Hard brake pedal after sitting...
- Thread starter gregk24
- Start date
- Status
Does it go away after starting the engine? Power brake booster leaking vacuum?
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Does it go away after starting the engine? Power brake booster leaking vacuum?
+1
Does it go away after starting the engine? Power brake booster leaking vacuum?
+1
I have owned many vehicles which show a hard brake pedal when engine is off. Maybe all of them...
Originally Posted By: buck91
I have owned many vehicles which show a hard brake pedal when engine is off. Maybe all of them...
Well if I pump it when off of course it gets hard, whats odd to me is when I go out in the morning (after car has been sitting over night) they are hard to press.
I have owned many vehicles which show a hard brake pedal when engine is off. Maybe all of them...
Well if I pump it when off of course it gets hard, whats odd to me is when I go out in the morning (after car has been sitting over night) they are hard to press.
Probably a small vacuum leak. You can look for the leak, or you can drive it until it becomes a problem.
I would park it, leave it for 10 minutes, and go out and recheck it.
If it can hold vacuum for 10 minutes I think its fine.
I would park it, leave it for 10 minutes, and go out and recheck it.
If it can hold vacuum for 10 minutes I think its fine.
Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
Probably a small vacuum leak. You can look for the leak, or you can drive it until it becomes a problem.
I would park it, leave it for 10 minutes, and go out and recheck it.
If it can hold vacuum for 10 minutes I think its fine.
Yeah 10 minutes is no problem. I did plenty of running around today in it and didnt experience any "stiff pedal". My girlfriends 2014 Jetta always has a stiff pedal after sitting overnight. Went on VW Vortex and its very common with the MK6 Jetta.
Probably a small vacuum leak. You can look for the leak, or you can drive it until it becomes a problem.
I would park it, leave it for 10 minutes, and go out and recheck it.
If it can hold vacuum for 10 minutes I think its fine.
Yeah 10 minutes is no problem. I did plenty of running around today in it and didnt experience any "stiff pedal". My girlfriends 2014 Jetta always has a stiff pedal after sitting overnight. Went on VW Vortex and its very common with the MK6 Jetta.
Originally Posted By: Vikas
do you have keyless start? otherwise why are you even pressing the brake during cranking the engine? even if you do have keyless, all you need to do is to barely touch the pedal so that the brake light turns on
No keyless, just habit. FYI some cars with regular ignition switches require you to step on the brake to start the car, this is the case in my girlfriends 2014 Jetta.
do you have keyless start? otherwise why are you even pressing the brake during cranking the engine? even if you do have keyless, all you need to do is to barely touch the pedal so that the brake light turns on
No keyless, just habit. FYI some cars with regular ignition switches require you to step on the brake to start the car, this is the case in my girlfriends 2014 Jetta.
After the car has set for a couple hours, with engine off, pump your brakes. You should be able to get a few power assisted pedals before the pedal gets hard. If you get a hard pedal from the start, either your brake booster is leaking, the check valve or grommet is bad. If you didn't know, the check valve is that 90 degree plastic piece which is plugged into the brake booster.I have even had the grommet crack which the check valve inserts into. Any of these can cause your problem. Rarely but it does happen, power assist can be marginal while driving, some cars have a vacuum storage can or ball which is supposed to store vacuum during hard acceleration,they can a spring a leak.
Last edited:
I chased a strange intermittent issue of overnight changes in the brake pedal of my 96 ram for 2 years, the pedal was never predictable,multiple fluid drains and lots of bleeding. Front brakes completely rebuilt. Problem was worse with moisture in the air, I could pump the pedal or slam on brakes and had a few other tricks to make it managable. This truck sat a lot in the first 18 years of only had 64k on it and lots of long trips. I just fixed the issue by spraying pb blaster on the rear adjuster threads and working the adjuster in and out....holy cow what a massive difference I actually have safe working brakes now!
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Does it go away after starting the engine? Power brake booster leaking vacuum?
I think some do,maybe even by design (check valves or lack thereof). My 91 318i was always like this, hard at the start, but when I got rid of it rust-holed at 180-whatever k, it still had a perfect operating brake feel and performance.
On my w123 diesels, because they use a mechanical vacuum pump, there are check valves in many spots. They seem to always retain pedal feel.
My accord keeps a soft (good feeling) pedal fwiw.
Does it go away after starting the engine? Power brake booster leaking vacuum?
I think some do,maybe even by design (check valves or lack thereof). My 91 318i was always like this, hard at the start, but when I got rid of it rust-holed at 180-whatever k, it still had a perfect operating brake feel and performance.
On my w123 diesels, because they use a mechanical vacuum pump, there are check valves in many spots. They seem to always retain pedal feel.
My accord keeps a soft (good feeling) pedal fwiw.
- Status
