I bought an 07 Cobalt LS coupe almost 3 weeks ago. The brakes in my old car, a 92 Sable, were kind of spongy, but I came to expect that in a bigger, softer car like that. The brakes are very hard in our Neon and engage almost instantly when pressing the pedal. I expected the Cobalt to be similar. But actually, there's a bit of play to the pedal, I'd say it goes down a good inch and a half to two inches before really engaging at all, and even then they're very soft. The car brakes and comes to a stop just fine, I was just wondering if this was normal or if I should feel almost instant brake engaging like in the Neon.

Thanks.

 

On a 2.2, I don't know. I've got the SS/SC and the brakes are a lot more aggressive and engage very quickly.

First thing you can do is pop the hood and look at the brake fluid resevoir. True, it's a new car, but I've seen MANY new cars have low fluid from the factory. Check that first. If it's low, either top it off or take it to a dealer and have them top it off.

How does the pedal feel when the car's off...if you pump it does it stiffen up within a couple pumps or does it stay kind of soft? If it's staying soft, you've more than likely got air in the lines, take it to the dealer and tell them to flush the brake system. They SHOULD cover it under warranty given the car's only a few weeks old.

Bottom line, it's too hard to tell over the internet. People's perceptions are different and as you mentioned, brakes can vary from model to model. I know when I had my Cavalier, my mom would go from driving her Grand Prix to my car and almost put me through the windshield because the brakes were so much stiffer than her car.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

 

sounds pretty normal... if they weren't stopping you i'd say maybe have it check out.. but you do have to press a few inches for them to kick in... the brakes are really good actually.

 

In the LS/LT models, it is pretty soft I'd say. My girlfriends LS is very soft, yet my SS/SC start grabbing instantly when I press the pedal.

 

Thanks, guys. I pumped the pedal a few times with the car off and it quickly became very stiff. I also checked the reservoir and although it's kind of hard to see clearly it looks like yellow fluid was up to the brim of the container. And you say that's a pretty normal feeling on the lower trim levels so that's good. They are pretty nice brakes actually. Thanks, just wanted to make sure about that.