drove newer car this weekend. brakes stop on a dime. got in my older car. and mush. car stops when it feels like it. i thought my brakes were ok till i drove the newer car. wow. i got in my car and was amazed at how crappy my brakes feel. is it more a function of newer car has great brakes and mine are so-so but ok? new car has ceramic pads. mine are metallic. good pad thickness. rotors are smooth. hmm, maybe they are glazed?
Car magazines often test the braking distance in their reviews. You could do the same test and compare your results.
Who did the last brake service on your car? Are you sure the system was bled properly? Are your brake lines so old that they’re getting weak and expanding?
How long has it been since the fluid was changed or your system bled ? Maybe you have mushy brakes by design. Many Toyotas and other makes seem that way.
I replaced my front calipers and shoes and new shoes on rears a couple of weeks ago. I also bled the brakes. I was amazed how bad my brakes were.
I had a rusted rear brake line 2yrs ago. Fixed that. Since than I have been very easy on brakes. I brake early now and apply light pressure. Some say that is a good way to glaze your brakes. I stop as gently as possible. Both cars are mid size sporty sedans. Age is irrelevant since old car has had rotors/pads replaced in last 2yrs. I know my pads are so-so metallic cheapo but they are oem spec’d.
Age is not irrelevant, because brakes are made up of a lot more than just rotors and pads. Have you ever had the fluid replaced? If not, it needs to be done.
Yes I bled all 4 lines are broke line repair. Brakes felt good than. How good? That’s subjective. Easy enough to bleed lines again. Good place to start. Yes, I had fresh fluid added to reservoir. Level is good.
Adding fresh fluid the reservoir is NOT the same as replacing the fluid with fresh fluid. Do that later you need to flush out the old fluid. The easiest way is to pump it out by pressing the brake pedal with the bleeder screw open. Keeping adding new fluid to the reservoir. Repeat this procedure until new fluid is coming out the bleeder. You’ll need to do this on all 4 rotors.
The most effective way to flush brake fluid is to use a diaphragm brake bleeder and the appropriate adapter
Worn or out of adjusment rear brake shoes on drum style brakes can also cause the brakes to appear a bit mushy and even mimic a failing master cylinder.
My car has 4 wheel discs. I repaired rusted brake line and bled all 4 wheels a lot. I added a lot of new fluid to reservoir. The 1 bad line had no issues expelling air bubbles. I got fresh fluid at wheel pretty quickly. Car does have abs. Are there any procedures u need to follow to properly purge any air in lines? Or does mc basically push new fluid thru abs module?
Depends on the car. Some require an ABS module bypass, and some do not. You still haven’t told us what you drive, so we can’t answer that yet.
96 seville
From what I can see, you don’t need to do anything special for ABS on that car.
Are you sure your master cylinder is in good shape? It is, after all, 17 years old.
Also, what newer car are we talking about here? Depending on the type of car, brakes can feel different. I always feel like the brakes in my Acura are mushy after I drive my MR2, but that’s because the MR2’s brakes are set up for a sports car, not a highway cruiser.
If I repaired a rusted brake line, I would assume there might be at the very least partially because of contamination, moisture, that can only be expelled by a complete change. Maybe, just maybe you did replace a lot of fluid. But moisture migrates to areas ( lowest point in system) that may not necessarily be drained by partial bleeding when all you do is check for bubles and fresh fluid at just one wheel.
That’s why I’m with @MikeInNH and would do a complete drain as water in the brake fluid can cause spongy brakes. It certainly is safe insurance for long term maintenance as moisture in brake fluid may continue to be a problem.