having a few problems with my brakes on my fabia vrs 55plate. long travel, spongy. did a search and found a few people conplaining of the same. my brakes on my old 54 vrs where champion!:confused: i wonder if there is a pattern between bad brakes and year? vote on the pole and see if we can see a pattern.

sounds like you need to bed the pads in to deglaze them, especially after the winter rusty discs

and maybe get a fluid change, if not already done

I dont think it has anything to do with the year, just on how recent the fluid/disc/pads were change!

Just a note about diesel brakes and how the servo operation is slightly different to petrol cars. The servo vacuum is not taken directly from the inlet manifold as it is on petrol cars. The vacuum is created by the dual pump which is driven by the camshaft, and stored in a ball reservoir beside the oil filter. This system gives more available servo boost at idle speeds, which can give a slightly longer pedal travel.

If you want to test your brakes, try the following.

*** IF IN ANY DOUBT ABOUT YOUR BRAKES GET THEM CHECKED ***

1: With engine OFF, pump the brake pedal till it goes hard (Deplete stored vacuum)

2: With engine still off, apply firm pressure to the brake pedal, if it sinks and continues to do so, you have a fluid leak, or air in the system. If it stays hard and doesn't drop, there are no fluid leaks.

3: Press hard on brake pedal and start the engine, as the servo vacuum builds, the pedal should drop, but should stop with AT LEAST one inch of spare travel before the floor. If it goes to the floor you have to get the brakes checked by a dealer, as it may be a servo or ABS fault

4: Release the brake pedal and allow engine to idle for two minutes, then stop engine. Apply brakes hard, pedal should drop about three inches and then go hard.

The most common cause of poor brakes, is glazed pads and discs. Also, you may notice that most drivers do not use the handbrake at junctions and lights. They sit with their foot on the brakes, blinding you with the high level brake light. They are also warping their discs, as pad contact on a cooling disc causes local distortion in the pad area.

You should also use a torque wrench when fitting wheels, the wheel bolts clamp the disc, and uneven tightening can warp the disc rotor.

Take it a fluid change didn't fix your problem? Did you use an eazy bleed kit?

my fabia is a 55 and the brakes are just fine!

None of them have bad brakes, if they are working correctly and well maintained.

Why is the poll not multi-choice?

I'd say all years, because Skoda chose to fit a 288mm setup that doesn't inspire confidence, rather than 312s as standard. All IMHO, of course

Steve

The actual set-up doesn't change across the years either does it? For example an 04 plate and an 07 plate VRS would have the same manufacturer for the calipers, same discs, same pads etc??

I think the only difference is some kind of fix for the moo-ing (sp?) rear brakes at some point, but nothing else

Odd that this question should come up this morning.

I've had increasingly soft brakes for the last couple of weeks. I've been thinking they just need bled.

This morning, after the car had been sitting all weekend, on the first corner, they were *incredably* soft and I almost ran out of pedal travel before I could get slowed enough.

It seemed to come alright but I thought I would try a few emergency stops at the end of the journey. Pedal just went straight to the floor every time and the braking was very gradual.

All the other faults I can live with - this one is downright scary. Wouldn't really expect this on a 22k car, majority motorway mileage (i.e. not much brake use).

Just another bit of information after speaking to a tech who is a diesel specialist. Because the servo gets constant vacuum from the dual pump, brake pedal travel at idle will be long in any diesel that uses a mechanical vacuum pump. To test for air or fluid leaks, switch engine off and depress brake pedal a few times. It should go rock solid with virtually no travel, and should not drop at all when kept pressed down, if it does, there is a leak, or air in the system.

If you experience a long pedal while driving under normal braking, get the system checked by a specialist, preferably one who works on diesels. Do not take any chances with brakes.

FWIW this is how my VRS brakes perform. Pedal travel at idle is quite scary, if I maintain heavy pressure on the pedal, it stops about 2 inches from the floor. Pedal travel with engine off and vacuum depleted is less than an inch. Under normal driving, pedal is quite soft and very progressive, which I really like, as it gives you great control over the amount of brake effort. If I stomp on the brakes the car pulls up very quickly, BUT, if I then maintain pedal pressure after the car has stopped, the servo allows the pedal to drop even further.

After years of driving petrol cars, it took me a while to get used to the VRS brakes, but now I really like them.

I would also recommend changing disc rotors every 30,000 miles or so if they show any signs of blueing or have deep ridges worn into the friction surface.

I live at the top of a hill and had been idling all the way down until the "big bend."

It's booked in for Wednesday. Earliest I can get to it.

Oddly, as soon as I mentioned brakes and warranty, the dealer (I'm trying a new one out) could take it straight away!

cant complain about mine really!! compaired to the focus 2.0esp i had before they are wonderful....

chris

mine was an 05, and the brakes were good... drove a friends 54 plate, and the brakes were terrilbe... can't explain it.

As said by others above, bad brakes is most likely down to glazed pads. Spongy pedal or long travel means you could probably do with a fluid change. Also to bleed the brakes properly you need to take it somewhere with the diagnostics equipment to enable the abs to be bled also.

If in doubt, get them seen to.

Yeah miles isnt the main thing here, just over time brakes will need fluid changed etc, you cant blame lack of miles meaning the maintinance dosnt need to be done.

Worth bearing in mind that the fluid should be changed every 2yrs. A decent dealer or garage should flag this up, but not sure how many owners have been running fluid for longer than that?

Steve