Brakes seem spongy

[Ricky67]

Hi everyone 

I have a 2011 estima and over the last 5 months only on the odd occasion when I've started the car and drove for lest then half a mile, when I brake the pedal goes down quite some way,like it's not going to stop,luckily I've only been going slow,but once you pump the pedal it's fine and don't happen no more .

I had the master cylinder change only yesterday,but it to early to say if that was the problem, all calipers are working and no leaks any where,brake pads are all good and brakes all bled,

The brake fliud came out black when pushing new fluid through the lines.

Before I start the car I pumped the pedal until it solid then start the engine and the pedal drops quite a bit which to me seems to drop to much,

Just don't know why pedal as dropped within 1st 10 mins of driving .

Has anybody had this happen or do you know what it could be 

Cheers 

[Bper]

Hi Ricky,

A number of potential problems may be associated with spongy brakes. It's possible that there might be some air still in the system, if you had the work carried out by a garage and the problem persists I would return the vehicle and ask them to rebleed the brakes and check for any leaks in the pipe lines etc as it is possible that a small leak may be present and may have been missed,

The list below is some of the causes of spongy brakes. it is best to be safe so I would get the brakes checked ASAP.

Air in Brake Lines

Broken Brake Lines

Brake Shoes Need Adjustment

Worn Calipers

Bad Master Cylinder

Failing Wheel Cylinders

Malfunctioning ABS Hydraulic Assembly

 

[JohnGW]

From memory, which is getting worse after not working on cars so much. The vacuum air pipe has a non return valve and these can also be a problem. I dont know if thats the system in Estima's. Because braking systems are split so you dont lose all the brakes in one go should a fault arrise, if its brake lines, calipers etc spongy should only effect one side of the system.