Xterra with very Mushy Brake pedel

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I took my car into Sear one Saturday afternoon. The objective oil change, tire rotation and finally a brake inspection.

I have a 2002 Nissian Xterra.

Sears told me that I needed new wheel cylinders. So I granted the work to be completed. Since labor priced only a few dollars more they also placed new pads on my rear brakes. They bleed the line and did a brake fulid exchange.

When I went to pickup my truck they told me my pedel was a little soft. I took it for a test drive down the rode. When I applied the brake it went to the floor. If I was going at a high rate of speed I do not think I would have stopped in time.

After another day and half, i left Sears with a full refund and a car that now had a problem the garage created.



I did not have mushy brakes prior to this visit.

I drove it directly to the Nissian dealer. After the Nissian dealer looked it over they said it has to be a bad Master cyclinder.

Here comes the bad news. After replaceing the Master cyclinder Nissian told me I still have the problem. They went on to say they push a ton of air out of the ABS system, bleed the lines. The brake pedel is still soft.



My Xterra has 99000 miles on it and has been a great low maintence truck to this point.



I feel Nissian is runnig out of ideas.



Please HELP>>>>>>

I listen to the show you guys crack me up and are very helpful.



Please advise my problem. There has to be air somewhere in the lines…



What is your suggestion?



Thank You,

Kevin Radic



































2

Take it to a reputable brake shop and see if the rear brakes are: 1. installed properly, with all hardware present, and, 2. properly adjusted. Since you stated they replaced the wheel cylinders and shoes, I suspect the rear brakes are now out of adjustment. It is common for a novice mechanic (commonly found working at a Sears Auto Center) to install rear brakes and not adjust them, causing a low or spongy brake pedal. Other mechanics may rely on the “self adjusting mechanism” to do all the work for them, but it has its limits and must be properly adjusted manually to function properly. I bet your rear brakes are out of adjustment and you didn’t need that master cylinder.

3

The most probable cause is that the brakes need to be properly re-bled again to remove any air from the system.