1998 Acura EL BRAKES MALFUNCTION

Tiny
NUSRATM
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 ACURA EL
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 135,000 MILES
Hi, the brake pedal in my car seems to start working when the brake is pushed in till it gets close to the floor. But, if I suddenly slam the pedal, it seems to grab right away. Could there be a problem in the brake pedal cable? Or is it a master cylinder problem? Or brake pads. I dont hear no squeeling or screeching coming from the brakes so I thought it could't be coming from the pads. Any suggestions?
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 AT 2:54 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
With 135,000 miles, it could be a leaking caliper, pull them off and peel the protective rubber boot back a bit and see if any fluid drips out. The rears are more likley than the fronts to leak but any one of them could be, I've seen it on cars with 40,000.
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 AT 3:00 PM
Tiny
NUSRATM
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Hi, thanks for your reply. I was gonna say that when I do press down on the brakes, the car begins drift off to the left. Do you have a solution for this? Thanks in advance.
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Thursday, November 5th, 2009 AT 4:17 PM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
When a car pulls to one side, the calipers or brake flex hoses are bad, the right side is not functioning as well as the left. Maybe it's the caliper with the leak.
From Honda Service News � On all Honda models, if you're manually bleeding the brakes, make sure whoever's pumping the brake pedal pushes it only halfway to the floor. If the pedal is pushed all the way to the floor, you run the risk of driving the master cylinder secondary piston into any sediment or deposits that may have collected on the piston cylinder walls. If this happens, the piston seals can get permanently damaged and cause a leak. You can also avoid this problem entirely by using pressure bleeding equipment. This also appies to Acura.
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Friday, November 6th, 2009 AT 2:13 AM
Tiny
JOHNPARKER99
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
On all Honda models, if you're manually bleeding the brakes, make sure whoever's pumping the brake pedal pushes it only halfway to the floor. I think this is the right reason!
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Friday, April 16th, 2010 AT 7:57 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
Me too John!
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Friday, April 16th, 2010 AT 9:02 AM
Tiny
AMBOTANNE
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Hello guys!
I have the same issues concerning brake malfunction.
This forum really helped a lot.
Thank you for the information guys!
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Friday, June 4th, 2010 AT 8:05 AM
Tiny
MERLIN2021
  • MECHANIC
  • 17,250 POSTS
Glad too help, thanks for the feedback.
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Friday, June 4th, 2010 AT 5:55 PM

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