Spongy Brakes

[gghg]

Has anyone had spongy brakes on their Camaro? I have a 2lt auto with about 4400 kms, and under braking light or hard the pedal fells spongy. If I pump the pedal, even once it feels much firmer. To me it seems that there is a lot of pedal travel before the brakes become effective. I’m going to take it to the dealer but I want to see if anyone out there has had this problem and what was the issue.

[zen]

I have the same problem that came about after my first hard brake application. haven't done anything about it yet. (2LT RS)

[CGM DIVA]

Sorry to hear that.. I have had no problems... If anything, my brakes take VERY LITTLE pressure in order to stop the car... have to be careful of people behind me cause she'll come to a dead stop in a heartbeat! (2SS/RS M6)

[Maclain]

I drive a 2LT, have 3200 miles on it now, and I have felt the same "mushiness" in the brake pedal from the first mile I drove it.

Feels like the first several inches of brake pedal travel are just mush, and the brakes don't start grabbing until the pedal is about one-third or half-way down.

What is causing this?

Air in the brake lines?

--Mac

[flyby]

I'd take it in to have it looked at. sounds like either bad pads or air in lines. could be some kind of defect or another.

[Orange5thGen]

I have the same issue! Going to get it checked out.

[Ject]

Hmm I'd take it to dealer and have them make sure the brakes aren't bleeding out by chance.

On another note, you may just not have properly bed-in your brakes (or burnishing) since it is a new vehicle.. yes brakes even need a proper brake in.
For more info check here on how to Bed-in brakes: http://www.essexparts.com/learning-c...rs/post/Bed-in

This should solve the problem about 90% of the time.

[Orange5thGen]

I even reported this issue on the survey, Dealer has said and done nothing about this as of yet.

[Ject]

Originally Posted by Orange5thGen

I even reported this issue on the survey, Dealer has said and done nothing about this as of yet.

Refer to my previous post... I would doubt anything is wrong with the brake boost system or brake lines since the car is so new. There very possibly could be something wrong such as air in lines.. but it's highly unlikely. My bets are on the fact that the compound on the rotors has worn off due to braking and never having a proper bed-in of the brakes.

Hope info above helps

[Maclain]

Originally Posted by Ject

Hmm I'd take it to dealer and have them make sure the brakes aren't bleeding out by chance.

On another note, you may just not have properly bed-in your brakes (or burnishing) since it is a new vehicle.. yes brakes even need a proper brake in.
For more info check here on how to Bed-in brakes: http://www.essexparts.com/learning-c...rs/post/Bed-in

This should solve the problem about 90% of the time.

Thanks for the info Ject. I looked at the link, and I will do that soon, but the brakes grab well once the brake pedal is about 1/3rd to 1/2 way down, and it is just the "travel" of the brake pedal up until the point of engagement that I do not like.

Do people put steel/kevlar braided brake lines on cars like we did years ago with racing motorcycles?

-- Mac

[axis]

Originally Posted by Maclain

Thanks for the info Ject. I looked at the link, and I will do that soon, but the brakes grab well once the brake pedal is about 1/3rd to 1/2 way down, and it is just the "travel" of the brake pedal up until the point of engagement that I do not like.

Do people put steel/kevlar braided brake lines on cars like we did years ago with racing motorcycles?

-- Mac

They do sell SS lines for the Camaro. Typically the OEM rubber lines won't flex a whole lot when new. If they are that spongy new, I'd doubt SS line would help a lot. It should help a little though.

[Chris_B]

Originally Posted by Maclain

Thanks for the info Ject. I looked at the link, and I will do that soon, but the brakes grab well once the brake pedal is about 1/3rd to 1/2 way down, and it is just the "travel" of the brake pedal up until the point of engagement that I do not like.

Do people put steel/kevlar braided brake lines on cars like we did years ago with racing motorcycles?

I'm not sure if your car has a specific issue beyond normal sponginess, but stainless steel braided brake lines are a noticeable improvement. A quality set (like Goodridge) will reduce line swell by about 99% per the lab test data I've seen (regardless of the OE rubber lines' age). They also improve ABS performance by reducing bounce-back. They also eliminate the moisture that is slowly pulled in through the rubber lines.

Kevlar is not necessary as brake lines pressures aren't high enough to justify the extra expense. Those are best for applications with big spikes in pressure, like air jack lines on a race car.

All that said, if you are getting too much pedal travel before the brakes start to actuate, I would suggest having the system bled again. Just a small air bubble can cause trouble. Don't bet just because the car is new that there can't be one little air bubble in the system. If you've been on a car assembly line, you know what I'm talking about. It happens.

Chris

[TJ91]

my car has also felt like this from day one. I test drove an SS and the brembos felt NICE. Instant grab, the V6 brakes me feel unconfident about the braking power of the car even though its great.
This is one of the things that has bothered me about the V6 Camaro since day one
The exact words i used was mushy as well when i described it to friends.
Hope we can get a fix for the mushy feeling. Its obviously no defect since it seems like a v6 thing only.
Hopefully theirs a solution to it