brakes feel mushy after slamming on brakes

[alphatarget1]

had to avoid an idiot on the road. Abs kicked on. What could be causing the brakes to become mushy? Seems fine when the car is at low speeds but feels mushy when it's faster.

 

[Fritzo]

Air bubbles in your brake line. Might need to bleed your brakes.

 

[phucheneh]

If it just happened after ABS activation, yeah, I would imagine it might just be air that was trapped in the ABS's hydraulic unit. Or maybe it was introduced by the pump motor.

You did check the fluid level, right? Though it should be fine if the red brake light is not coming on. That should trip a good bit before the master cyl is able to suck dry. Usually designed to come on around the level where a properly filled reservoir would be when the linings at all four corners are pretty much completely worn out.

 

[alphatarget1]

I drove the car at lunch and the brakes feel fine... I think I'll replace the pads (due) and bleed the brakes to see if the problem comes back.

 

[LTC8K6]

They probably got too hot, and returned to normal when they cooled off.

 

[wirednuts]

yea i bet just overheated. just keep driving with them and see if it gets better. it probably will.

speaking of abs... im about to disable mine. i have nearly bald tires and no money to get some right now. i swear abs makes things worse on icy roads. i would rather have a tire or two drag then all 4 roll and never stop!

 

[CA19100]

speaking of abs... im about to disable mine.

The point of ABS isn't to stop quicker. The point is to be able to maintain control of your car when you're braking! You might stop a little quicker by locking up all four (on dry pavement), but you'll just be along for the ride. If you need to steer at the same time without ABS and on bad tires, you'll be swapping ends on the ice.

 

[WilliamM2]

speaking of abs... im about to disable mine. i have nearly bald tires and no money to get some right now. i swear abs makes things worse on icy roads. i would rather have a tire or two drag then all 4 roll and never stop!

Bald tires on winter roads? Park the car until you get new tires, before you kill someone.

 

[wirednuts]

Bald tires on winter roads? Park the car until you get new tires, before you kill someone.

:/ then why am i the one always close to getting hit? i drive 10x more defensive then most people with bigger and better winter vehicles. im the one in danger out there, no doubt.

 

[Howard]

yea i bet just overheated. just keep driving with them and see if it gets better. it probably will.

speaking of abs... im about to disable mine. i have nearly bald tires and no money to get some right now. i swear abs makes things worse on icy roads. i would rather have a tire or two drag then all 4 roll and never stop!

With that kind of technical knowledge, you should probably not be touching anything on your car.

 

[yhelothar]

The point of ABS isn't to stop quicker. The point is to be able to maintain control of your car when you're braking! You might stop a little quicker by locking up all four (on dry pavement), but you'll just be along for the ride. If you need to steer at the same time without ABS and on bad tires, you'll be swapping ends on the ice.

Nope, the point of ABS is to stop quicker. The force of static friction is stronger than kinetic friction. This means there's more stopping force when the tires are gripping and ABS' job is to keep the tires gripping.

If you didn't have ABS, you'd have to pump your brakes to keep your tires from locking up.

 

[wirednuts]

Nope, the point of ABS is to stop quicker. The force of static friction is stronger than kinetic friction. This means there's more stopping force when the tires are gripping and ABS' job is to keep the tires gripping.

If you didn't have ABS, you'd have to pump your brakes to keep your tires from locking up.

its both for stopping quicker and to maintain steering control.

my point is, in real world, sometimes abs makes things worse. especially on cars like my truck where there is just 3 speed sensors, so the back wheels are monitored in tandem. the system just doesnt work as well as its supposed to. in my case, its far too sensitive and many times when i start skidding it actually starts rolling faster when i stand on the brakes because the abs is desperately trying to keep everything from stopping. the best stopping force i have is the engine braking and thats on an automatic tranny mind you...

 

[power_hour]

Brake fluid low?

 

[CA19100]

Nope, the point of ABS is to stop quicker.

While it can stop the car quicker on some surfaces, that wasn't its design purpose, as I said.


From NHTSA:

Do cars with ABS stop more quickly than cars without?

ABS is designed to help the driver maintain control of the vehicle during emergency braking situations, not make the car stop more quickly. ABS may shorten stopping distances on wet or slippery roads and many systems will shorten stopping distances on dry roads. On very soft surfaces, such as loose gravel or unpacked snow, an ABS system may actually lengthen stopping distances.

It's great technology, in any case; I definitely wouldn't disable it! Even 3-channel ABS is more effective than a 1-channel brake pedal.

 

[yhelothar]

While it can stop the car quicker on some surfaces, that wasn't its design purpose, as I said.


From NHTSA:

It's great technology, in any case; I definitely wouldn't disable it! Even 3-channel ABS is more effective than a 1-channel brake pedal.

OK, I interpreted your post as ABS wouldn't make you stop quicker at all. Good link.

 

[Squisher]

OP, some abs systems require the abs system be activated during bleeding or have specific instructions on how to deal with the abs system while bleeding. It is likely this wan't followed previously and that released the air bubble when it got activated. Find out the procedure for your vehicle before you start on your car.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

I drove the car at lunch and the brakes feel fine... I think I'll replace the pads (due) and bleed the brakes to see if the problem comes back.

i have this same problem with my brakes after i hit a tire and then a monster chuckhole last week. id like to take my car and have the brakes checked out but its a european car and you have to replace to rotors to not just the pads

 

[Costas Athan]

They probably got too hot, and returned to normal when they cooled off.

They overheated with just one time braking? Maybe the fluid was too old then. Anyway if the fluid was boiled it should be changed.