The brake pedel goes all the way to the floor and the brakes will not release until the car comes to a complete stop

Tiny
TJMORKEN
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 127,000 MILES
Brakes lock up on icy and snow covered surfaces. The brake pedel goes all the way to the floor, and the brakes will not release until the car comes to a complete stop. You can just touch the brakes on icy surface and they will lock up. The ABS light does not come on. On dry surfaces I have no problem at all. I just took it to a automotive shop to have them look at the brakes. They said they could not find anything wrong. Brake pads were replaced a year ago or so. My kids have said that this car has always had this problem. I have just started driving it within the last 6 months.
Friday, April 3rd, 2009 AT 9:43 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
DR LOOT
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,311 POSTS
When you turn your key on do you see the ABS light come on your dash? I would suspect there is air in the lines. These guides can help you fix it.

https://youtu.be/w7gUsj2us0U

and

https://youtu.be/WDxvEQrMkBg

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/brake-pedal-goes-to-the-floor

Please run down these guides and report back.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+2
Friday, April 23rd, 2021 AT 12:35 PM
Tiny
TJMORKEN
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
The ABS light comes on the dash when you turn the key half way on and then goes off. It turns off before the car is started.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Friday, April 23rd, 2021 AT 12:35 PM
Tiny
DR LOOT
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,311 POSTS
If you are using a semi-metallic pad, as the brake pads where-out the ABS sensors are magnetic and they will collect metal particles which will cause the sensors to malfunction, describing exactly your symptoms, you will need to take it back to the shop, have them pull the ABS sensors and clean them. Or you may have a bad proportioning valve, that is the valve that applies the pressure equally to the front and the rear brakes, according to how much weight you have in the back of the car, if you need a more detailed explanation let me know.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+1
Friday, April 23rd, 2021 AT 12:35 PM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Related Brake Pedal Goes To The Floor Content

Brake Pedal Goes to the Floor
GUIDE
Brake Pedal Goes to the Floor
Ex­pe­ri­enc­ing a brake pedal that goes to the floor can be a fright­en­ing sit­u­a­tion, par­tic­u­larly when you need to stop quickly. The au­to­mo­tive brake sys­tem is a hy­drauli­cally...
VIEW MORE