Brake pedal is stiff and the car pulls left or right when braking (occasionally)?

Tiny
EVAGCHRISTOS
  • MEMBER
  • 2008 NISSAN PATHFINDER
  • 2.5L
  • 4 CYL
  • TURBO
  • 4WD
  • MANUAL
  • 178,000 MILES
One day, the left side of the car(wheels) fell into a pothole while I was breaking at least 50%(strength), then the car started pulling to the left every time I was braking. Then I did an emergency brake stop and the problem was solved.
After that it kept coming every time I would go in a pothole while breaking, I had my mechanic to check the car, he checked brake calipers, pads, brake hoses, ABS sensors (through the diagnostic system). I then took the car for wheel alignment and checked the tire pressure at a tire specialist, then my mechanic told me it might be the alignment of the steering wheel IN the ESP Module, so I took the car to Nissan dealership and they checked the car and they told me that they put the car on diagnostic system and the steering wheel was not aligned in the ESP, ABS, ECU.
Then I got the car and they told me if it still happens it means that I need to change the ESP, ABS, ECU.
I got the car, two weeks no issue. Then today, out of nowhere, the problem came back. No pothole, just driving on a very nice road. And my concern is that now not only does the car pull on one side (started pulling to the right, then I did an emergency brake stop and now it pulls to the left), but also the brake pedal becomes very stiff as if the servo is not working. But then it gets soft again (not perfect but a bit softer) and then it is stiff again.
Please help.
Recent changes to the car.
I switched to Hybrid terrain tires (something between all terrain and mud terrain tires) but the problem started before changing the tires.
two years ago I upgraded the suspension to a full 2inches lifting kit specifically made for my car from TJM, I have polyurethane bushes all around and camber correction bushes in the front, the car was aligned perfectly and had no issues whatsoever, I have heavy duty ventilated brake rotors in the front from Milner offroad, and I have replaced both brake cylinder approximately 2 years ago.
Sunday, December 15th, 2024 AT 12:30 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 50,193 POSTS
The fact that you hit the brakes hard and the problem switches from side to side means something might be loose, also when the brake pedal is hard it can mean the brake master is not releasing fully and holding the brake on. Can I ask if when you installed the lift kit did you change the front brake hoses as well? These hoses cannot be twisted because they will act funny and cause the brakes to work and then not work. When the truck is pulling either way, I would raise the front of the truck up and see if both front wheels spin freely.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/jack-up-and-lift-your-car-safely

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Tuesday, December 17th, 2024 AT 10:38 AM
Tiny
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Dear Ken,

Thank you for your reply.

I took the car to a Nissan specialist garage center, and they examined every brake hose, and every abs sensor and they also said that the problem is the ABS CONTROL UNIT. They ran a diagnostic control, and they told me that there is an error code for the abs control unit. And I then asked "Okay, but then why does the brake pedal become stiff? Doesn't that mean that the brake master(servo) is malfunctioning and not releasing the pressure correctly? Doesn't that mean that I also have a malfunctioning break master? " And their reply was "because the abs control unit is not working properly and does not send the correct signal to each wheel it is causing the brake master(servo) to not function properly".
They said that my pathfinder will be ready tomorrow and asked my permission to take the car for a "long" test drive to make emergency brake stops in both tarmac and gravel to rest assure that the problem is solved. Fingers crossed my torture will end tomorrow!
No I did not change the brake hoses because TJM on their lift kit manual said that there is no need to change the brake hoses (to extended brake hoses) for my car because even on the position of most suspension travel the brake hoses are not extended beyond the manufacturer limit. But yet again, I have the suspension already for 2 years and I have had this problem the last month.
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Tuesday, December 17th, 2024 AT 2:57 PM
Tiny
KEN L
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It sounds like to me the brake master might have something to do with it. Let's see what happens, to confirm you had no ABS lights on while driving, correct? Please let me know what happens, I am interested.
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Wednesday, December 18th, 2024 AT 10:01 AM
Tiny
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No ABS lights, no light came up on the dashboard ever, no check engine, no ESP light, nothing!
I got the car today, the head mechanic of the shop said that they installed a used abs control unit(coming from a 2009 Navara d40, which most people think that it is the same abs control unit, but along my ownership of the pathfinder I found out that a lot of parts on my car are different from the Navara d40 because my car weighs 2,460kgs and the Navara's weigh approximately 1700kgs, that is what I have been told) to see if it would give error lights on the dashboard through the pathfinder's ecu, which it did come up with ABS-ESP lights and check engine errors, then they reset the system through diagnostics and had a abs control unit shipped from 150km away that was specifically made for my car(it was from a used 2010 Nissan pathfinder r51, I could not wait 1month for the new part and pay 3500euros for it). They installed the abs control unit, did all the necessary diagnostic system setups, then they did a long test drive in both gravel and tarmac(i was constantly checking the live location of the car through the GPS unit I have installed in my pathfinder) and then they called me that the car is ready.(They regreased all the calipers, checked anything related with the brake system, and changed the brake fluid before installing a new abs control unit just to make sure that everything was working in perfect condition), I picked up the car today at lunch time, the brake pedal immediately felt like normal as soon as I put my foot on it, it is smooth and then gets stiffer as you press the brake more and more, I did heavy braking in every single pothole I have found while releasing my hands of the steering wheel and my pathfinder is dead straight! Not even a millimeter to the right or left while breaking, ABS system works flawlessly and it even feels that it stops much faster!
Super happy with the service and that I have got my mini bus(my pathfinder :-D ) back and all the problems seam to be solved.
Apparently, it was not the brake master that had issues, and indeed the problem was coming from the malfunctioning ABS unit causing the brake master to malfunction as well.
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Wednesday, December 18th, 2024 AT 2:27 PM
Tiny
KEN L
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Glad you could get it fixed, thanks for letting us know. Please use 2CarPros anytime we are here to help.
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Thursday, December 19th, 2024 AT 10:43 AM

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