How to Bleed the Brakes on a Toyota Corolla

Air inside a braking system is a potentially disastrous problem. The loss of brake pressure caused by air in the system leads to reduced stopping power and will cause your brakes to perform poorly, which can lead to accidents. Bleeding out the brakes will restore brake pressure and greatly increase the stopping power of your car. Bleeding your brake lines should always be done alongside changing the brake fluid, which will be included in this guide.

Use a jack to raise the car onto 4 jack stands.

Use a tire iron to remove the bolts on each wheel and then remove the wheels.

Loosen the bleeder bolts on each wheel with a box wrench, being careful not to open the bleeders yet. If the bleeders are very difficult to open, you may need to place some penetrating oil on them and leave them to sit for a few hours or even overnight.

Open the hood of the car and open the brake master cylinder reservoir.

Use a turkey baster to remove as much of the oil in the reservoir as possible.

Clean the inside of the reservoir with a clean rag.

Fill the reservoir with new brake fluid and close it.

Place a piece of clear plastic tubing around the bleed valve of a wheel, starting with the right-rear wheel.

Place the other end of the tubing into a clear plastic bottle that is 1/4th full of clean brake fluid. Make sure the tubing is submerged and stays submerged in the fluid.

Have someone apply pressure onto the brake pedal while you open the bleeder bolt slightly.

Have them press the brake down about 3/4ths of the way and hold it, in the meantime the old brake fluid will be flowing down the plastic tubing.

Close the bleeder bolt with the wrench as soon as the flow of fluid stops, then have your helper release the brake pedal.

Continue doing this until clean fluid flows from the bleeder valve, making sure to refill the master cylinder reservoir every 3 times you complete the process of Steps 10 through 12.

Repeat Steps 8 through 13 for every wheel, starting from the right-rear wheel, then going to the left-rear wheel, the right-front wheel and finally the left-front wheel.

Top off the master cylinder reservoir.

Bolt the wheels back into the place.

Lower the car off of the jack stands.