Automotive question(s) -- 2000 Camry

Factual Questions
1

I have two automotive questions that may or may not be related – beyond the obvious fact that they have to do with the same car.

My beloved and faithful Saturn Wagon (known familiarly as Moby) having recently been sold for parts, I purchased a used 2000 Toyota Camry. Madge, named after the chain-smoking, world-weary waitress at our local Denny’s, seems to be in fairly good shape for her age, and once I purged her of the accumulated tobacco stench (the car, not the waitress), she proved herself a peppy little ride.

One of the first problems I noted was an annoying rattling noise that tends to occur while braking. At first I thought the tire jack or lug nut wrench had come loose in the trunk, but this turned out not to be the case. As the sound was definitely coming from the rear passenger side, I went to some pains to make sure the right back tire wasn’t about to divorce itself from the rest of the car. As best as I have been able to tell, the sound seems to originate from the portion of the body that separates the front passenger door from the rear passenger door. The “beam” to which the front passenger’s shoulder belt it attached.

A few months have gone by, the car has passed its safety inspection, and the noise remains. I’m almost at the point where I don’t notice it anymore. So that would seem to be that.

As the first tentative cool days of autumn arrived, I noted something odd. A fairly standard feature on most cars I’ve seen is a warning light that alerts the driver when the emergency brake is engaged. This light suddenly developed a tendency to switch on during my morning commute. The first two or three times I noticed it, I pulled over and repeatedly tugged on the brake lever to make sure it was as far down as possible, with little to no apparent effect on the light. After getting back on the road and driving a mile or so, the light switched back off, and remained off for the remainder of the commute. During the time the light was on, by the way, I noted no sign that the brake was actually activated. This is now something I see frequently, and my best guess is that cold weather is somehow a factor.

The two issues seemed entirely unrelated until about two weeks ago. On my way home one evening, I heard a horrific noise similar to the one previously described. As best as I could tell, it was coming from the same basic area, but with the amp kicked up to 11. After pulling over, I realized that I actually had, in this case, been driving with the emergency brake engaged. I released the lever and drove tentatively around a parking lot. The rattling (and this time around, grinding) noise stopped, and for the first few minutes I heard a distinct squeal each time I pushed down on the foot brake. The squeal disappeared quickly enough, but I am now left to wonder if the rattling noise I’ve been hearing all this time is somehow related to the brakes. It doesn’t seem to make much sense to me, but that’s all I’ve got.

What say my trusted Doper Gearheads?

Oh, and please use small words so I’ll be sure to understand.

2

The brake light may be trying to indicate low brake fluid, which means you should check your master cylinder. The horrific noises from the right rear seem to indicate that something’s amiss with your emergency brake. if it were mine, I’d tear apart the rear brakes and see what’s going on back there.

3

I’m fairly sure you just need a brake job. The brake light is coming on because the fluid level is low, and the fluid level is low because as the pads/shoes wear down, the capacity of the braking system gets bigger. The light may be going out as the car warms up because the fluid level is probably just below the sensor and as the fluid warms up and expands it makes contact.

With all the noises coming from the back, I’m pretty sure if you pull the drums off (an '00 Camry still has those in the back, right?) you’ll find the shoes down to metal or close to it.

4

Do what you should have done when you first heard the noise – have the brake system inspected. Don’t wait for loss of braking to join the list of symptoms.

5

The fact that the car passed a safety inspection last month (or whenever) means nothing this month. Brakes are like tires, they wear every time the car is driven. Have them inspected by a good technician, on a regular basis.

6

I totally agree.

7

Plus I think most state safety inspections only require one wheel to be checked. The fronts could be fine, but they probably didn’t bother pulling the drums off to check the back brakes.

8

My thanks for the replies. I will have the brakes serviced as soon as possible.

9

Do you feel any pulsations at the brake pedal? I’m wondering if your anti-lock brake system (assuming your car is equipped with it) is the problem. Most cars have an ABS light, but maybe your emergency brake light is doing double duty. You might want to read the owner’s manual.

But as others have said, you definitely want to get the brakes checked and ASAP like yesterday!

10

This morning, while driving my daughter to work, I discovered that my radiator had sprung a leak.

The gentleman from whom I bought the car lives a couple of houses away from my parents, and is, himself, a mechanic. I called him over lunch and described the problem with the radiator. He opined that it should be a quick fix and offered to take care of it this evening.

He then mentioned, with no prompting on my part, that it had been a long time since the brake pads had been replaced on the car, and offered to take care of that as well.

Things are looking up.

:slight_smile: