Strange And Dangerous Brakes

[Dave69]

Hi all new to the forum here..

My wife had been complaining about her brakes not working from time to time(1999 2L Rav4 3dr).

I changed front pads as they were low and she says it still persists.

Now..We had to drive to Lincolnshire today so I thought we would take her car so I could see/feel the fault......Nothing....Apart from a couple of turnings near our house and the ABS seemed to come on and we shot straight out in the main road..Thankfully nothing was coming.

No lights come on..It has new tyres all round and new front pads so can anybody help as she needs her car for work.

Very much appreciated.

Dave

[Bodgit-fixit-run]

Have you changed the brake fluid?

Try that and see what happens. Ideally fluid should be changed every couple of years. it will also bleed the system for you as well.

Check all the fittings for the callipers etc. Make sure nothing is loose.

[gjnorthall]

You don't really describe what happened - eg did the pedal go straight to the floor when braking? There is something seriously wrong since the car is equipped with dual circuit brakes so a problem on one circuit should still allow the other circuit to operate. Intermittent failure of a braking system is an accident waiting to happen and if there's no obvious issue that can be resolved, I wouldn't drive the car and would get the system checked out by a garage.

[Dave69]

The brakes work fine most of the time but when they play up it's like the abs has kicked in for no reason. You lift off the brake pedal to try again and that doesn't always work (as what happened to us).

Pads seem ok.

I could change the brake fluid and see.

Had a quick search about this morning and some are saying it could be an abs ring broken???(Hence the intermittent fault)?

Where is the diagnostic port on this as only one I think is a port is in engine bay o/s by suspension??

[bigend]

The abs not working does not mean that the brakes will not work , during normal braking the abs would not kick in anyway. You appear to have a more serious problem.

Keith

[Cyker]

When I had an issue like this, it turned out the brakes pads were not contacting the rotor properly; Braking felt fine under normal light use but when I braked harder there would be almost no increase in braking force and the ABS would kick in far earlier than it should have.

Turned out the brake pads were only clamping against a 2cm band of the brake disc instead of the whole surface, and the pads had some fairly deep grooves carved into them which were reducing the friction quite badly.

[Dave69]

When I changed her pads they were worn evenly.?

[Bodgit-fixit-run]

If the ABS ring is broken it would be quite visible on inspection also check the censors aren't loose.

Are you certain the disks are OK? Eg not below minimum wear badly grooved or distorted in any way?

Check for sticking callipers and correct calliper assembly. I was asked to check the brakes on my son in laws car once cos they seemed faulty to discover they had actually somehow been reassembled back to front so could not work. Don't ask how cos it's impossible to explain.

Have you done both sets of pads? The rear ones can become sticky due to corrosion on the cotter pins.

[Red Yaris 54]

Clearly you have a problem that requires attention by a garage that knows what they are doing

Ideally the car should be transported by trailer to the garage as brakes should work fine ALL of the time.....Not MOST of the time as you have said

Get them sorted immediately as the car is dangerous to drive until repaired by someone who knows what they are doing

Don't put yourself or family at risk

GET IT REPAIRED !!

[Dave69]

If the ABS ring is broken it would be quite visible on inspection also check the censors aren't loose.

Are you certain the disks are OK? Eg not below minimum wear badly grooved or distorted in any way?

Check for sticking callipers and correct calliper assembly. I was asked to check the brakes on my son in laws car once cos they seemed faulty to discover they had actually somehow been reassembled back to front so could not work. Don't ask how cos it's impossible to explain.

Have you done both sets of pads? The rear ones can become sticky due to corrosion on the cotter pins.

Rears are shoes not pads and were changed last time I changed the brakes.(last year)

Discs(changed last year too) were fine and worn evenly so they look ok.

There is no wobble to indicate warped discs.

I'm thinking it could be an abs ring?

I'm not that lucky for it to be a loose sensor lol.