stays on until I accelerate. Any ideas?

Bristecom · 10-28-2013, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trippinbillies40

So yesterday at the track, my car started giving me an intermittent parking brake warning light (red "BRAKE" light on the dash). Parking brake is definitely down, and now it comes on pretty much every time I press the brake pedal and it stays on until I accelerate. Any ideas?

Brake fluid level a tad low? When your pads wear, this can happen.

humfrz · 10-28-2013, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bristecom

Brake fluid level a tad low? When your pads wear, this can happen.

Yep, sounds strange ...... but, it can be real.

Try topping off the fluid tank.

Good tip, Bristecom ....

humfrz

trippinbillies40 · 10-28-2013, 11:16 AM

Yeah, just busted out the manual this morning and saw it could be a brake fluid thing... I'll top it off tonight after work and see what we get. Thanks!

Bristecom · 10-28-2013, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trippinbillies40

Yeah, just busted out the manual this morning and saw it could be a brake fluid thing... I'll top it off tonight after work and see what we get. Thanks!

Just be very careful not to get air in there... Or else your pedal will be squishy. I found out the hard way and had to bleed it all out.

trippinbillies40 · 10-28-2013, 10:01 PM

Was indeed brake fluid. Was right at the min line. Probably had it close to min when I put high temp fluid in, and pad wear lowered it after a couple track days.

Thanks for the advice!

speeddemon · 03-14-2016, 02:13 PM

hate to bring this back from 2013 lol but the e-brake light was going on, then off, then on, and now it stays on. I will take a look at brake fluid and top off if necessary. What is the best way to do this while preventing air to get in?

murdoc · 03-14-2016, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeddemon

hate to bring this back from 2013 lol but the e-brake light was going on, then off, then on, and now it stays on. I will take a look at brake fluid and top off if necessary. What is the best way to do this while preventing air to get in?

If it didn't get low enough to run dry, you should be able to put fluid in without issue, just open the cap and top it off.

Be sure to check for leaks, but it's probably just your pads getting thin.

Just know that when you do replace your pads, if you do it yourself, you'll have to remove some fluid from the master cylinder or it will overflow when you push the pistons back in.

FRSBRZGT86FAN · 03-15-2016, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeddemon

hate to bring this back from 2013 lol but the e-brake light was going on, then off, then on, and now it stays on. I will take a look at brake fluid and top off if necessary. What is the best way to do this while preventing air to get in?

Quote:

Originally Posted by murdoc

If it didn't get low enough to run dry, you should be able to put fluid in without issue, just open the cap and top it off.

Be sure to check for leaks, but it's probably just your pads getting thin.

Just know that when you do replace your pads, if you do it yourself, you'll have to remove some fluid from the master cylinder or it will overflow when you push the pistons back in.

This, you don't need to worry about air in the system unless the the master cylinder is empty completely. You only really need to bleed the system, when changing pads, rotors or the fluid entirely.

10-27-2013, 07:50 PM	#1
trippinbillies40 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Drives: '22 WRB Location: US Posts: 863 Thanks: 201 Thanked 1,227 Times in 405 Posts Mentioned: 37 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	intermittent parking brake light So yesterday at the track, my car started giving me an intermittent parking brake warning light (red "BRAKE" light on the dash). Parking brake is definitely down, and now it comes on pretty much every time I press the brake pedal and it stays on until I accelerate. Any ideas?

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10-28-2013, 11:16 AM	#4
trippinbillies40 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Drives: '22 WRB Location: US Posts: 863 Thanks: 201 Thanked 1,227 Times in 405 Posts Mentioned: 37 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Yeah, just busted out the manual this morning and saw it could be a brake fluid thing... I'll top it off tonight after work and see what we get. Thanks!

10-28-2013, 10:01 PM	#6
trippinbillies40 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Drives: '22 WRB Location: US Posts: 863 Thanks: 201 Thanked 1,227 Times in 405 Posts Mentioned: 37 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Was indeed brake fluid. Was right at the min line. Probably had it close to min when I put high temp fluid in, and pad wear lowered it after a couple track days. Thanks for the advice!

03-14-2016, 02:13 PM	#7
speeddemon Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Drives: Scion frs Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 162 Thanks: 33 Thanked 30 Times in 21 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 2 Thread(s)	hate to bring this back from 2013 lol but the e-brake light was going on, then off, then on, and now it stays on. I will take a look at brake fluid and top off if necessary. What is the best way to do this while preventing air to get in?

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