Brake light and check engine light on

I just bought my 98 Tacoma about a month ago, and after I took it for smog test (which it failed ), my check engine light came on and my emergency brake light came on. I have no emergency brake so idk why that light is on, and they said the check engine light was on when it came in, and that the emergency brake light would turn off after a few miles and it hasn't. Should I just take it a Toyota dealership and have them check it out or what?

 

What do you mean you don't have an emergency brake? Did you remove it completely? For the check engine light, have the code read and try to pinpoint the cause.

 

They said there were two fault codes, and when I bought the truck the guy I bought from said the e brake was disconnected. If there's anyone in the SoCal area that know about this kind of stuff who doesn't mind looking at it for me that'd be awesome

 

A couple of things:

1) Go to AutoZone, Advance, O'Reilly's, whatever and have them run the CEL codes. Report back what codes you get.

2) Check your brake fluid level in the reservoir. It may be low which could throw the "E-Brake" light.

3) I would advise hooking the E-Brake back up and getting it functional. I wouldn't rely on my truck hanging in gear to keep it from going somewhere unattended or unintended.

4) Is your truck experiencing any problems (rough idle, poor acceleration, sputtering, etc)?

 

Unplug ur brake master cylinder reservoir sensor. I did and my light went away. Going to replace my brake fluid and see if it helps

 

The sensor is bad or your fluid level is low.

Replacing the fluid won't make a difference on a bad sensor.


If the fluid is low, you likely need to change your pads. That's how disk brakes work. The pads wear, the pistons extend out of the calipers (by about 1/2"!), which pulls fluid from the reservoir.

In a properly designed system with an owner who doesn't "top off" his brake fluid, the light will come on before the calipers wear enough to damage the rotors.

When you compress the pistons to install the new pads, the fluid will push back into the master cylinder and the light will go off.

 

I have new pads and my shoes are fine, half life. I dont have to add brake fluid, but it is brownish in color, and I think that is causing the sensor to go off. But i dont know, but old brake fluid is bad.

EDIT: and my reservoir is full

 

Not an option in California.

There's a reason the guy working at Autozone makes $8/hour and the dealer tech makes $15+

There were a few lawsuits because parts store techs were reading codes and recommending purchases. Of course, SOMETIMES an O2 code actually means that Bank-1 is running lean and the O2 sensor is working perfectly...

So a combination of lawsuits, and political lobbying by the ASE, California has passed a law that prohibits facilities that do not have an actual repair shop from performing diagnostics.

Autozone may allow you to borrow the code reader, but they may not legally connect it, operate it, or interpret the results.

 

Gotta love Commifornia.

 

This is one that I do not totally disagree with.
A lot of people have spent a lot of money on parts they don't need because some high school kid read a code.

 

^^ He has a point here

 

Caveat emptor.

The problem (not to get on a political rampage) is that because a few people got screwed (because they may have been dumb, duped, ignorant, mal-informed, mis-informed, clueless, retarded, a window-licker, whatever) it ends up screwing the masses over.

Now, no one can have a code read?!

To each his own.

 

Do you REALLY want your code read and interpreted by someone with absolutely zero training?
Seriously... I don't like the DEALER working on my vehicles, and I certainly am not going to trust a minimum-wage auto parts store employee (I was one once) to plug anything into my OBD port.

Nothing in the law prevents them from letting you borrow the scanner, and they WILL loan you a scanner and tools.
The law just does not allow them to touch your vehicle or recommend a product based on a code. Being able to plug in a scanner does not qualify someone diagnose a problem.


On touching a vehicle... a guy that I worked with at Trak Auto ended up buying a new windshield for a lady. He "helped" her install a new set of wiper blades. He let the wiper arm slip, and without a blade, it hit the glass and cracked it.
Kid told the manager, who took care of it and the kid ended up paying the manager back. Corporate never knew... they didn't need to know.
That's how it worked 30 years ago.

Today, the kid wouldn't have admitted it to the manager.
Likewise, today's manager wouldn't have fixed it... he'd have fired the kid and referred the customer to corporate... if she hadn't already called a lawyer.

 

That should be okay then.

 

i havent had any problems with it, it sounds and rides good, i plan on taking it to the dealership service department tomorrow. even though its expensive theyre going to find whats wrong and how to deal with it

 

Is it possible I failed because of my exhaust? I do have a magnaflow on

 

No. A muffler is nothing more than baffles. The differences in mufflers are how they route and manipulate the flow of gas; it has nothing to do with a chemical alteration. Your catalytic converter may be failing, but your O2 sensor would throw up a CEL if something wasn't working properly.

 

That actually might be it then, that sounds right looking at the fault codes it seems like it has to do with the gas flow. How do I go about fixing that?

 

You can buy an after market one, or pay 900 smackers for a new one, or if u have 2 maybe more $.

I just gutted mine.

here is one: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacoma-marketplace/221332-magnaflow-catalyc-new.html