Is this a dumb idea?

[Exterous]

This weekend I had to slam on my breaks to avoid an idiot who made a left turn while I had right of way going straight.

Anyway - afterwards I noticed my break lights were now on all the time. The rubber bumper to trigger the break light switch is till in one piece and I only need to pull the break pad forward about 1-2mm to depress the trigger enough to turn off the break lights. Taking off the panel is a giant PITA to get to the switch and I lack a warm place to do that right now. Is it a dumb idea to put a washer or penny on the rubber bumper to get the extra 1-2mm of necessary thickness to turn the break lights off?

 

[pauldun170]

This weekend I had to slam on my breaks to avoid an idiot who made a left turn while I had right of way going straight.

Anyway - afterwards I noticed my break lights were now on all the time. The rubber bumper to trigger the break light switch is till in one piece and I only need to pull the break pad forward about 1-2mm to depress the trigger enough to turn off the break lights. Taking off the panel is a giant PITA to get to the switch and I lack a warm place to do that right now. Is it a dumb idea to put a washer or penny on the rubber bumper to get the extra 1-2mm of necessary thickness to turn the break lights off?

What year\make\model of car?
If the pedal arm is not returning to position is permanently on that switch, then you got a bigger problem. You may have a compromised brake line or master cylinder

 

[Exterous]

It's a 2013 Camry Hybrid XLE

 

[pauldun170]

This accurately describe what you are seeing?

Toyota Corolla Questions - WHY DO BRAKE LIGHTS STAY ON WHEN CAR IS OFF - CarGurus

WHY DO BRAKE LIGHTS STAY ON WHEN CAR IS OFF -

www.cargurus.com

.

When the brake switch is not pressed due to missing cushion pad on the brake pedal then the brake light is always on which causes it to drain your battery and overheat the brake switch which it turns switches on the Check engine light. This small item will cost $3 at a toyota dealership. You may replace it by yourself if you have a torch but its a little hard to get reach of it but will save you on money.

 

[Exterous]

This accurately describe what you are seeing?

Toyota Corolla Questions - WHY DO BRAKE LIGHTS STAY ON WHEN CAR IS OFF - CarGurus

WHY DO BRAKE LIGHTS STAY ON WHEN CAR IS OFF -

www.cargurus.com

.

Basically but the bumper is still in place. It now depresses the switch about 3/4 of the way necessary to turn off the break lights

 

[BonzaiDuck]

The OP talks about "[brake] pads", but I think we're talking about the brake pedal, which activates the brake-light switch -- a cheap item, really. I wouldn't know how much the design and parts for the brake-pedal mechanisms have changed since my 95 Trooper and 95 Nissan hard-body.

There is a silicon rubber insert to a plate-surface of the brake-pedal which meets the push-button of the brake-light switch. Eventually, they become brittle and break into pieces. For my Nissan truck for instance, the same little silicon rubber disc and part number fits Nissans from 95 through maybe 2003, including their top-end Maxima sedans. it's a cheap item, if that's what another poster was saying. I've paid about $7 for one. The trick is to find them. I think I bought mine new off EBay.

The brake-light switch itself is also a fairly cheap item -- lemme see, for example . . . yeah -- RockAuto shows the price of the unit for my Nissan truck at about $5.

I can just imagine that slamming on the brakes could cause the switch to come out of adjustment. You'd know if you find the little silicon rubber bumper still in place and undamaged. Adjusting the switch only means loosening a hex-nut on the brake-pedal assembly after disconnecting the switch. The electrical connection is just a simple snap-together plug very near the switch. You'd want to disconnect it to install a new one, but also it facilitates turning the switch in its threads on the brake pedal for the adjustment. You want to adjust it so that the brake-light comes on just after the free-play in the pedal has been traversed to push the little button on the switch against the rubber stopper disc.

OF course it is a bitch to work on the pedal near the floorboard and under/behind the lower lip of the dash assembly. That's the worst of it. You need good lighting. If you're also a contortionist, that helps, too . . . Otherwise, prepare a tub of hot bathwater and some epsom salts after working on the brake switch. Your neck and arms will probably be a bit sore from the strain.

 

[pcgeek11]

You should be fine adding a washer to compensate until you can access the switch and make the proper adjustments required.

 

[Exterous]

Thanks everyone. Yeah the switch itself would be easy to adjust or replace (Mine is a little more expensive that that but not much) but getting that panel off to get to it in the cold...

 

[MtnMan]

When you slammed on the brakes, it only pulls the brake pedal arm away from the switch. No way that would knock the switch out of adjustment.

I would be more concerned as to why the brake pedal isn't returning to its normal position. Did something bend in the arm/linkage of the pedal and arm/pivot point, or something more serious in the master cylinder/hydraulics?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

When you slammed on the brakes, it only pulls the brake pedal arm away from the switch. No way that would knock the switch out of adjustment.

I would be more concerned as to why the brake pedal isn't returning to its normal position. Did something bend in the arm/linkage of the pedal and arm/pivot point, or something more serious in the master cylinder/hydraulics?

You may have something there. How the pedal and switch work seems a bit counterintuitive until you realize that the switch is on the other side of the fulcrum or pivot point of the pedal arm. Slamming on the brakes would only release the button of the light switch.