Should I replace my own left rear brake caliper?

It's not really a difficult job, but remember that when you are watching an experienced person do something, a part of the work you don't see is what's going on between that person's ears. The part you can see them doing might look very straightforward, but they might be making a lot of observations and how-to-proceed decisions on the fly that you would need to spend more time on.

If you sign in to Toyota's technical information service (techinfo.toyota.com), you can find there not only the specific repair manual for your car, but also (in the Library section) the study materials for the various different "University of Toyota" technician training courses. They are clear and easy to read, and working through the unit on disk brakes might give you a lot more confidence as to how you'd feel taking on the job.

-Chap

 

The Camry has Friction Brakes, consumable Pads press onto (ideally less consumable) rotors. There are not different modes.

The Prius also has friction brakes, used below 7 MPH and whenever the braking you need exceeds the power of the Motor/Generators, typically highways speeds.

It has Regenerative braking, spinning Motor/generators to make electricity to charge a battery. It is limited both by the HP of the motors and the capacity of the battery to accept energy. If you are gentle with braking, it may be all you use over 7 MPH.

The computers can force engine braking, using the engine as an air pump to convert kinetic energy into heat. This is useful to lower the battery's charging rate and the friction brakes' heat. Both are good ideas, you can force engine braking with B mode, use it from the top of long downhills (over 600 feet vertical)

As you can see, the computers are controlling many separate systems while you press on one pedal. There is a fiendishly complex hydraulic system, not all of which is ever open in normal conditions. Using Toyota's Tech stream software there are ways to force all the brake lines open so you can bleed the brakes. (It is going to take rather a lot of brake fluid)



If you do decide to work on the brakes, disconnect the 12 battery first, the computers can decide to test the brakes at any point and if the brakes are partly dismantled when the computers test, nothing good can happen.

 

$15. for two days.

 

When I logged on last, if ou paid on a Friday, you got til Sunday night .

Maybe even longer on a holiday weekend .

But $15 doesn’t seem too much for the best information you can get.