Been driving the Felicia to work and back this week, so getting to know it a bit more. A few things bother me and one of them is the brakes.

1 They don't seem to 'bite' and need very firm pressure in order to come to a stop. They don't feel spongy or anything and the pedal does not have excessive travel.

2 The front ones make a dry noise like they are down to metal. I checked them and there is plenty of pad material, probably about 6 mm or more. The discs are not scored, but seem to have a very slight coating of rust on them. This will go away after a run, but the noise remains and the rust reappears.

The handbrake is very short of travel and needs more pulling than I would expect in order to work . Again , no bite if you try pulling the handbrake when travelling along at 5 mph, as you do.

I have read on this forum that the Felicia brakes are not too good, but is this the best it gets? I have only used the car for myself so far, I wouldn't like to think how hard I would need to press the pedal if I had passengers.

Other problems will be listed soon, ha ha.

No, they shouldn't be that bad. You've probably got crappy pads in there. The rust reappearing on the discs is normal, if it's just a very thin surface rust, happens on most discs. Could also be that your servo is lacking effort. With decent pads in there and everything in decent condition, you can out-brake many a larger car, and if you're on standard road tyres you can squeal them on dry tarmac with a bit of effort.

Been driving the Felicia to work and back this week, so getting to know it a bit more. A few things bother me and one of them is the brakes.

1 They don't seem to 'bite' and need very firm pressure in order to come to a stop. They don't feel spongy or anything and the pedal does not have excessive travel.

2 The front ones make a dry noise like they are down to metal. I checked them and there is plenty of pad material, probably about 6 mm or more. The discs are not scored, but seem to have a very slight coating of rust on them. This will go away after a run, but the noise remains and the rust reappears.

The handbrake is very short of travel and needs more pulling than I would expect in order to work . Again , no bite if you try pulling the handbrake when travelling along at 5 mph, as you do.

I have read on this forum that the Felicia brakes are not too good, but is this the best it gets? I have only used the car for myself so far, I wouldn't like to think how hard I would need to press the pedal if I had passengers.

Other problems will be listed soon, ha ha.

IF the pedal is not spongy and is hard, It`s most likely your brake servo needs replacing.

Edited 27 January, 201016 yr by WeekendMechanic

or the servo pipe where it goes onto the inlet mani. they split sometimes at the elbow

There's a known problem with the rear shoes not auto-adjusting. There was a post on here somewhere.... but can't find it since the site has changed around. Basically you slacken off the handbrake adjusters inside the car and put the back of the car on axle stands. Take off the drum, and adjust them out by pushing the shoes appart to allow a wedge with a vertical spring downwards move down. This moves the shoes outwards, do this so you can only just get the drum back on, then adjust the handbrake cable.

To be honest the brakes on my Favorit are rather crap compared to most other modern cars but still pass the MOT. When I've driven other cars I have had to learn to press the brake pedal *much* less. Then when I go back to the Fav it feels like there's no brakes, lol. Favorit and Felicia share the same braking system, although some felicias do benefit from ABS.

To check the brake servo with the ignition off press the pedal and release repeatedly. The travel should reduce. Press and hold then start the engine, the pedal should sink as the brake servo beings to work.

Thanks chaps. Not sure if the pads are crap ones or not and i wouldn't know which ones were or which were not. Maybe I am expecting too much, afterall they do stop the car but have caught me out on bends where I would usually be able to brake more progressively in my other car. I find myself suddenly needing to be pressing that bit more, not ideal in this icy weather!

While I am adjusting them, I will give the back brakes a once over, in case the shoes need replacing anway. I am sure they will be sold in most factors.

I will test the servo assistance too, hadn't thought of that.

Getting my Haynes soon, always helps.

They do sound similar to the brakes on my Felicia, but it will still lock up the fronts surprisingly easily. When the weather gets a bit warmer I'm planning on doing an overhaul on the brakes, changing fluid and greasing the slider pins on the calipers and hopefully that'll help improve the brakes a bit more.

If you can lock up the fronts then there's not much more the brakes can do than that!

If you can lock up the fronts then there's not much more the brakes can do than that!

True, but I don't think the fluid has been changed for years, if ever, and if I'm going to be checking the pads, discs and shoes then might as well put a bit of copper grease on the slider pins and make sure the calipers are working properly, especially as I might be taking the car to Prague on the road trip in May.

If you can lock up the fronts then there's not much more the brakes can do than that!

Good tyres and better pads will still let you brake harder before the brakes lock.

Also note that this is legally forced designed-in behaviour "because it's easier to control a car with locked front brakes than locked rears".

You're missing the point Ken, the problem then isn't the brakes, it's the tyres that are the limiting factor. If you've got something grippy on there and then you can't lock them up, then the brakes are the problem. With felicia brakes in good condition, that's not going to be the issue, and with decent pads I can lock 048s in the dry, so I can't see that it's an issue; whether you want more 'feel' may be the case, and then you might want to put bigger brakes on, but then you have the whole issue of bigger wheels, etc., and they seem to upset the Fel's handling from most reports I've heard, unless you get into adjustable suspension, etc.

