vimal01997

Howdy my fellow Lexus'ers!
I have a 2013 Lexus ES 350, and I don't know if it's just my car, or if it's all the ES cars, but my brakes aren't powerful enough?
I usually travel at about speeds of 35-60 in cities, and when I hit my brakes, they're too smooth, meaning, they won't give enough brake power, and will come to a stop slowly. So if I was ever to speed, and hit the brakes because of a car, id most likely end up hitting the car in front. And when if I hit the brakes really hard, the pedal has a grinding sound and it vibrates, kind of like not letting me brake? No clue if it's the ABS. Thing is, my brother has a 2012 Toyota Camry SE and his brakes are quite instant. You don't have to press down much to feel the car coming to stop. It gives a lot of brake power. Yes, his brakes are also stock.
When I brake in my ES 350, you have to push down the brakes a little more to feel some brake power and feel the car come to a stop, but it comes to a stop too smooth.
Is it my car or is it all ES owners with a soft brake?
What's the different between camry brakes and ES brakes? What brakes does the Camry use that the ES doesn't?

bc6152

Sounds to me like there's a power assist issue amongst others. Not sure what you mean regarding "grinding and vibrating" but neither is normal. Warped rotors produce vibrations and worn out disc brake pads produce a grinding sound. Could also be in the master cylinder hydraulics. Whatever it is it needs immediate attention.

vimal01997

Thanks for the Information! Though I am sure it is not the master cylinder. I've done some research and it has come to my attention that lexus used soft brake pads for these cars. Am I right or am I right? The car only has 8K miles on it. I bought it last September. And what I meant by vibration, I don't know how to explain the feel. Let me give you an example.
You're driving in snow, and there's snow of the road, and you slam the brakes. The brakes pretty much lock right? When the brakes lock it also makes that weird noise? If you know what I'm talking about, that is what happened the last time I slammed the brakes in dry weather. I did it in the camry also, but the camry came to a powerful complete stop, and it didn't lock the wheels, and for the ES, it gives your that weird brake pedal feel when you slam the brakes as if you were to slam the brakes in snow... Am I making any sense?

vimal01997

I have just done research and I can confirm the grinding sound is ABS kicking in. That only leaves me to a few questions.
Why does lexus use such soft brake pads for these cars? What brake pads does the toyota camry use?

atoyota

Has anything changed from when you test drove and bought the car? Is this a new situation?

bc6152

It's my experience and to the best of my knowledge, that under normal braking the ABS system does not activate. If you were skidding or on a slippery surface, then it would detect this and activate. When the ABS system activates, it is pulsating very quickly. Your brake pedal actually pulses up and down. No grinding noises.

vimal01997

Nothing has really changed when I test drove it and now. I don't know if it's been soft since I bought it, or not. I really noticed it after I drove it after the 5K mile service from the lexus dealer.

vimal01997

I was on a bumpy road. With lots of cracks and pot holes. That road needs a ton of repairing, possibly a whole new road, and I was testing my brakes so I decided to go around 40 and slam the brakes and I think abs activated because I was turning too fast and I started to skid a little around a curve which is when I braked and abs may have activated. And the brakes aren't grinding. I'm just saying it's a grinding sound effect, but it's not
Actually grinding. So I can confirm that it was ABS now. But the real question is,
Are anyone else's brakes soft? Or are they like the camry brakes, powerful?

vimal01997

Also, I do have to
Push down on the pedal more than I should be. For example, when I'm at a stop light and I look down at my phone, my car would start creeping up a little, and id look up and notice it and I'd hold my brakes down more than I should be holding them
Down.

lesz

Normally, the ABS system would kick in when you are driving on icy, snowy, very wet, or otherwise slick roads because the system would detect that the wheels/tires are losing grip with the road.

When the ABS kicks in on a very bumpy dry road, it is because the wheels are bouncing off of the pavement, and, thus, the system is similarly detecting that the tires are losing grip with the road. I'd add, however, that this should not be happening very often on dry, but bumpy, roads, and, if you are driving fast enough on bumpy roads for the ABS to be kicking in, it is likely that you are also driving in a manner that could be causing alignment issues that will lead to poor handling and premature tire wear.

I'm not sure that I understand the issue of "soft brakes", and I certainly don't see it on my ES. I don't think that anyone who posts here is going to be able to tell you if the brakes on your ES are behaving normally unless he/she had the opportunity to actually drive your vehicle. My suggestion would be to stop by a Lexus dealer and to drive one of the ES vehicles on their lot to see if there is any difference between braking behavior on that vehicle and on yours.

Mike728

I think you're the only one with this problem. I would take the car in immediately if I were you.

Arty101

Going over a bumpy road, and slamming on his brakes on a curve will probably activate both the ABS and VSC system which is what's he's hearing.

I'd also say that slamming on the brakes hard isn't good for the brakes, rotors or suspension system. Also comparing a larger and heavier ES to the Camry isn't a good comparison since they're two very different cars.

Arty101

I have the same "problem" with my GS. The brakes feel a bit lighter at a stop light and if I'm not paying attention, the car will creep up so I need to push down harder on the brakes. So you really can't compare two different model cars. Try comparing the brakes on the same car at the dealer for peace of mind, or a repair/adjustment, if that's the case.