i read about alot of issues w/ brakes. most of them are the caliper itself. I got my brakes checked before bc they "pulsated" but hasnt happened in about 5-10k miles now. I'm not sure, but i think i may have air in my lines. My brake point is near the floor, the brakes are good, i think they just feel "soft". Anyone else have this problem, or is that the normal brake point for cobalt and i just now noticed? I think i'll get this checked out before i go on a 200 mi. round-trip to gettysburg this thurs.

 

sounds like you have air in your line, although I don't know how that would occur. Have you checked your brake fluid, is it low, or near empty?

Mine doesn't have any brake issues, actually, my braking is pretty damn good..then again, I have an ss, so its a bit different. None the less, get that shyt checked.

 

thanks for the input.

 

I've had mine go soft on me once, like on the mat soft. However that was only after I really took it out through some downhill twistys, on the brakes hard and frequently. I'm almost convinced I boiled the brake fluid in the calipers and that causde the spongyness. after about 15 min cool down in the local Burger King, and got back in the car, everything seemed to be fine.

Best way to tell if you have air in the lines is to leave the car shut off, and step on the brake repeadly like you would under normal braking. After 3 or 4 pumps the brake should only move about 1/4 of the way to the floor and be Rock solid like stepping on a brick. If it still feels squishy or has a lot of movement like more than 1/2 way to the floor or if you hold it and it slowly sinks closer to the floor, you got air or a leak.

Also as far as the pulsing goes, Ive owned a Cavilier and this car and have never had trouble with warped rotors. I aggree the material they are made of sucks, but two things cause rotors to have issues; the first is that silicone tire spray, contaminates the rotors and causes slick and non slick spots, the second being the brake in procedure, when brakes are new (giving you this if you have yor brakes worked on and they replace something) Starting at 35 ish and normal braking but not stopping completly, repeat 5 to 10 times letting the brakes cool for a few min cruising between stops. Then repeat at 55 or so, again not stopping completly, and waiting longer between braking to let the rotors cool.

If you stop Completly in the brakein procedure, pad material can become embedded in the rotor causing a variance in the material thus causeing a pluse.

Hope this helps you a bit.

 

ive done the pumping 4-5 times and it is solid, do you think that maybe i just need to check/top off my fluid?

 

Wouldnt hurt, but the tank is a resivoir, not really active in the system. If it's low you should fill it, but it being low wouldnt cause it to go soft, unless it was so low it was drawing air in to the system. If it was that low you got a leaking o-ring in the system.

But like I said, ive had it happen to me too, eventually im going to replace all the lines with stainless steel and flush and fill to DOT4 fluid to keep more moisture out of the system.

Here is some more reading for you to better understand brake fluid

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp...fluid_1a.shtml

 

i was reading up on brake problems http://www.procarcare.com/includes/c...ch26/26TS.html

it looks like its probably air in the system, although last time they "fixed" it by adjusting the drums. Since the brakes are messed up again, i can have a lemon law called against it right? lemonlaw.com and then goto Maryland

 

Lemon laws are difficult are sometimes costly, but mostly when you get into the fine printof those laws. Its in the dealer and manufacurers good faith (fair chance) that they tried to repair the problem and usually it has to be the same problem more than 3 times. You would have more of a case for a lemon law if they refused to fix it, or it caused a saftey hazard, provided the vehicle is unmodified. If it is (modified in any way), you can pretty much thow the lemon law idea out the window.

The rear brakes on the LS/LT are the only manually adjustable parts of the brake system, there is no adjustment on the calipers or other wise in the front. So Best bet, either you got air in there someplace, or something wrong with the Brake master cyclinder, possibly the ABS pump if you have ABS. Also rember if you have a Manual Transmission your Cluch operates off that same resivoir, if the brakes are bleed, the clutch should be done as well.

In addition to what you were saying. Quoted from that stoptech site I posted.

MYTH # 3 - A SOFT BRAKE PEDAL IS THE RESULT OF PAD FADE
The all too familiar mushy brake pedal is caused by overheated brake fluid, not overheated pads. Repeated heavy use of the brakes may lead to "brake fade". There are two distinct varieties of brake fade

A) When the temperature at the interface between the pad and the rotor exceeds the thermal capacity of the pad, the pad loses friction capability due largely to out gassing of the binding agents in the pad compound. The brake pedal remains firm and solid but the car will not stop. The first indication is a distinctive and unpleasant smell which should serve as a warning to back off,

B) When the fluid boils in the calipers air bubbles are formed. Since air is compressible, the brake pedal becomes soft and "mushy" and pedal travel increases. You can probably still stop the car by pumping the pedal but efficient modulation is gone. This is a gradual process with lots of warning.

MYTH # 4 - BOILED BRAKE FLUID WILL BE SERVICABLE AFTER IT COOLS.
Once the brake fluid inside the caliper has boiled, it has lost a significant percentage of its original boiling point and should be replaced. It is not necessary to remove all of the fluid in the system, just bleed until clear fluid appears.

