05 5spd tC.

just to clarify, the ebrake is down all the way.

it goes on a lot in the mornings. in socal. its been pretty cold even for socal. high 40s and low 50s in the morning when i go to work.

it goes on only when in 1st and 2nd gear and occasionally 3rd. it goes on. noticed that it goes on mostly when i go WOT.

just did my 30k service and they added brake fluid, checked my brakes and didnt find anything wrong.

has anyone else gotten the same thing? thanks
Im gonna go back to the dealer and ask t hem why its still on when i drive.

 

hey, i JUST noticed this a few days ago. I have about 32k on my 2005 Automatic, and it is exactly the same thing as you. Only if I am at a full stop and if I go WOT does it come on, if I'm rolling at 5mph and go WOT, nothing comes on.

 

Sounds like a bad brake sensor.

 

either your brake fluid is low, or your brakes need changing. what happens is the sensor is in the front of wherever it is, and when you go WOT all your fluid goes to the back of whatever its in and the sensor says that there is not enough fluid, i had the same problem change your brakes

 

They just said the dealer just serviced it and added brake fluid and checked out the brakes so how can it still be low. Must be a bad brake fluid level sensor. I'd take it back in and tell them it didn't do this till after they worked on it.

 

thanks i'll go back to the dealer sometimes this weekend and see what they'll say. brake sensors do not usually go bad, do they?

 

Might not be the sensor per se. It could be something simple like a loose wire connector. Good luck and I hope they figure it out for ya.

 

OK i see this question on like 15 different posts, there needs to be a place where it stands out for everyone to see. Straight from the dealership mechanics mouth (so take it for what it's worth), there is a sensor that recognizes how much fluid is needed to close the piston on the caliper, when the pads get low it takes more fluid to do the job and causes the brake light to turn on, but only when under heavy acceleration, (doesn't make sense to me but thats what i was told). They said it doesn't matter how much fluid you have, it matters how much fluid is required to close the piston.

Again, i'm no mechanic, this is just what they told me when i had the same problem last summer, i got new pads, and DID NOT add fluid, and the light stopped coming on

Hope that helps

 

Yeah, that sounds about right. That is probably what is happening. Also, this is why they had to top off the brake fluid. As the pads wear the system naturally goes lower on fluid. I'm surprised they didn't check your front brake pads when you had it in for service.

 

how many miles since last pad replacement?

95% of the time when you get this light, its going to be your car yelling at you to get new pads

 

i hadnt replaced the pads since i got the car. so 36k miles.
i replace the front pads yesterday and the brake light went away. thanks for that.

the pads i took off werent that bad, still had some thickness left.

 

i have the SAME exact problem, and it just arised a week or so ago...i have an AT btw

There are 29,xxx miles on it and this should be covered under warranty correct?

 

nope, brake pads are a wear item, and aren't covered under warranty.

Sorry man, but it gives you a good excuse to upgrade to higher performance brake pads

 

Never add brake fluid to your car unless you're leaking fluid. If you are low in fluid and have no fluid leak, you need pads. The pistons are being pushed out much further which requires more fluid. A tip from doing many many many many brake jobs

 

UGH how much do you think brake pads from the dealership are gonna run me

 

more than just purchasing higher performance aftermarket gepads...

like.. geez... even the TRD pads cost less than OEM...

 

anyone run into the problem of having the brake light come on only when you accelerate, whether its hard or not... e-brake is completely down, and when i slow down naturally or press the brakes, the light is off, however, when i press on the gas it goes on, regardless of what gear / rpm