Gayl Hales

I have a 2014 Equinox LTZ. I was driving and coming up to a red light, my brakes went to the floor , I tried pumping the brakes but nothing. I was able to coast into a gas station. I had the car towed home and now the brakes are fine. Any ideas?

tech2

did you hear the abs pump come on? you will hear a buzz and the brake pedal will vibrate.
Any abs, traction control or engine warning lights lilluminated?

Gayl Hales

No lights on dash and I had the radio on and so I didn’t hear any noise. My husband has drove it around and no issues now. I’m just concerned about it happening again.

tech2

for a shop to find the source of the problem...the fault must be occurring or fault codes must be present.

do you know what an abs activation feels like? If you were braking on black ice and the abs system activated...you would have a pedal drop and increased stopping distance as the system dumps pressure. go out to a parking lot and skid the brakes.. does it .compare it to what happened?

Gayl Hales

It was at the dealership all day and they could not find any reason for the brakes to fail. No codes, no leaks, brake pads are good, & they said master cylinder is functioning properly.

I know what it feels like when ABS kicks in and this was not the same. I pressed the brake pedal and it went to the floor and I did not slow down. No vibration, no lights on dashboard, nothing. I tried pumping them and still nothing. Thankfully the red light I was coming up to turned green and I was able to coast myself through the intersection and into a gas station. Even pulling in the gas station I still had no brakes, I was putting all the weight I could on the pedal to stop. I had it towed home and as the tow truck driver was taking it off the wrecker, he said there’s nothing wrong with your brakes. And they have been fine since, dealership could not recreate the problem. I’m just concerned this is going to happen again and I might not be so lucky next time. Hubby is taking me out tomorrow to teach me how to use the emergency brake to stop Incase it happens again. Needless to say, I’m extremely frustrated they found nothing wrong.

tech2

your only other options is to leave the vehicle with the shop for 1 or 2 weeks. they can drive it daily.

Gayl Hales

If it happens again, I guess I’ll do that. Thanks for your suggestions. 😊

Rustydog

Were you doing extended braking prior, long down grades, fast traffic stops ect? Older brake fluid has a lower boiling point, fluid can boil causing symptoms like air in the lines that disappears when fluid cools. I would minimum have the brake fluid changed with a good quality fluid.