Hi everyone,

I have a Octavia VRS Y reg and recently have been experiencing a problem just after I start the car from cold with my brakes. It seems to coincide with that secondary air pump that stays on for about a minute or two.

Basically, after a few presses of the brake pedal after a cold start it goes hard and I lose almost all my braking power. If I turn the car off and on, it resolves the issue and I have never had the problem after a minute or so from startup. It only seems to happen just after I start the car. It does not always do it but when it does the car hunts much more than normal.

Apart from that first couple of minutes the brakes are working absolutely fine and I have no warning lights etc showing.

I have tried searching for this issue with no luck so any help is much appreciated. I don't fancy entering a roundabout or junction one day to find the pedal has gone solid!

Thanks

Have a look if you have a split in the vacume pipe. Mine had 3!

You are not losing any braking power, you are losing the servo assistance which means you have to press the pedal harder.

Check for breaks or duff non return valves on the servo vac line to the manifold

_{I had 2 of the small hoses to the anti shudder switch worn through on my last Octy TDI, There are a few small hoses at the back around the inlet manifold.}

Brake vacuum pipe was split at one of the joins on mine when I got it, new hose was about £25 from the dealer IIRC. As a temporary 'fix' once you find the split you can tape it up.