Brake issue question

Hi all,

I realize this is a tundra form but a friend of mine recently bought a 2012 Camry with 35k miles from a recently passed away older gentleman (bought from the son). The car was sitting for a few months and maybe had 500 miles put in it over the course of 6 months.

that said only issue is when braking there is a heavy pulsing of the car, almost shuddering from any speed down to a stop.

normally I would classify this as a warped rotor, however, there is zero steering wheel shake when stopping. It’s all felt in the car itself and the brake pedal, but the steering wheel itself does not shake like it normally would under a typical warped rotor.
I’m definitely not a professional mechanic, but could this be a rotor/brake issue still? Or is this a symptom of air in the fluid or a caliper issue?

fluid in the master cylinder is halfway between Min and max; fluid looks nice and clear.

thoghts?

 

Most likely, since the vehicle has been sitting for so long, the rotors have gotten rusted except for the area where the front pads were resting. You can try driving it for a while, and using the brakes as often as possible. This may scrub off the rust on the rotors, and the shuddering may disappear. If this doesn't work, you may need to have the brakes done.

 

The shudder could well be coming from the rear brakes as well. Either rust patches on the friction surfaces of the rotors as said, or a good ol’e warped rotor.

Air in the fluid will give a soft, spongy feel to the pedal, not a shudder. It’s very possible a caliper piston, or even more likely, caliper slide pins are seizing up, causing the brake(s) to drag, creating excess heat and warping the rotor(s).

 

Thanks guys. This makes sense. We may just need to do all 4 brakes and rotors.

 

Most likely rust and glaze on the disks. Before you replace everything take the car out and do 10-20 hard brakes from speed down to about 5mph. Do not stop- it will heat up the brakes and remove a lot of the crap that is surely on the rotors.