2010 Toyota Corolla: soft or spongy brake pedal

Filed Aug 1, 2012 · Brakes · 14,000 miles · TX

Any time you go over any bump or hit any pothole, the brakes become very spongy feeling. When you push the breaks, they feel very bumpy (almost like there are rocks in between the drum and the pads and it makes a grinding noise. Sometimes it even acts like it doesn't want to stop at all. As soon as you left off of them and reapply them, it is fine. It only happens if you go over something that is bumpy that causes any kind of jolt to the car. We took it to the dealer but they could not duplicate the problem. I am about to take it back again because it is still doing it.

Filed Oct 18, 2011 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 101,623 miles · TX

At approximately 0600 on the above date I experienced a violent and near uncontrollable momentary disrupture of the ABS/ESC systems of my 2010 toyota corolla. Vehicle shook violently, steering locked and ABS and ESC control lights on dash lit up while I was making the transition from ih37 south to ih35 south in san antonio, tx. I was able to regain control by letting off of the brakes and throttle thus coasting through the left hand turn and barely missing the retaining wall. This is not the first time this has happened, the first was only days after purchase of car. Local dealer maintenance personnel stated "we can't find anything wrong with the car." during the warranty period the problem has been brought to the attention of mccollums toyota five other times all with the same "we can't find anything wrong" reply. Complaints of soft brake pedal brought a similar "that's normal" retort each time the vehicle was in for service. After the warranty expired, front rotors and pads were replaced because they were found to have worn/groved approximately 1/8" deep per side (not reported by dealer), not from metal to metal contact but just wear from pads friction material. Pads still had 1/2" of friction material on each. Replacement of rotors and pads from auto zone made things better until now. Request ABS/ESC software be checked on all 2008 to 2012 corolla/scion tc models along with check of materials used in pads and the rotors. Oem rotors taken off car will be available until 15 jan 2012. 36,000 miles on a set of rotors and pads are a little extreme when I have over 125,000 on my gm's rotors and 165,000 on my ford's rotors with pads needing replacement around 45 to 55 k.

Filed Jun 28, 2010 · Brakes, Steering · 500 miles · WI

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota corolla. The contact stated when driving at approximately 55 MPH, the steering wheel would not stay balanced in a straight line. The vehicle would veer in either direction. The contact stated the failure was worse when driving in snow or windy weather conditions. The dealer advised the vehicle was operating as designed. The failure persisted. The dealer test drove and was able to duplicate the failure. An investigator was sent on behalf of the manufacturer to further inspect the failure. The investigator performed a visual inspection and advised there were no failures. In addition, the contact stated the brakes would feel spongy and would often fall farther into the floorboard than normal. The contact would have to apply steady, repeated pressure in order for them to work properly. The dealer advised there were no failures within the brake system. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 500 and the current mileage was approximately 2,100.

Filed Mar 1, 2010 · Brakes · 2,780 miles · CA

Driving 2010 toyota le on highway, turned off highway, turned to off ramp as power steering allowed car to veer to the left side of the highway. As the car approached the stop sign, the foot brake was applied, and felt spongy and the car suddenly veered to the left side of the road and came to a stop facing oncoming traffic which could have caused an accident. Contacted the dealership that told me to bring the car in for inspection. An appointment was made for today.

Filed Feb 22, 2010 · Brakes · 1,000 miles · TX

I bought my toyota corolla s on december 30, 2009. Within a week of purchasing the car, I noticed that the brake pedal began to feel spongy and non-responsive. I contacted the dealer and was initially told that this model had a longer brake travel than previous model years. I persisted in getting the dealer to adjust the rear linings and bleed the brakes and this seemed to help somewhat. But as the brakes wear, I can feel the problem occurring again. The brake pedal is difficult to modulate, has a spongy, non-linear feel that increases braking distances and makes the car more difficult to drive. I feel that there is a design flaw in these cars that should be rectified immediately by toyota.