MYTH # 5 - BECAUSE THEY ARE NON-HYGROSCOPIC SILICON BASED BRAKE FLUIDS ARE SUITABLE FOR USE IN HIGH PERFORMANCE CARS
DOT 3 AND DOT 4 brake fluids are ether based and are hygroscopic in nature - i.e. they absorb water vapor. As the braking system in not quite airtight, a significant amount of water can be absorbed from the atmosphere in the course of a year. A 3% water content in brake fluid drops the boiling point as much as 170 degrees F. Brake fluid should be completely replaced annually.
DOT 5 fluids are silicon based and are non-hygroscopic, which is good. They are also subject to frothing from high frequency vibration, which gives a soft pedal. Soft brake pedals may be OK in non-high performance cars (in fact, most drivers accept mushy brake pedals as normal) but they are not acceptable in any situation where the driver intends to modulate braking at high force values.

MYTH # 6 - The brake fluid reservoir should be topped up during routine service.
In most modern passenger cars, the brake fluid reservoir is designed with a specific volume and is equipped with an internal float. The volume corresponds to the amount of fluid that will be displaced when the pads have worn to the point of replacement plus a generous reserve. When the replacement point is reached, the descending float completes an electrical circuit and a light appears on the dash warning the driver that the pads should be replaced.
If the brake fluid is topped up the first warning of warn out pads will be the screech of steel backing plate against iron disc. This will be both annoying and expensive.

 

Maryland- Purchased or leased passenger vehicles, trucks with a ton or less rated capacity, and multi-purpose vehicles registered in the state, excluding fleets of 5 or more motor vehicles and excluding motor homes as defined under the Motor Vehicle Administration Regulations. 1 unsuccessful repair of braking or steering system failure, 4 repair attempts or 30 days out of service. 15 months or 15,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

thats lemon laws for md, i have 20k miles on my car i had probably less than 15k when i first had the problem, so i could still be eligible since i already had 1 unsuccessful repair before 15k.

i just want it fixed though, i dont have any other problems w/ my car, aside from brakes and the blower bearing going up

 

Right there tells you that your already out of that category for the lemon law, reguardless if you had the problem before the 15k mark. Just keep up the hassel...but the lemon law thing...kiss that goodbye brother!

 

i took it to the dealer last night and they wouldnt take it cuz they were booked til tommorow. does my personal safety and safety of others not matter? my brakes are going out. Anyhow i dropped my car off at the dealer today around 11am. They probably wont work on it til tommorow. This is what i'm taking it in for.

2006 Chevy Cobalt, lil less than 20k miles on it
Brakes-pressure problem
Blower Motor-squeeks might be going up
Fuel Injectors-recalled

this should all be covered by waranties right?

 

Should be, as long as you havent changed your brake pads or rotors or anyhting related to any of those systems.

 

Have you replaced the pad or rotors with anything aftermarket? do you have front discs and rear drums or 4 discs. I sounds like you do have air in your system. What is your driving style do you use the brakes a lot. Everything blktrax said is correct but I'm trying to think what may have caused your case. You said it has not happened in 5 to 10 miles since you took it in to the dealer for warped rotors, did they machine or replace them. Have you looked at your brake lines to see if they are not pinched. I've seen techs twist the brake line causeing a restriction in the brake hose when they put the calipers back on. If they bent or let the caliper hang while they worked on your brakes it could have cracked the line and allowed air to fluid to bleed out as well. The only other thing I can think of is you may have a internal leak in you master cylinder. I'm ASE brake certified by the way worked for and trained by gm or 7 years.

 

got it back friday,
fuel injectors - recall- replaced
blower motor- checked, nothing wrong
brakes- back brakes needed to be taken apart and readjusted. this is the 2nd time they had to readjust the back brakes. they checked to make sure they were assembled right. so i was driving w/ only front brakes for a few weeks

just a heads up, a new recall out if you didnt get the mail yet, the dealer showed me. cobalt coupes w/o sunroofs need an impact pad installed in the roof.

 

havent had the car for a week and its already messed up again, i am braking w/ only fronts, rears arent working

 

I had my brake pedal go down to the floor and it ended up being the brake master cylinder!!

 

its not pressure related though, bc the back brakes arent gripping, and the fronts are. something is coming loose in the back

 

The master cylinder can still be leaking internally not allowing proper pressure to be applied to the rear brakes. They adjusting your parking break would have dont nothing to improve break quality, that pretty much just helps with the parking break function, it impacts some but you would not notice it while just simply breaking. If I were your tech I would replace the master cylinder and replace your fluid.

 

thanks, i'll get them to check it. they said that they will check the whole thing again when i called yesterday. Is it possible that there is a clog or something in the brake lines?

 

that could be "possible" but highly unlikely, the lines for rear brakes are mostly metal tubing so unless you have a major kink in it I would condem the master cylinder. Major kink would usually cause a leak though. If they can't figure it out I would take it to another dealership, maybe your tech does not know what he is doing. Cause if you keep taking it there they are most likely giving it to the same tech since it's a comback on him. Either that or request a different tech to check it out instead.

 

I have been dealing with GM because my brakes had the same problem. It caused me to hit a curb and all GM could tell me is no one got hert and the damages are not more then 1000.00 bucks. So it's my problem.

Also the dealership has replaced my rear caliber line, but still would not cover the damage caused by the brakes.

 

i asked the lady @ chevy customer service over the phone if anyone had the same problem as me and she said no. i was seriously thinking about wrecking the piece of **** into something and say that the breaks went to the floor and didnt grip, which they are almost doing.

 

I just picked the car up after paying 1300.00 to get it fixed and the brakes still feel funny. I have been talking to someone at gm and I have a case # if you need it.