94 Es300 Brake Pedal Going To The Floor

[t_diesel85]

i own a 94 es300 with about 190k mi. when i bought the car the brake pedal at first had some feel to it when i pressed on the pedal (spongy) but then it would go all the way down to the floor....i called up lexus and got an estimate for replacing rotors and pads and called Sears. Well, i had Sears do my brakes for the lower price and after that the problem improved. Well 2 weeks later i took the car to a local garage to have them replace the pads and rotors on the back and bleed my brakes to see if that would help. They said there was no air in the lines and that i would need a new master cylinder and that's why the brakes feel the way they do.

well a couple weeks later i park the car one night and the next morning my bro uses the car and calls me sayin the pedal has to touch the floor for the car to stop. i get in the car and coming to a stop light the pedal has no more feel and i had to press the pedal all the way to the floor. Now i have to press the pedal to the floor to make the car stop and not only that, but when i do that i can feel the car pull to the right. Sometimes if i press the brake pedal hard it will act as it should but with normal pressing it goes to the floor. So is the obvious reason the master cylinder or could it be something else? And also if i keep driving and using the brakes like this for about 2 or 3 months is it going to damage anything with the brakes or car.....Thanks.

[Gold ES]

I just changed rear struts and rear pads. This is my wife's car so I do not drive it that often. Since the pad change, pedal is soft and goes to the floor. Keep me posted if you find solution. I checked all four wheels for leaks and all look clean. I am not sure what to check next.

[Shayan]

Mine did that

a 92 es300 with 168,000 at the time

its a $200 job and not the $1100 job they want it to be

its your master cylinder, its the thing that connects to your booster and its the thing your fluid sits on.

got mine replaced at exxon for 202.98

no problem ever since

[gbhrps]

Since you already have had a mechanic replace pads and rotors, and had him bleed the system, then your problem has got to be your Master Cylinder or a leak in one of your brake lines. You can assume that the mechanic would have checked each one of your brake lines and flex hoses for leaks, but it wouldn't hurt to check them again, easily done when the car is on the hoist. Then change that MC now! It is not safe to drive the car hoping that the last half inch of travel of the brake pedal is going to save your life in an emergency situation. And if not your life, maybe someone else's. Changing a MC is easily done and is fairly inexpensive, as car repairs go. You should be back to good pedal feel once you do.

[t_diesel85]

Since you already have had a mechanic replace pads and rotors, and had him bleed the system, then your problem has got to be your Master Cylinder or a leak in one of your brake lines. You can assume that the mechanic would have checked each one of your brake lines and flex hoses for leaks, but it wouldn't hurt to check them again, easily done when the car is on the hoist. Then change that MC now! It is not safe to drive the car hoping that the last half inch of travel of the brake pedal is going to save your life in an emergency situation. And if not your life, maybe someone else's. Changing a MC is easily done and is fairly inexpensive, as car repairs go. You should be back to good pedal feel once you do.

you were right it was the master cylinder.......i took my lexus down to memphis tennessee for 3 weeks and drove it down there with the pedal that way.....well one day i hop in my car and start down the road and i go to press the brake and NO BRAKES AT ALL!!!! i had to use my e-brake to stop the car but luckily i had the green light and was able to pull over to a parking lot. i know if the cops woulda seen me they woulda thought i had just robbed a bank the way i was hopping up onto the curb so i wouldnt hit anyone....needless to say it was bad....VERY BAD. i finally took it to a little shop near where i was staying down there and they put on a remanufactured master cylinder but then called me sayin i was having a problem with my proportional valve. well they put another one on and said they were having the same problem but just 2 of my brakes were working....well finally they put on a NEW master cylinder and all 4 brakes now work. i barely put my foot on the brake pedal and the brakes bite hard. one of the pple i was staying with while i was down there was an ASE mechanic and he said the problem they probably had with the proportional valve was that they bled the brakes too fast and caused it to shift over to one side and when they finally realized what they were doing wrong they already ran through the 2 master cylinders(something close to that anyway). cost me $390.10 for the new cylinder and labor. but to everyone thats having this problem....take the advice of GBHRPS and change your MC NOW! i was fortunate but the next person may not be. Thanks

[blk_on_blk]

Good grief!!! Reading this thread made me cringe! Man, if anyone, ANYONE ever, ever has these symptoms on any vehicle, DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR ANYMORE UNTIL YOU GET IT REPLACED. Man, T_diesel85, you are lucky, lucky, lucky your master cylinder didn't go out on you in a worse situation. If I would have read this initial post I would have told you right away your were losing your seals in your master cylinder and were going to shortly lose all your braking power, as you did. I've been in a car when this has happened (but it happened suddenly), and yeah, it's scary as all get out.

Super glad to hear you got the problem fixed and no one was hurt, but if anyone has a brake pedal that slowly goes to the floor, and they aren't loosing fluid anywhere, then their master cylinder is going bad and it's a MAJOR safety hazard. Phew, you're a lucky guy, T_diesel85, very lucky.

If anyone ever wondered how a basic brake system works, this is how: http://www.hunter.com/pub/undercar/2690T/index.htm