I got me some car troubles.

[Krynn72]

I recently was having some troubles with my brakes, it felt like there was a leak somewhere, and when I held the pedal down, it would sink to the floor, but only sometimes? I noticed it one day, then the next day it was fine, then the next day it came back, then went away, then really really noticeably came back.

On that last day I decided not to drive it anymore and had AAA tow it to Ace Automotive. They called me up after having a look at it and said that I needed new rotors and pads on each wheel, and new calipers and hoses for both back wheels. Not at all what I was expecting to hear. But they assured me that it was the cause of the problem, so I had them go ahead with the work. I got it back today, and right away I noticed that my pedal felt way, way different than it did before. There feels like there is no pressure at all until I push the pedal beyond half of how far it can go, and I can easily get it to the floor. The car seems to stop fine, in fact, it seems like it stops faster than normal. I drove it around town for a bit and the car doesnt even begin to slow down when i have the pedal pushed down like 2-2.5 inches, and before the repairs, that would have been like, medium braking for me.

I'll probably bring it back tomorrow to get it checked during my lunch break, but does anyone know if changing all those things can change the pressure of the brake pedal so drastically? Or is something possibly wrong?

 

[Warped]

have you tried google yet??

 

[Krynn72]

Yeah, but everyone else who asks this question apparently just sucks at doing their brakes, because they do it themselves and dont bleed the brake lines properly. I had it professionally done, so you'd think they would get that right. Still a chance that they didn't of course but it doesnt seem as likely.

 

[Warped]

take it to a real mechanic, one your family/friends recommend

 

[Krynn72]

Ace is as professional as it gets anywhere within 100 miles of here. Theres a Midas in town, but **** them.

 

[YROC]

But...but they have the midas touch... ;-;

 

[Calhoun]

I'm no mechanic, but check the brake fluid and see if you need to add any right away. A loss in pressure when braking or using a clutch can be caused by being low on brake fluid.

 

[Saturos]

Someone cut you brake line maybe? Who'd you piss off Krynn?

BTW, be wary of automotive mechanics. Some of them are swindlers if you don't have any good friends at the shop you can trust.

 

[xcellerate]

They might not have bleed your brakes correctly so there's air in the lines.

 

[Saturos]

They might not have bleed your brakes correctly so there's air in the lines.

^This

If the brakes are tight, then loose at intermittent moments, then that's the problem. Take the car back and tell them to do the job right this time.
Or you could just DIY, but you paid money to have it done correctly.

 

[VirusType2]

Bring the car in, explain it to them and almost certainly they will fix it properly at no charge. If they are busy, they don't usually have time to test drive it after they finish repairs. Though, you'd think with something like brakes they'd be required to.

 

[Raziaar]

I don't know a whole lot about cars, but this sounds like a brake fluid issue to me. Maybe there is air or something in the line?

That's what I initially think of when you say the pedal doesn't really show much resistance, and occasionally goes to the ground easily.

 

[huntingbear]

what's wrong with midas?

 

[Raziaar]

what's wrong with midas?

He devalues gold.

 

[Krynn72]

what's wrong with midas?

I went to a Midas once and I will never go again. So much shady shit went on. They of course tried to sell me shit I didnt need, telling me all sorts of stuff was needed to be replaced even though they were brand new as of like 2 weeks before, and then when they did "replace" parts that needed replacing, they didnt actually replace some of it, and just cleaned them to make them look new, and charged me for the parts.

Not a fun experience.

 

[huntingbear]

elaborate please...having a brother who's worked at many car shops the one you should never go to is Jiffy Lube. the rest are pretty honest

EDIT: except Midas...he just told me they're pretty shitty too. you were right

 

[cleverendeavouR]

Pep boys is pretty lame too. They always give you a list of wrong with your car and never want to do what you ask them.

I needed my starter checked in my old car, they didn't want to check my starter they wanted to do an 80 dollar diagnostic test that tested everything. Even though I already knew that it definitely was my starter that needed to be replaced. It was probably about 15 minutes of arguing before the guy went "oh that sounds like something is wrong with your starter we can do this test for 20 dollars."