It is easier to control a car when the fronts lock first in most normal situations because you can then regain control by backing off the brakes and regaining steering control. If the backs went first people would try to keep steering and swap ends before they knew what was happening, Most people don't have a clue what to do when the fronts lock up either though, hence what happens every time we get any ice or snow!

It has been mentioned here about greasing the caliper guide pins or applying copper grease. I was always told never do that as the guide pins are coated and putting anything else on them can cause problems.

They do sound similar to the brakes on my Felicia, but it will still lock up the fronts surprisingly easily.

Not been able to do that so far....., not that I want to. :no:

Never found a problem with putting copper grease on the pins of sliding piston calipers, just need a small amount, to make sure it doesn't go everywhere.

As for not being able to lock your brakes up, there are two things - firstly, you SHOULD find out whether or not the car is capable of doing that, 'cos if it's really not then there's something wrong, and secondly, you should do so as well so you know the limits of your braking ability, and how hard to press in an emergency, etc. Knowing stuff like that is the difference between a calm but hard stop in an emergency situation and a crash. Knowing how the car reacts is important - if the only time you get near to its limits is in an emergency/avoidance situation then you won't know how it will react, and that knowledge is a life saver.

Skoda supply a special lubricating grease for the pins.

Locking the front wheels...I see your point, been cossetted by ABS for so long now i need to learn back to basics driving again!

You're missing the point Ken, the problem then isn't the brakes, it's the tyres that are the limiting factor. If you've got something grippy on there and then you can't lock them up, then the brakes are the problem. With felicia brakes in good condition, that's not going to be the issue, and with decent pads I can lock 048s in the dry, so I can't see that it's an issue; whether you want more 'feel' may be the case, and then you might want to put bigger brakes on, but then you have the whole issue of bigger wheels, etc., and they seem to upset the Fel's handling from most reports I've heard, unless you get into adjustable suspension, etc.

It is easier to control a car when the fronts lock first in most normal situations because you can then regain control by backing off the brakes and regaining steering control. If the backs went first people would try to keep steering and swap ends before they knew what was happening, Most people don't have a clue what to do when the fronts lock up either though, hence what happens every time we get any ice or snow!

I think you're the one who missing my point, which was that fitting WunHungLo Ditchfinders, and then complaining that your car has bad brakes is actually complaining that you can't stop fast because you've got rubbish tyres on.

Depending on the brake setup, you may not be able to lock the wheels audibly with the Ditchfinders because the rubber melts on the contact patch and gives you a lubricating fliud to slide on.

Bottom line, better tyres will always extract more from a constant brake setup (in the absense of aerodynamic grip assistance anyway).

I'd already said that - TWICE - the tyres are then the limiting factor, not the brakes. And given that Felicia brakes in good condition can lock up warm 048s, I don't think they're the problem. They may not feel great, but they have plenty of power?

And what on earth are you talking about with the "lubricating fluid" bit? Does that mean the brakes/wheels aren't locked? No. Would a set of 330mm vented discs with 6-pot calipers make any difference to the tyres' performance? No. Nothing to do with the brake setup, everything to do with crap tyres. Which is usually the limiting factor, and definitely will be on a Fel.

And have you got any proof of such silent braking?

I noticed no difference in effectiveness whether I used Michelin Energy's or cheapies like Kumho, Strada, Barum. Besides crap tyres means less grip = more likely to lock up (because the road isn't grabbing the tyres as much).

I'm sure the whole setup is the limiting factor, having replaced the vacuum servo, master cylinder, and rear cylinders on my car. The only ways I have ever locked up when braking are when the caliper slide pins needed lubing on one side, and in cold icy conditions. They would probably lock up if I stamped and pushed hard enough though, but never been inclined to hit the pedal that hard.

Edited 4 February, 201016 yr by anewman

Back in the 90's I had a Favorit Estate GLXiE Flairline and I fitted a 7 seat conversion. I used to drive it fully laden with passengers and tow a trailer at the same time and to be honest the brakes were more than up to the job. I don't think the brakes are crap, but maybe devoid of feel because of the extra linkage required on RHD cars between pedal and master cylinder.

Ooo, didn't mean to stir an arguement chaps

It was just an observation that the brakes on the Skoda didn't feel as meaty as I would like. I have got used to them though but when I get back into my other car, I nearly put myself through the windscreen until i adapt my braking foot again.

The Skoda brakes still make that horrible dry scraping noise though, even after a few miles. Maybe it has crap pads in there?

Probably crap pads, or worn discs; if they wear with ridges on the out and inside the pads can get noisy. Best to have a look and see if they're OK, easily done without any real effort.

Already had a look at the discs, they are quite flat. In comparison, my Scenic rear discs are ridged and are noisy to start with, so i know what you mean.

Probably invest in some decent pads, any suggestions without costing silly money?

Dunno if Lockheed ones are still available? Mintex have been fine on road cars as well. Greenstuff are OK, about £35 or so. One man's "silly money" is another man's "reasonable", mind you!

Well, I would normally expect to pay around £20 for a set of pads, so maybe Mintex could be worth a go. I know the name and have used them before. But before all that, i need to sort the thermosat when it arrives, the suspension, noisy tappets....... :S