New here, what is the red BRAKE light on the right bottom corner of the dash indicate? Its next to the parking brake red indicator. I tried searching but never came up with a definite answer. Does it mean there is a light out somewhere or is it something inside the braking system that is malfunctioning? I got this car very cheap and am trying to clear everything up asap. Almost done

 

It indicates a problem with the hydraulic system... check your brake fluid, and top it off if it's low. The light should go off. Then, pump the brake multiple times, and check the fluid level to see if it's still the same or not. Look for leaks, and make sure your pedal doesn't go down too far.

 

Thanks for the info. Brake fluid was a bit low. I decided to go ahead and change the brakes out since they were squeeling. Why did volve decide to put a 7mm hex on the caliper??? I cant find this thing anywhere. Anyone know where I might find one locally without having to order one off the net? Thanks

 

I bought mine at advanced auto. You can change pads without having to bleed brakes though. Use old pad and large c-clamp to compress piston and install new pads. Then replace caliper.

 

I needed the 7mm to pull the caliper off the bracket so I could pull the caliper bracket off to change the rotor. Wierd thing is the car is a T5 but had 15" wheel brakes. I bought rotors for the 16" wheel which is whats on it and they were way to big. Front is done but WTF is with the rear? Who was in charge of designing that crap caliper. Hardline brake line to the caliper? Bass Ackwards if you ask me. Oh well, its about 20 degrees here so Im done for the night. Kinda frustrating workin on this thing..

 

Heh... to change the rear pads, you don't have to take the caliper off! All you do is pull the pins out, pull the pads out the top, push the pistons back in with something between the piston and rotor, drop the new pads in, lube the pins, and put them back in... it's actually the easiest thing in the world! But yes, a little odd for someone that's never done one before.

 

Yea, Ive gotta replace the rotors as well so its been givin me hell. What do people usually use to get those pins out? I havent really found anything suitable around my garage to get em out. Another thing that was wierd was the lugs....Kind of a PITA getting the wheel lined back up.. It sure is a nice reliable car tho, I think I can deal with it..

 

I take it you're talking about the alignment pins that hold the rotor on? It's been awhile since I replaced mine, but I bought new pins too. They were a pain to get off. I rounded them with a wrench and ended up using a vice grip and hammer w/ lots o lube. i suppose you could cut them off if you had too, but you'll still have to vice grip the rest of it out.

 

I was talking about the pins that hold the rear pads to the caliper. I got em out using a hammer, screwdriver, needle nose pliers and some teflon penetrating lube. It worked ok, but one of the spring/clip things broke into 3 pieces. I left it out....Anybody know if this is a bad idea??? It hasnt seemed to matter as of yet but Im sure they are there for a reason. I just added some additional material to the pin jams to make sure they stay seated in the caliper. Got everything done, oil change, coolant change, thermostat change, pads/rotors all around and rotated the tires. It has a fault in the a/c system somewhere. Compressor kicks on but the lights flash on the console.. Is there a way to read the fault code? Im guessing its probably just low on r134 but it would be nice to know exactly what the fault is.. Thanks for all the help fellas

 

As for the brake clip, I would get another one ASAP. I have had a friend that told me he had a brake pad fall out of the wheel in his driveway. Wow! Not sure what the problem was but it was pretty funny to me. No extra parts in a brake system.

The OBD-II port is under the center arm rest.

 

Can OBDII read hvac codes? I ran a scan on it and got a couple codes but nothing hvac related. Guess Ill run it again and see if something pulls up. P0116 & P0455(0445)?. Changed thermostat & coolant and it went off. It is still running on the cool side so I guess if it sets the code again Ill change ti ect. P0445 is Something evap related but turns out my gf didnt put the gas cap on right.

 

You may want to do a live scan after the car warms up to see what the real temp is. There is a chance that your guage is off. It should be around 182F when cruising.

 

Can a scanner from say o'reillys read live temps? That is my only option as far as scans go. I have noticed that the cabin doesnt heat up very quick when the gauge is running on the low end. It eventually works itself out. For 2 grand you cant expect everything to be perfect, even though 99% of it is cherry. Gettin ready to do the timing belt pretty soon so that will be fun.