I've been scouring the pages of this, and other Lexus forums but I cannot find a solution.....
About 2 weeks ago, while standing in traffic, my brakes required more depression of the pedal than usual. Over the following 24 hours the pedal travel was so long it began to touch the floor.
As I accelerated and drove normally, brake pressure seemed to build up. So much so, that a stop from 30mph felt as though the initial bite was ok and I had normal retardation, but if I pressed further, it made little difference.
Also if I backed off the brakes and reapplied them the pedal travel was extended considerably. After a couple of days, low speed/crawling manoeuvres required pressing the pedal to the floor.
There are no warning lights or buzzers to alert me to a problem. I took it to Halfords Autocentre and they said the brake fluid looked as though it hadn't been changed for years! They changed it for free and checked for any leaks but couldn't find any. They then said that my VSC system was faulty. Apparently they'd turned it off and the brakes worked fine, although the ABS/TCS would be disabled. I was advised that whatever was wrong could not be diagnosed by them, only Lexus, and that it would cost me a fortune to fix!
Upon collecting the car, I turned the VSC off and it made no difference to the brakes at all. In depair, I have given the car to a mechanic friend to look at. He's had it for almost 2 weeks (although he only works on cars in his free time). To date, he has found nothing in the system that could cause the problem. All brake lines and calipers have been checked. He had it hooked up to a diagnostic tool (not Lexus, I guess) and it showed no faults.
I am going to collect the car this evening and pass it to an auto-electrician to go over and see if he uncovers anything.
Can anyone suggest anything that I may not have had checked, and where's the best place for me to take it, apart from the overpriced Lexus dealership?
All help will be greatly appreciated.
NB. If it ends up being a prohibitively costly solution, I'm likely to break the car up for parts. It's a black 2000 GS300 SE with sat nav and rear spolier.