07 LC 240k miles - brake booster problem? ( C1223 C1252 C1256 )

[odessit]

It is hot here in North East (might be the reason, but I doubt).

Getting from grocery store - brake light goes on. Brakes seem to be working. So I figure/hope - brake fluid level is a bit low so I will top it off at home.

Midway on freeway - ABS light , Stability off, VSC off and ! turn on and the car continuously beeps.

Car full of frozen food.... Short story - I made it home driving super carefully - had only few stop lights in suburban area. Brake pedal was quite hard and had to push it to the floor to stop. I know.... probably not the brightest idea, but I figured I will go slowly to a side of the road if needed and let it stop and there was almost no traffic.

Codes I got: C1223, C1252, C1256. All point to brake booster - correct? I did not have time to deal with this further tonight. Not sure where brake fluid level is.

Few questions: which brake fluid type should I use? Do I have to get Toyota one or would any respectable brand do?

Anything I can do/check myself? I am a ok with electrical/light mechanical stuff, have ramps, but not lift.

Thank you!

 

[SteveH]

Read the owner's manual and the words printed on the brake fluid reservoir and check your brake fluid in the manner described (pumping the pedal 40x times). You must follow the correct procedure - don't just look at the reservoir and say that it's full. At this point, any DOT3 brake fluid will do. If your fluid is super low, you may have a line that rusted through. Brake fluid only gets low as brake pads wear out, so if it's really low, there should be another reason.

It's very possible that your booster motor/pump/accumulator are shot, and it's an expensive part, but not super hard to replace. Bleeding the new assembly is described in the factory service manual (FSM) and many threads here.