when im driving around a light sometimes comes on that looks like the oil light but orange with a wavy light under it. does anybody know what this means so i can fix it? also my brake light stays on. my ebrake is up and it has plenty of brake fluid. is it a bad fluid sensor?

 

I get the orange light whenever my oil starts to run a little low (burns and leaks a little). Topping it off makes it go away, so I assume it's there to alert you to a low oil pressure condition before it becomes critical.

I had a similar problem with the my brake light as well that turned out to be a bad fluid level sensor. After flushing the old, nasty brake fluid that was in there the light stayed on, so I unplugged the sensor. At least, I assume it was a fluid level sensor...nothing has gone wrong since then!

 

1. Low oil indicator.
2. check wires @fluid reservior, may be broken. Brake sensor may possibly be bad.

For further reference, it would help if youo state the year of your car so that some of us can help you and you can get faster responses. I looked @`your profile and it indicates you have a 92.

 

Ever since I bought my 94 LS400 a week ago my BRAKE warning lamp comes on whenever I press the pedal and occasionally on decel but the level in the reservoir is fine and three days ago I had the brake fluid totally flushed/replaced (seriously) with all fresh new fluid which did NOT solve the problem.
The rotors are horribly warped but the pads are still within proper thickness specs.

The car sometimes has a wierd tendency to suddenly stumble and rapidly "hunt" for idle and even stall at low speeds when it decides to hunt for idle and I know that there are other things besides the brake fluid level (like a dead alternator) that can trigger the BRAKE warning light but they usually make it stay on, not just light up when I press the pedal or occasionally on decel. I don't know what other things besides the alternator and low fluid could cause this warning light to come on in this car or what else I should check to try to find and correct whatever's actually causing that light to come on.

 

The flaky BRAKE light on my car turned out to be the fluid level sensor in the reservoir had gone bad. Unplugged it and the light went out and stayed out at all times, then replaced it and plugged the connector back in, works great, problem solved.

The YELLOW oil can light means to check the oil level because it's too low.
The RED oil can light means low oil pressure which is a BAD thing.
I think the yellow one has wavy lines below it for level warning and the red one does not.
It's a very slim possibility that your oil LEVEL sensor has gone bad if that's the one that's lit but I'd be more suspicious of an actual low oil level condition instead.
I've seen either of those warning lights do wierd things on high mileage cars as it gets close to time to change the oil so that's something else to consider if you've checked the oil and it's definitely still full.
If it's the red oil warning light without the wavy lines under it then you should stop driving the car until you get your engine's oil pressure tested or you WILL damage the engine.

 

I'm happy to see this thread, I have the red circle glowing brightly in my dash and now know how to fix it. I had always thought it was a brake sensor down on the brake caliper. This is going to be much easier to fix!

 

MrParts, based on your description of your car's lit up warning light I believe you were right in your original thinking and you should take care of your brakes asap to prevent EXPENSIVE damage to the brake rotors!

An actual ordinary Red Circle warning light that you're describing IS for the electronic brake pad thickness warning sensor system (there are pad wear/thickness sensors mounted directly on each of the brake pads) and it's been trying to tell you that it's definitely time to get new brake pads installed on your car asap!!!

The "BRAKE" light (actually says BRAKE) is the warning light I was referring to in an earlier post, which is the fluid level and e-brake status warning light, NOT the round shaped wear sensor warning light for the brake pads that you were correct about before reading this thread.
Instead of the traditional mechanical brake pad thickness "squeal sensors" that most cars got for the past 40+ years, Lexus decided to use an electronic sensor and a warning light on the dash to let us know it's time for new pads instead.

Also note that I'm not totally sure but I think you may need to replace the sensors since they lit the warning light. I was told they're a one shot deal but I discovered and replaced my worn pads before that light ever had the chance to come on in my car so I don't know if that's correct or not, but if it's true it's not a big deal because they're very inexpensive at most local auto parts stores and you have to remove them from the old pads to get the old pads off and then reinstall them or install new ones onto the new pads anyway...

 

The pads have passed a safety inspection required by law in Pennsylvania plus I checked them out already. It's going to be the sensor that has failed or the wires have been damaged in some way.

I finally noticed the "BRAKE" light yesterday while I was attempting to repair the power steering and jacking up the car. I have never used the emergency brake on this car before and "Ta Da", that light was different.

I'm about 5 seconds away from ripping this car apart and turning it into an easy to work on Street Rod. I can add frame rails to the unibody and put some real muscle under this car. I've done it to Pinto's, Mustangs, Dodge Darts and even a 1969 Toyota Corona 2 door with a 4 speed (I couldn't keep windshields in that damned Corona, it twisted them out). Replace the rear ends with Ford 9 inchers and the front end (maybe) with a Mustang/Pinto or even a Camaro subframe.

The only reason I bought this pile of crap is for it's longevity and not having to work on it. If I'm going to have to buy a bunch of expensive parts every couple of weeks, I'm just better off "Americanizing" it. I don't want a new "Matchbox Lexus" since I like the bigger cars.

 

Although I doubt that the sensor itself has failed for no reason, I'd tend to agree that since it's been verified that the pads are at proper thicknesses then it's most likely a sensor or wire issue, BUT if the light was on when you bought the car I'd be more likely to suspect that someone wore the pads down to the point that the sensors were "triggered" and then didn't replace the sensors when they replaced the pads.
They're not very expensive at your local auto parts stores, although I'm sure the Lexus retail price isn't cheap. Testing each of the sensors shouldn't be difficult and replacing them is pretty simple as I'm sure you've already noticed since you've checked the pad thicknesses already.

As I'm sure you know by now, any time you buy a used car, especially one this old, sometimes you get lucky and it really was very well maintained but in most cases it should be expected to have to do a considerable amount of work that I lump into the category of vehicle restoration before you're going to experience the sort of reliability you'd expect from it, especially the long term reliability factor that most Toyota vehicles are so well known for.
If you're having to buy a bunch of expensive parts every couple of weeks then either that particular car wasn't properly maintained or it wasn't maintained at all and the bills for the neglect are all falling on you now. That is NOT normal for a Toyota product.

I also assume you realize that you've bought a very used and basically 20 year old FIRST GENERATION of "the" japanese flagship luxury sedan with power everything so it's not suprising that it would like to finally get some repairs done by now. Remember, this is the car that caused Honda to invent Acura and Nissan to create Infiniti and you're driving the very first model of it... Think of it as a first year of a new model and then look at how old it got to be before any design problems even started to show up...

I was a bit saddened to see your comment about "Americanizing" this "pile of crap".
It makes me wonder... If this pile of crap is so frustrating and you want a big car, why not just buy an old body-on-frame and straight rear axle Lincoln or Caddy or comparable Chrysler product instead because we all know what a pillar of reliability those 20+ year old cars weren't, or had the domestic luxury boats finally switched to unibody by then?
Side note, I have a 1992 K1500 Suburban with 216k miles on it so I'm not a total import snob although I do greatly prefer how seldom my imports require any maintenance at all compared to that truck, for sure...