Funky Brake Behavior

"Shamoononon drives like a farmer" (shamoononon) 02/13/2017 at 19:45 • Filed to: Brakes!

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Curious thing happens after work in the parking garage. If I start my car and immediately back up the brakes have little to no brake power! Or, at least it doesn’t seem like it - the pedal doesn’t depress right/etc. After the first time, the brakes work again. If I start the car and pump the brakes, then no problem. I don’t have a problem with my brakes in the morning at home either, just after work in the parking garage.

Its a 2009 with 130k miles on it, so its driven well.

Any idea?

jimz > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 02/13/2017 at 19:48

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is it really damp in the parking garage? does your car have rear drum brakes?

and I think it’s amusing you used both “brake” and “break” multiple times.

My bird IS the word > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 02/13/2017 at 19:49

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Either your brake booster or you have some contamination in your lines. When’s the last time you have changed your fluid?

Shamoononon drives like a farmer > jimz 02/13/2017 at 19:51

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I would never make that mistake.... Yes, it’s been really wet in the garage lately with all the California rain, puddles sitting around most of it.

Shamoononon drives like a farmer > My bird IS the word 02/13/2017 at 19:52

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I am not 100% sure. I do take it in to Jiffy Lube though and usually do what they recommend. (Work too much to do much on my own).

My bird IS the word > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 02/13/2017 at 19:57

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Jiffy lube is your first mistake, but getting your fluid changed and your brakes bled is the first thing I’d try, cheapest fix. If that doesn’t work it is probably a more serious problem.

Urambo Tauro > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 02/13/2017 at 19:58

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Kinda sounds like it might be vacuum-related. Maybe there’s a slight vacuum leak, and the engine needs just a little more time to build enough vacuum to overcome it? (At any rate, you should always let the engine run a few seconds first, instead of immediately backing up once it’s started.)

jimz > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 02/13/2017 at 20:01

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yeah, wet brakes don’t work that well. disc brakes recover after one or two pedal presses, drum brakes need to actually drain. if your car has rear drums, when you’re stopping after backing up the rear brakes are doing the bulk of the work.

When I was a kid, my mom drove us around in a 1972 Plymouth Duster with drum brakes at all four wheels. going through deep puddles meant you had to slow down pumping the brakes until the water drained out of them. otherwise you could forget about stopping.

Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 02/13/2017 at 20:33

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I recently had a friend get his brake pads done at Jiffy Lube and they literally put the old pads back on, giving the car a nasty shake when breaking. Oil change is one thing, but do you really trust those neanderthals with the single most important system on your car?

brianbrannon > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 02/13/2017 at 21:27

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Why wouldn’t you give a year make and model and engine size?

Shamoononon drives like a farmer > Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes 02/13/2017 at 23:07

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I didn’t get my breaks at jiffy lube, that’s where I get the oil change. Ford changes my brakes. Thanks for the information though.

Shamoononon drives like a farmer > brianbrannon 02/13/2017 at 23:08

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... why would I? The miles on it make sense to give, shows the car has had some extra miles on it.

brianbrannon > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 02/14/2017 at 00:55

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Could be a known issue, could be a turbo, could be a diesel, could be it uses hydraulic instead of vacuum. Unless useless random guesses instead of actual possible causes were what you were looking for?

Shamoononon drives like a farmer > Urambo Tauro 03/11/2017 at 01:25

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You were right, the vacuum was going bad, among other things. Thank you.