I think my front brake pads need to be replaced. Is this something I can just take to like MIDAS and get done or is there a special trick to Jag brakes? Remember...newbie here!!!! :-)

peace out,
daddylogan

 

Nothing special that I know of. Any shop should be able to do them. Or spend 30 mins per side an do them yourself (including wheel off/wheel on)

 

Thank you Translator! Thank god that was an easy one :-) The brake lite is coming on and I can feel the "grab" up front so....

When I was younger I was able to do the front brakes on my Honda in about 40 minutes from start to finish, but being that I am not that young man anymore I pay people to do things for me! LOL

On to MIdas!

Thanks again

peace out,
daddylogan

 

I should have included that you have also got Pad sensors on the rears as well. Although in my case rear left only.

If your warning light is coming on you should also see a message PAD when you press the VCM button.

Can't help you with the age thing, sadly don't suppose MIDAS can either. Happens to us all.

Slts

 

Well, I took my car into MIDAS on Saturday morning bright and early which is 7:30am. I had called ahead the day before to make sure they would have my pads in stock by the time I got there or within the hour after. Well, I get there and they do their inspection and as I thought my front pads needed replacing. Surprisingly everything else was ok...so I thought!

First, when my pads showed up they were the wrong ones. So they had to re-order and wait for them to arrive. By this time I got a ride home cause I was tired of staring at other people in the small waiting room. So I call back at 2pm and ask if my car is done and guess what...the wrong pads showed up again! Well now this means I have to wait until Monday. So Monday comes and I go by there with a friend at about 2pm and they tell me they had to order my brake fluid from out of town (mineral oil) and that it would not be done until Tuesday. Grrrr......

Finally I show up Tuesday to get my car and they tell me they put on the new pads, bled the system and that I now have a pressure leak and the brake light will not go out. They then continued to tell my about how there is no way they could fix it without trial and error and that it would cost me a forture...so they said take it to the dealer. Then came the worst part. I get in my car and go to drive home and the brake pedal travels twice as much to the floor then it did before???? Before it felt normal but I had the grabbing up front that led me to all this...now it feels like I am stepping on a sponge!

Also I told them to fix all bulbs. They told me the only one burnt out looked like the courtesy left brake light in the rear deck of the car. They said they replaced it and it still would not work so goodie goodie for me! grrrrrrr again. They told me this car is an electrical nightmare and have fun finding where the problem is. Now I have to stare at that damn bulb out indicator light all the time and I hate that. Yes, I am one of those that cannot be comfy with any warning indicators lit up and now I have two....bulb out and brakes.

So here I am out over 200.00 bucks and my brakes are worse than they were.

So fellow members, and ideas or suggestions for me or did I get into something that I am going to be sorry for?

peace out,
daddylogan

 

That's terrible. How can you now have a pressure leak, when you didn't have one before?
If you do now have a leak I would be straight back to your garage for them to sort out the problem that they appear to have created.

From reading your syptoms (pedal to the floor, with new pads and they said that they had bled the brakes) it sounds like your system has got air in it. How, I have no idea, because in all the time I have ever changed pads on my cars etc, I have only once needed to bleed the brakes afterwards. Its usually a question of catching the spilled fluid when you push the pistons back and keeping an eye on the level when you push the pedal after changing them.

I would at least ask your garage to rebleed the brakes until they get the air out.

Pedal behaviour, what happens when you rapidly pump the pedal (car stationnary). Does it start soft and then get hard, and stay hard. Can Indicate air.*

Starts soft, gets hard, then becomes soft, with your foot still on the pedal. Can indicate a mechanical problem.

Brake Warning light, did they change the Pad sensors (separate item to pads, not always supplied with new pads) or did they re-use the old ones which will be caput due to having done their job already, and will now permanently give you a warning light?

Just ideas, if you have no visible leaks anywhere, and no wetness under the master cylinder, and your brake fluid is topped up and does not need topping up on a regular basis. I would start with bleeding.

 

I think you've got some serious problems here. To start, your system does NOT use mineral oil. It's DOT 3 or DOT 4 brake fluid.

 

This, fair readers, is why I learned how to work on cars from a VERY early age. If I don't know how to do it, I learn how to do it, so I can do it myself without having to trust (?!?) someone else NOT to mess my car up.

 

My bad Ken...they use the mineral oil for some other reason, NOT as the brake fluid. However, something is still wrong and I just called the shop and spoke with the manager and I am bringing my car back tomorrow.

Thanks for the input to all :-)

peace out,
daddylogan

 

my car has just passed its mot, 141,000 miles and still going. The only thing it failed on the first time around was the door stopped opening which they have now sorted and also one bulb so i was very happy. But when i asked them afterwards about two problems i have which i feel is connected they had a look and said it was fine. My problem was the front brakes seem to screatch sometimes when i brake or turn around a corner, always at the same place which is strange which is at tesco for turning around the corner, and when i apply the brake sometimes it pulls but the garage said it was fine, so i am just wondering if to take it for a second opinion and see if the brake pads need replacing

 

Any update daddylogan?

in2town, if you have just had the car MOT'd they will have checked/tested the brakes for both efficiency and equilibrium and your readings will show this.
Any readings outside of the acceptable ranges would have resulted in an immediate MOT Fail.

Brakes can squeal sometimes, due to lack of use, water, grit, or a slightly sticky piston/pad. If you have no warning lights and as you say the car has just passed its test. You are probably OK.

Very worn pads will give a grating/grinding sound due to metal on metal. Change immediately. If you have let this go, then you will also need to change the discs/rotors.

Either take off a wheel and have a look at the pad wear, change pads immediately if they are obviously very worn.

You are right this part is strange. If as you say that the squeal always occurs in the same place when turning the corner at Tesco's, why not try shopping at Sainsbury's, to see if that makes a difference? LOL

This is a pure guess, but I'm thinking that your turn into Tesco's is probably a right turn from stationary that you begin on full lock, and this is when you get the screech. If so, then you might want to look at the power steering belt which could be slipping under full load. Check fluid as well. Also if the screech occurs in these circumstances immediately try backing off your turn slightly to see if it stops. This will point you towards the belt slipping. Just a thought.