Hello Fellow SmartCar Enthusiasts!
I'm having a little problem with my brakes and thought I'd seek your expert advice.
Background Information on the Car:
All the best,
Andrew.
I'm having a little problem with my brakes and thought I'd seek your expert advice.
Background Information on the Car:
I've got a low-mileage (25,000 miles) 2002 SmartCar Pulse 600cc (450). The car is standard, with the exception of fitting Yokohama tyres (high grip, low mileage) rather than the Continentals (low grip, high mileage) recommended by Smart of Glasgow. I figured that as annual mileage is quite low, I was replacing tyres due to punctures long before they wore out and I'd rather have the extra grip than resilient tread life.Describing the Problem:
The car has been family-owned from new and has a complete Smart/Mercedes-Benz service history. After a few months of storing the car off-road, I inadvertently set all the electrical system on fire when I had a somewhat embarrassing adventure involving the battery over Christmas 2006. This was rectified by Smart of Glasgow in early 2007. Concurrently, new brake pads were also installed and the car has been used almost daily without fault since then.
In the last couple of weeks, a gradual deterioration of pedal feel seems to have occurred. The way this is manifested is that firmer pressure than previously required must now be initially applied to stop the car, although very firm pressure will still apply the brakes harshly enough to activate the ABS. The initial bite point of the brakes feels a little more imprecise than previously.Hypothesising:
If I apply the brakes, release, and then immediately reapply braking, the second application of the brakes results in a more precise bite point and a firmer feel to the pedal (with a little less travel in it). The brakes feel good on the second application - certainly more of a 'normal' feel to them. If the brakes a left for a little while without touching them (just continuing down the road) then the next initial application feels soft again. Firm feeling to the brake pedal can be restored by repeating the brake-release-brake procedure.
In visually inspecting the brakes (i.e. just looking at the front discs and pads, not confident enough to dismantle the rear drums and inspect) I can see that there is still pad left and I don't suspect the condition of the pads/discs to be the root of the problem. I am aware of problems that can develop with the rear drums:Thanks very much in advance for your assistance, and I hope someone out there has some kind words of wisdom to impart. :thanx:Evilution - Brake Fluid LevelHowever, as it seems a problem with initial feel and not overall stopping power, I don’t think it’ll be a problem with them. I attempted to inspect the level of brake fluid in the reservoir:
Evilution - Rear Drum Brake CleanoutUnfortunately, this was difficult to spot at night with a flashlight, so I’ll have another go during the daytime over this weekend. I read in other threads that air bubbles in the brake lines can cause the pedal to sink to the floor.
drumshade (08-12-08, 09:11 PM) - brakesHowever, the symptoms in this case are not nearly so severe and, unlike my case, a change of discs/pads/fluid seemed to have been complicit in the development of the aforementioned bubbles. As the loss of feel in my brake pedal is a recent development, are brake line bubbles something that can develop slowly over time or is it usually only incurred by work carried out on the brake system?
All the best,
Andrew.
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