My dad went there too cause something was wrong with the starter on his Cobalt. They told him it's common that some plastic piece in it breaks. They said they'd fix it, when he got it back nothing was fixed. They took it in again, and apparently went on a couple hour test drive with it. After about the 4th day they told him they couldn't fix it. He'll have to take it to a dealership and they refunded him all his money. Turns out they did fix it, they're just idiots.

 

[Stigmata]

He devalues gold.

 

[CyberPitz]

The brakes need to be re-bled. Take it to them and let them know that they didn't do it properly. They should be able to fix it.

Have you checked for a leak? I still vote the bleading.

 

[VirusType2]

I went to a Midas once and I will never go again. So much shady shit went on. They of course tried to sell me shit I didnt need, telling me all sorts of stuff was needed to be replaced even though they were brand new as of like 2 weeks before, and then when they did "replace" parts that needed replacing, they didnt actually replace some of it, and just cleaned them to make them look new, and charged me for the parts.

Not a fun experience.

I've been a victim of this kind of thing before. Makes it pretty obvious how widespread this is if so many of us have had it happen to them.

I caught them using rebuilt parts on my car. I brought it back in and said it's not fixed it's still doing it. The guy slipped up and said we'll put a new one on this time. I'm like, well "why is it a rebuilt one on there, you charged me for a new one."

But keep in mind that anti-freeze will rust and corrode metal almost instantly, as will battery acid and probably even clutch/brake fluid. So brand new parts can look like they are really old and rusty if they get that shit on them.

 

[xcellerate]

yea all those quick repair places are bullshit.

I went to one to get my oil changed, I didn't have time to do it myself, and I literally brought them the oil and a filter. Well after putting up a huge argument about how I need to buy my oil from them, and blah blah blah, they proceeded to tell me that my timing belt (that I had replaced no more than 12 hours ago, and had about 20 miles on) looked worn and I should get a new one.

My friend's father owns an independent vw/audi repair shop. He had a lady with a 2.7T come in for a timing belt and he quoted her like $1,200 (it's actually a pain-in-the-ass with these engines), so she took it to quicky-lube and they did it for like $500. Only problem was they literally just replaced her timing belt, and not the tensioner. So a month later this lady calls my friend's dad with a blown motor because her tensioner seized, stripped the teeth off the belt, and belt some valves. Not such a good deal, huh.

I just hate repair shops in general, I went to one to get a flat tire replaced, and after a while I step out to see what's going on. Not only did they rotate the tires I just rotated a day earlier, but they were pulling apartment my brakes to check if I needed to pads. It took me 5 minutes to explain to them I already rotated my tires and they need to un-rotate them, and then another 10 minutes of screaming before they'd finally put my brakes back together. ****ing do what I god damn ask you to and don't ****ing touch anything else.

 

[CyberPitz]

Yeah, I do whatever I can on my car without taking it to somebody. I'll replace my brakes/rotors, change my fluids, even to minor engine work like replacing parts if I can. Saves so much money, and you know it's done right.

Jiffy Lube places can suck a dick. They never do things right.

 

[Krynn72]

I took it back during lunch and i guess its not really a problem. He took it for a drive and came back asking what was wrong with it again, because he didnt notice anything. Apparently the hoses that were replaced had a bunch of gunk built up in them or something, and the inside diameter of the hose was like half the size it is on a normal hose, which meant that this whole time i've been driving it there was a lot more pressure in it, due to the fluid being pushed through a smaller hole. Now that the hoses are replaced its actually normal, and i'm just not used to normal feeling brakes.

 

[VirusType2]

Krynn, I was thinking that might be the case, but you made it sound pretty extreme.

Even though I have the tools and everything, I used to bring it to these lube places because it was convenient. For about $10 - $20 they'll do the service, then I wouldn't have to get under the car and spend the time. I used to bring my own oil and filter because I use the best available.

They always overfill my oil. Like more than a quart too much. Even after warning them that it overfill easily and telling them exactly how many quarts it takes. I'd end up having to go home and drain some. ****.

So, I've doing my own for many years.