Hi all, have a brake question .... engine running, when brake pedal is pressed hard enough it continues to travel almost to the floor .... brakes work fine but occasionally at lights or a junction . You can feel the pedal travel .... the guy who I bought it from.... his mechanic said .... " oh that's normal.... loads of cars have brake pedal travel'

Doesn't sound normal to me.  Especially, the inconsistent amount of travel at different times. Air in system? First port of call would be to bleed all four corners.

It did it when I had an egr fitted last weekend.... when the garage came to me ,... it was back to normal and then today .... brake fine but noticed a bit of travel in the pedal at a junction ...other threads on here suggest master cylinder but yes I guess a bleed would be cheaper option to start..... brake fluid has been three years to .... then again ... my bora didn't have a fluid change in 6 years and was fine ....this car has been more trouble in four weeks than my bora in ten years and 200k miles

I had a pedal with unpredictable travel/pressure. Turned out the rear calipers were leaking! Definately worth taking it to your garage for a check over.

We have had it up on a ramp, no leaks at all, rear brakes are quite worn .... the mechanic was very relaxed about it claiming most cars have pedal travel and it's prob brake fluid pushing back through the master cylinder when the pedal is pressed hard .... in my eyes .,that would say the master cylinder is becoming worn out

I'm tempted to say that a combination of worn brake components with moving parts requiring cleaning and greasing plus air in the ABS pump are the sources of your pedal issue.

Sound like a very dangerous mechanic / technician / fitter and / or a rather dodgy seller.

 

Best see someone that knows their responsibility to you and others to have safe vehicles on the road.

I had this on my Octavia.

Quite noticeable as it was a DSG so when sat holding it on the brake your foot would slowly sink to the floor and you'd have to pump the pedal to get the pressure back up.

A fluid bleed with a pressurised eezibleed system sorted it for me.

Sound like a very dangerous mechanic / technician / fitter and / or a rather dodgy seller.

 

Best see someone that knows their responsibility to you and others to have safe vehicles on the road.

At the moment they are just telling me there is nothing wrong with the brakes and to go to Kwik fit for a free brake check .... well 99%'of the time ... there is nothing wrong ... but 1% of the time .... it's scary as your foot keeps going to the floor and it feels like you have no brakes

At the moment they are just telling me there is nothing wrong with the brakes and to go to Kwik fit for a free brake check ...

  I would stay away from Kwik fit

I would go to a MOT test station and have a MOT done or even just a Brake Test, no point going to a Fast Foot Dancer Establishment to have their Fitters look at your car.

Get a qualified mechanic, City & Guilds / NVQ or actually Vehicle Maintenance Experience.  They do exist.

Edited 29 October, 20169 yr by Offski

The guy who is mechanic for the dealer I bought the car off is supposed to be super qualified and experienced and to be fair ...after he had checked the brakes and I drove it ,,,they were fine .... trouble is ...it's an intermittent fault and when it occurs it only last very short term

He or she is going to have to use all that experience to find the fault then, because i thought they were saying a long pedal occasionally was normal.

Loads of cars have long pedals.

 

Best get the brakes sorted out because the mechanic or technician is dangerous as is the car.

I might just tell them to have the car back and keep it ..... more trouble in four weeks than 10 yrs and 200k in my bora tdi

Have you tried doing the obvious by pumping the pedal while the engine is running and see if the pedal height gets higher, this is a quick easy test and may tell you if you have any air in the braking system.

 

Taking the car to a kwik fit for a free brake test where they should also do a brake efficiency test on a brake tester is not a bad suggestion.  This may also help ease your mind if they don't find anything but may also highlight if there is any problem with it.

Just another thing when you say press on the pedal with the engine running I assume you're pressing hard (harder than normal braking) as this can force fluid past the master cylinder seals and it very rarely gets pressed that hard except in an emergency situation where the abs will also kick in? 

If you press hard then yes sure you can force the pedal down .... this is say .... pull up to lights and stop ...foot just resting on brake pedal as usual ....continues to the floor with no pressure and has happened while moving and braking in traffic ...

Cars going back to garage thursday, they are going to change fluid and bleed .... plus there's an idle issue and sometimes having trouble getting reverse ....think the cars a complete lemon

 

 

Taking the car to a kwik fit for a free brake test where they should also do a brake efficiency test on a brake tester is not a bad suggestion.  This may also help ease your mind if they don't find anything but may also highlight if there is any problem with it.

Sorry but I think that is a very bad suggestion, by the time they have looked at the brakes they would also find that your rear shocks were shot, you need a oil change, anti freeze change, new battery, 2 new tyres and a new fan belt buckle........ :peek: 

I'm not going to Kwik ....let's relieve him of all his money fit..... under warranty so it's going back to them for now ...if not sorted ... I have a friend at vw garage or a good garage I've used for years here where I live ...

The last time I used fit of the Kwik for anything other than tyres .....they did some tracking for me around 15years ago, using laser tracking they managed to make the car twice as bad and the steering wheel pointing right when going in a straight line ..... have found there mobile tyre service quite good though

With the engine turned off, does it go hard when you pump the pedal?

Yes it does

Sorry but I think that is a very bad suggestion, by the time they have looked at the brakes they would also find that your rear shocks were shot, you need a oil change, anti freeze change, new battery, 2 new tyres and a new fan belt buckle........ :peek:

Although they may well do up selling as they generally do.  Going somewhere else and getting a free check and ignoring the other items they may try to sell to you, The ones that do exist on your car and your fan belt buckle (frown).  How can someone else having a quick look be a bad thing?

Although they may well do up selling as they generally do.  Going somewhere else and getting a free check and ignoring the other items they may try to sell to you, The ones that do exist on your car and your fan belt buckle (frown).  How can someone else having a quick look be a bad thing?

Sorry Mate but I reckon  it all depends who is having a quick look............ but in my opinion you might as well get Stevie Wonder to take a look and ask Ray Charles for a second opinion rather that going to Kwik Fit.

Fluid change and bleed happening on Friday ... also have a clutch issue where occasionally it does not disengage fully and as the brakes and clutch share fluid ... thinking it may be linked

Hope it sorts it out.............fingers crossed.