so as the temperature dropped into the single digits then a few below my brake light came on. I checked the brake fluid and it is about a 1/4 inch from the min fill line. Here is the real odd part, if i burn out then the brake light will go out until i hit my brakes again.

anyone have any ideas?

 

check your e-brake switch at the end of your e-brake handle towards the fire wall. or just try unplugging your brake reservoir cap, if you unplug the cap and the light goes off then you found the culprit if you push in (or reach up in there and unplug) your e-brake handle and it goes off then that switch is it.
so it is either the reservoir switch or e-brake switch

 

ebrake cable is probly frozen. happened to me a lot when it got about 10 or below back in utah. see if the light turns off if you push the ebrake handle in. if thats all it is then theres nothing to worry about

 

it always has done that, but after i drove about 1/2 mile or so i could push it in and the light would go off, but now it stays on, even if i push in on the parking brake the light doesn't go out at all

when it warms up if it is still doing it then i'll try the brake reservoir switch first

its just odd though, if the light is on and pushing in on the e brake isn't making it go out then all i have to do is nail it in first or second and spin the back tires a bit then it will go out until i hit the brakes again, at least i have an excuse to burnout lol

 

how about topping up the fluid to see if the light goes out?

 

hmm... my first truck would do that i never noticed a difference with burnouts but try pulling the ebrake out a bit, just before it grabs any teeth and slam it back in hard, i used to have to do that a few times every time i pulled the ebrake to get the light to click off.
have you pulled your brake drums to see if anything looks out of place?

 

Id top it up as well first. The sensor in the brake fluid reservoir is known to be picky on toyotas. Bring it right up to the max line.
If that doesnt turn it off, then go to the ebrake switch.

 

sounds like a good idea too me!

 

nope, i just got the truck a few weeks ago and its been cold as hell outside, first nice day i'm gonna go over it real good
70k and never had brakes, so i'm not gonna top it off, i'm sure its at the min line because its time for front pads, i'll find out once it warms up outside

 

Sounds like you'd rather live with the brake light being on than add a few ounces of brake fluid to your reservoir?

It is a common issue on Toyotas to have the brake light come on if the reservoir level is not close to the max line.

Fill it up to see if that's your problem. When you change the pads, drain off a few ounces of fluid at that time.

 

if temperature changes are affecting the brakes

it is time to remove
all brake fluid and flush and bleed all new brake fluid in

 

its fine now that its back out of the single digits, and yes i would rather live with the brake light if i am going to be putting new pads on in a few weeks, your not suppose to add brake fluid because your pads are worn down

 

If it was me, I'd like to confirm what the problem was. And it's not wrong to add brake fluid as the level drops when your pads wear, as long as you know to remove some when you change the pads.

 

the problem is the parking brake cable gets sticky when its cold

and its not really right or wrong to add brake fluid as your pads wear, but to me its just unnecessary because then you have to mess with sucking some back out when you put brakes on

 

Well, for completeness of a thread, it's good to post what was eventually found to be the problem. Thanks.