I was driving down the road at about 40 mph. I saw that the light was red, so I pressed the brakes. There wasn't much resistance from the brakes and I ended up pressing the brake pedal to the floor, and yet, my car continued to move forward. I could press no harder than I was but the car kept strolling. Luckily the light turned green, and I avoided rear ending the person in front of me. I drove slow all the way home, still having the same problems. I put in brake fluid, but that didn't seem to help any. Could there be another reason for my brakes no longer working?
2007-05-11 18:00:46 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
bad wheel cylinder
or
broken line
or
master cylinder bad
2007-05-11 18:04:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, first do alittle looking around. Look at the inside side of your tires. Is there and fluid on the backside of the tires? If ''yes'' you may have a fluid leak. If ''no'', but the pedal goes to the floor,then the break master cylinder may be by-passing. In which case the fluid is leaking out of the back of the master and in to the booster unit. In which case the master will need to be replaced and the system bleed. bartzan4 also answered your question correctly. Still you should have the break system looked at by someone who knows what they are doing. If for no other reason, to make sure that you do not have more than just one problem. DO NOT DRIVE YOU CAR UNTILL YOU GET IT LOOKED AT AND/OR FIXED. You have been lucky so far,but if you push the issue and continue to drive it. Your luck is going to run out. You will end up hurt or hurting someone else. Good luck
2007-05-12 01:46:28 · answer #2 · answered by Gunny 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There could be a host of things wrong. If it is using fluid then you have a leak which causes a lose in pressure. Find the leak and and change the line. If you just had brakes installed sounds like they didnt bleed the air from the lines. Your master cylinder may be going out. Your pads may be worn out. or your rotors getting thin from wear. You need to take the auto to your tech asap and have the brake system checked. Start with pad inspection, then rotors and calipers, then bleeding, and master cylinder.
Drive safely.
d
2007-05-20 00:53:26 · answer #3 · answered by drtoolman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check the master cylinder for brake fluid.It sounds to me that you have a ruptured steel or rubber brake line. If the master is full of fluid it's likely the master cylinder.
Due to the safety of the braking system if you are not a good knowledgeable backyard mechanic you shouldn't perform the repair.My personnal feeling is that you should have a licensed mechanic look at it.This is usually an easy diagnosis and you had to ask how to identify the problem so I question your ability to repair the system correctly.
Don't take offense to that comment but it IS A SAFETY ITEM NOT ONLY TO YOU BUT OTHERS THAT TRAVEL OUR ROADS!
2007-05-19 22:36:36 · answer #4 · answered by Pud 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
most likely bad master cylinder or brake line leak like stated above. But the real reason i wanted to answer is to tell you if your ever in the situation again if you pump the brake you can build pressure to slow or stop the car push to the floor and release and to the floor again as rapidly as possible if this doesn't work then down shift the car to slow as much as possible before impact. glad the light turned green for you, you were lucky
2007-05-12 01:36:32 · answer #5 · answered by mbar3 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That sounds like a master cylinder or brake line leak. If it were just air in the line, your brakes would be soft, but not that soft. If ever in that situation again, the best thing to do would be to put your car in neutral and try to slow it to a stop. Did you try using your emergency brake when you were facing a possible collision?!
2007-05-18 09:10:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
typically, if your brake fluid level gets that low, then you actually get air in the system. air is compressible so it will not transfer the energy of your foot pushing the brake peddle down anywhere near the same as with a full fluid system. try bleeding the brakes, it might just do the trick. you should also look carefully for any signs of a leek ( the fluid had to go somewhere), or is it time for a brake job?
2007-05-12 01:54:17 · answer #7 · answered by mdk68gto, ase certified m tech 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like your master cylinder is bad. Check all four wheels and look for leaks from the brake cylinders. If you don't see any leaks all signs point back to your master cylinder. Good luck. You can replace it yourself just make sure you bleed all four wheels.
2007-05-16 03:21:50 · answer #8 · answered by hth_wtf_st_louis 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ther is Air in the system . Have the Brakes Bled and filled and that should fix the problem .
2007-05-16 05:05:49 · answer #9 · answered by Snakeman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try pushing the brake pedal while sitting still. If it slowly sinks to the floor, your master cylinder is bad.
2007-05-12 01:06:05 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
get a complete brake inspection,broken lines.air in the system,bad brake cylinders or callipers, or master cylinder.good luck.
2007-05-16 10:55:14 · answer #11 · answered by paschal d 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