My wife owns a 2008 Scion TC with about 90,000 miles on it. It's been rather cold lately and we've noticed that the brake light has illuminated.

I asked our dealer as it is in the middle of the dreaded oil consumption test and he said that the pads are probably low and need to be replaced.

However, the brakes stop fine, there is no vibration in the pedal and the brake light actually turns off as you accelerate up to 30mph, but turns back on when you are stopped. I also noticed that the brake fluid level is near the minimum line now.

An independent mechanic I currently use (that I actually trust) thinks the fluid may need to be topped off and the system bled and I agree.

What are your guys' thoughts? Has anyone experienced similar issues?

 

While low fluid doesn't necessarily mean your pads are low, you should have them checked, as the fluid level drops while the pads wear away. Low pads have nothing to do with brake performance, and you should never wait until brake performance is affected before changing them. If, and only if, after verifying that your pads are all good, you can top it up with some DOT 3 brake fluid or better yet, flush the system. If you find your pads are low, replace them all, replace or resurface the rotors and fully bleed the system with fresh brake fluid.