jvah1980

I had posted awhile back about an issue I was having with mushy brakes, basically from the day I purchased my 2004 RX330 used.
Several mechanics said the brake behavior was normal (including a Toyota dealer). After owning the car about a year and getting the annual inspection, a mechanic noted the brake pads were very unevenly worn, and it was likely that was a result of a seized caliper.

I went ahead a replaced the caliper, and like magic my brakes felt like a brand new car. The pedal was firm with nearly zero play, which contrasted sharply by a pedal that had excessive travel before the car would begin to slow down.

Prior to any of this I had the brake fluid flushed and replaced, as a few mechanics suggested that could 'firm up' the pedal. It did nothing to improve the pedal feel, however the car was twelve years old and who knows if it had ever been replaced before, so it certainly didn't hurt anything.

In the end a seized caliper was causing my poor braking performance. I'm not sure there is anyway a mechanic could of known this until the uneven pad wear became noticeable, but I figured others may have similar issues with spongy brakes despite a fresh fluid change and bleed.

Here is a link to the video on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNVN...ature=youtu.be


As I went along I did create a video as to how to replace the brake pads and if necessary the caliper. It was more or less a very easy job, just takes a little bit of time and you do need a helper eventually to bleed the line once your completed.

I hope the video helps someone!

Thanks for all the help here.